Company Fleet Driver Training

Driving 4x4s in Winter

2011-11-12T06:36:00.001-08:00

Many companies will hire in 4x4s over the winter so that their drivers can continue working when the snow and ice makes life difficult on the roads.

However, we're finding that many of these drivers don't understand that many 4x4s are actually usually in 2 wheel drive most of the time, often rear wheel drive, so they now have a large, heavy vehicle sliding around roundabouts worse than their normal (light, front-wheel drive) vehicle would do.

We work with drivers to understand that they understand the capabilities that most 4x4s have, along with their limitations. We ensure they know how to change to 4wd on the move, engage differential locks where necessary, and understand the essential handling differences between vehicles. Training focuses on traction, braking, steering and control, as well as planning ahead and anticipating problems from both road layouts and other road users.

For more information on our Winter 4x4 Training, contact us:
info@beyonddriving.co.uk

Devon, Dorset and Somerset Quad Bike Training

2011-09-30T01:31:00.000-07:00

We've been providing ATV and quad bike training across the UK for several years now, but we now have a training base in Devon for car, van, 4x4, ATV and Quad Bike courses. This means that we can now run quad bike training from your workplace, saving you time, money and organisation problems. We will visit your riders at your venue and train them on your machines, ensuring they know the bikes and the terrain they will be using on a daily basis.

We run the Lantra Sit-Astride ATV course which is HSE recommended and is recognised throughout government, industry and agriculture, as well as by all major landowners. We can train up to 2 novice riders over a day, covering H&S, Risk Assessment, Vehicle Checks, Controls, Safe Riding Techniques, Loads and Trailers/Trailed Equipment. With experienced riders, we can assess and carry out any corrective training where required with up to 4 riders/day.

The qualification fulfils all of the employer's duties of care under PUWER, and ensures that employees can work within the constraints of the law. However, the main benefits are more tangible and include increased efficiency from riders being able to use the machines to their potential, reduced maintenance costs and less down time from damaged riders or bikes.

Off-Road Fleet Management

2010-07-31T02:34:00.000-07:00

Many companies are required to work in areas where tarmac is at a premium, and off-road vehicles are a necessity. However, where at one point in time the fleet manager would just buy a handful of Land Rovers, there is now a huge range of vehicles available for different purposes.

As probably the UK's most knowledgeable, experienced and highly qualified Off Road Training company (not that we're proud or anything!), we've had a chance to work with all of these vehicles, knowing their strengths and their weaknesses.

We've trained operators in the traditional Land Rover for years, and more recently the 4x4 pick-ups have become a more common feature of company fleets. We've also worked with some of the 4x4 vans, such as the excellent Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 used by the major energy companies to visit wind-power sites. Many circumstances require a more capable machine for short journeys and we train ATV operators in Mules and Argocats and run workplace quad bike courses.

Once you know what vehicle you need to get there - you also need to know how to equip it. With the experience derived from our Winch and Recovery Training, we are ideally placed to give you advice on what attachments you may (or may not) want to equip the vehicle with, from removable towbars (to improve clearance off-road, while keeping the capacity for towing while on-road), vehicle mounted winches, hand winches and all of the relevant equipment required for their safe operation.

Having the right vehicles could save (and quite possibly earn) you thousands. When combined with the correct training your fleet will be safe, efficient and incredibly flexible, with liability reduced to a minimum (you'd be surprised at how many people in offices order equipment that's really not H&S compliant).

So, if you're a fleet manager looking for information on which vehicles would fit the bill for your requirements - get in contact:

01524 37746
info@beyonddriving.co.uk

Fleet Train the Trainer Qualifications

2009-11-04T06:28:00.000-08:00

We've spent some time recently working with Nigel Dawson who runs Excelsior Instructor Training and just wanted to put a quick shout out for his DSA Approved Fleet Diploma Course for ADIs looking to become a fleet trainer.

Many years ago some of us qualified with the help of Nigel and we feel that he is now one of the UK's finest Driving Instructor Trainers, and he works with us to ensure that our instructors receive check test training and ADI cpd.

We have also worked with him on his course for trainers wishing to become ORDIT registered.

Off Road Training Scotland

2009-04-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

Working with Protec Training based in Ayrshire, we have been providing a series of Off-Road Training courses to LANTRA 4x4 standards to drivers working in the defense and security industries.

We now provide Off-Road Training courses at a variety of sites across Scotland and have trainers who can travel to your workplaces to provide winch training, ATV training and trailer handling courses.

Driver Training Birmingham

2009-04-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

We've been working hard recently to keep up with requests for training from across the UK and we now have an excellent base of instructors working around the Birmingham area, from Stafford to Solihull.

We have fully qualified DSA ADIs, Fleet Trainers, LANTRA instructors and SAFED Van trainers working across Birmingham and the Midlands.

If you need Company Car, Van, 4x4 or ATV training in the Midlands, we can help:

info@beyonddriving.co.uk
01524 37746

Management Training

2008-08-29T05:31:00.000-07:00

Alongside the driver training courses we offer, we have been working with Holmescales Activity Centre in Cumbria on their Management Training Courses.

Holmescales have a wealth of experience in Team Building, Corporate Events and Corporate Entertainment. Building on this experience, their trainers have been working on targetted training programs and other tools for HR managers, tailored towards the client company's needs.
From a day's activities to allow new teams to get to know each other, to fully profiled training days, with reports on individual participants capabilities, strengths and areas for further development, the Holmescales team can build a plan to ensure you fulfil your objectives.

