Planning driver education and training
Safe driving and workplace health and safety belong together—a vehicle driven for work is considered a workplace. Therefore, driver education and training programs should be part of an organisation’s workplace health and safety strategy.
Education programs should reflect a genuine and ongoing commitment to improving driving safety, and be included in the organisation’s planning processes.
This will ensure that necessary funding and other resources are available for drivers to access timely and appropriate education and training.
Organisations benefit from driver education and training that encourages drivers to improve their attitudes and behaviour towards safer driving.
The organisation is responsible for providing education and training opportunities and monitoring the results, while the individual is responsible for applying what they learn.
Remember: A person who passes a driving test once in their lifetime is not necessarily a safe driver for life.
Training needs analysis
The first step in determining the most appropriate education and training is to conduct a training needs analysis.
The analysis should be a structured process, and completed by a training or human resourcing professional with at least a basic understanding of contemporary road safety issues.
A training needs analysis is a systematic investigation that involves:
- task analysis (i.e. the driving requirement of the organisation or role)
- an understanding of the desired outcomes within the organisation
- knowledge of the practical and behavioural skills needed to achieve the role or outcome.
The training needs analysis should include:
- collecting and analysing data to identify individual and/or organisational needs (including crash and infringement data)
- analysing work-related driving requirements to determine the knowledge and skills required for safe and effective performance
- collecting information to determine the current level of knowledge and skill in the organisation
- identifying gaps between the organisation’s needs and the current individual skill profile
- seeking advice, recommendations and options to address the gap between the current standard and desired standard.
A focus on safe skills, attitudes and behaviours
Post-licence driver training and education has changed focus in recent years. Driver training previously targeted emergency control skills, such as skid control and emergency braking. However, drivers are unlikely to retain these skills because they don’t use them every day.
Also, vehicle technology innovations, such as electronic stability control and anti-lock braking systems, have reduced the need for emergency driving skills.
Now driver training and education is more focused on improving safe skills and driver attitudes and behaviours. It’s more beneficial to teach drivers to avoid the need to respond to an emergency situation than teach them how to respond to one.
There is also a link between increased skill and increased risk taking. Attendance at ‘skid pan’ training has actually increased involvement in post-training crashes.
Training that focuses heavily on vehicle-handling skills can cause some drivers, particularly younger drivers, to become overconfident or practise their new skills on public roads.
Education to improve driver attitudes and behaviours
Approximately 95% of all road crashes are caused by unacceptable driver attitudes and inappropriate driver behaviours. Driver education and training should be structured to address these 2 key issues.
Common examples of crash causes that are linked to driver attitudes and behaviours are:
- being inattentive and distracted
- speeding
- being aggressive
- failing to obey the road rules
- following too closely
- driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs
- driving while tired.
Evidence of unacceptable attitudes and behaviours by work-related drivers may include:
- frequent infringement notices for speeding and other traffic offences
- an abnormal number of ‘at-fault’ vehicle crashes
- a high incidence of unexplained vehicle damage
- staff reluctance or refusal to travel with a particular driver
- non-adherence to safe driving policy and procedures.
For normal work-related driving, driver education and training should focus on:
- encouraging drivers to examine their own attitudes and behaviours
- challenging them to bring about some self-improvement.
The preferred syllabus should:
- train managers and supervisors in their roles and responsibilities regarding driver safety
- raise awareness about road safety risks
- increase awareness of the human factors that affect driver safety
- raise awareness of personal attitudes and behaviours that lead to unsafe driving
- encourage drivers to self-evaluate their abilities, strengths and weaknesses honestly
- encourage drivers to discuss their behaviours and feelings openly
- examine an organisation’s road safety culture
- focus on the driver’s responsibilities for vehicle maintenance, servicing and safety
- accommodate varying training levels and participant abilities.
Spending time with a qualified specialist instructor or training provider allows a driver to refresh their knowledge and skills quickly, and improve their ability to drive safely. They can also identify poor driving habits and correct them before an incident occurs.
Who should attend driver education and training?
Research has found that:
- most drivers agree that driving is potentially dangerous
- most drivers believe they’re unlikely to be involved in a crash
- most drivers believe they’re not at risk and don’t need to change their driving behaviours
- almost all drivers have a distorted view of their driving skills and a complacent attitude to their own driving, considering the risk involved.
Therefore, anyone who drives a vehicle regularly as part of their work duties should attend driver education and training. In particular:
- drivers who drive long distances or for a long duration
- young and inexperienced drivers
- drivers with frequent work-related (or personal—through self-identification) violations for speeding and other traffic offences
- drivers with a history of at-fault, work-related vehicle crashes
- new and recently transferred staff
- managers and supervisors
- drivers of new and unfamiliar vehicles.