Many of the management training events are based around their current activities, which include some of the best Off-Road Driving, Quad Biking, Clay Shooting, Archery, Paintball, Zip-Line and Abseil facilities in the UK. All of their activities (and there are many more) will test the capabilities and bring out the personality of your employees - allowing you to see how your staff will react under pressure.

TravelSafe-UK Driver Training

2008-08-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

We've spent the last week with Nigel Dawson from TravelSafe-UK on their new website:

Driver Training & Fleet Risk Assessments - TravelSafe-UK Ltd

The website is pretty big already and will be expanding organically to include more information on the many specialist courses their trainers can offer.

TravelSafe are offering:

and are in advanced negotiations with several national companies to provide them with a complete fleet assessment and training solution.

Being Off-Road specialists we're going to be consulting with them and providing their 4x4 Training.

SAFED Van Driver Training

2008-07-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

The new funding for SAFED van driver training courses has been around for a while now and is as always rapidly running out.

Remember that for companies with less than 250 employees, this training is subsidised by the Department of Transport so that you only pay £100/candidate, which can mean a huge reduction in training costs.

SAFED training has a proven record in reducing occupational road risk and improving fuel consumption, without increasing journey times. It is rapidly becoming the industry standard for all commercial van and load carrying 4x4 drivers.

If you would like more information on how to get your van drivers SAFED trained, please contact us:

info@beyonddriving.co.uk

Off-Road Training across the UK

2008-07-10T07:18:00.001-07:00

We have recently been in talks with several LANTRA approved sites and with DSA registered instructors who are LANTRA instructors and can now announce that we can provide UK-wide 4x4 Training.

We are one of very few organisations who are now able to provide legal and professional training through DSA registered instructors, to current Health and Safety standards through our LANTRA 4x4 courses. (see our article explaining What LANTRA, BORDA and DSA qualifications mean)

Many other companies profess to have "fully qualified" instructors, but often their lack one or other of the qualifications needed to either be legal or to offer a HSE recognised 4x4 qualification.

We can now offer Off Road Training Courses, On-Road 4x4 Driving Courses, Trailer Handling Courses and 4x4 Winching and Recovery courses across the UK.

4x4 Off Road Training Scotland
4x4 Off Road Training North
4x4 Off Road Training Midlands
4x4 Off Road Training East
4x4 Off Road Training Wales
4x4 Off Road Training South

Corporate Manslaughter and Fleet Drivers

2008-06-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

We've been getting more calls from worried HR departments about this, so we've put together a simple guide:

Corporate Manslaughter and Fleet Drivers

Driver Training & the new corporate manslaughter legislation

2008-04-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

As with many driver training companies, we're starting to get phone calls from companies who are worried about the new corporate manslaughter legislation.

The new law is in place to ensure that companies take responsibility for what they ask their employees to do.

Driving is something that anyone with a UK licence can legally do, but if this is done as part of a job, the employer has a duty of care to ensure that the driver is competent to do what is expected of them.

A simple view of what is expected from employers is that they assess the risk that driving poses to their driver and other road users during the course of the employment.

This will involve either a paper or online risk assessment, based on statistics (miles driven for work, type of vehicle, previous history etc) or a driver assessment carried out in the vehicle they use at work, carried out by a suitable assessor.

Most fleet training companies will use a combination of the two. Paper assessments can help prioritising obviously high risk individuals (the high mileage driver with the powerful car who was involved in a collision in the last 6 months and has 6 points on their licence for speeding and another 3 for mobile phone use!). What they cannot see is the person who has not driven for 4 years, has a small car, no historical problems (they haven't driven since their test), but whose driving is causing both themselves and others problems.

Once these assessments have been carried out, even short assessment sessions of a couple of hours per driver can include some remedial training. However, if issues arise which cause concern - safety issues concerning control of the vehicle, knowledge of road legislation and practice, or attitude problems which lead to unnecessary risk/reward behaviour - recommendations will be made for further training.

As long as these recommendations are followed then there's no problem. If the recommendations are challenged, then a second opinion can be requested, something which any training company should be happy to consent to.

Corporate manslaughter charges would only be brought if someone was killed due to negligence on behalf of a company.

This could mean:

Lack of risk assessments
Lack of action to reduce risks identified in a risk assessment

As long as your drivers are legal, risk assessed and where necessary undergo remedial training then a company should not be worried.

Companies should have policies in place letting staff know what is expected of them when they drive on company business. Usually this simply needs to be a warning that if they are found to have been driving illegally (speeding or using a mobile phone for example) then they will face discipline from within the company. Other sensible precautions are to ensure that policies are in place within the company which promote safe driving - ensuring that drivers are not expected to drive for long hours, or to meet unrealistic time deadlines.

Common sense is all it takes and it doesn't need to cost the earth.

Legislation for company drivers and fleet managers

SAFED training for van drivers

2008-02-09T04:48:00.000-08:00

The SAFED training scheme is coming to a close for the 07/08 season but funding is still available for companies who want to their van drivers training during March.

The Safe And Fuel Efficient Driving for Vans training has been a great success, with fuel efficiency savings of around 16% (imagine a service station advertising diesel at 90p a litre!), vehicle sympathy improvements through gear reductions of around 40% and a huge reduction in risk based driver faults of over 60%.

All of this for only £50/candidate for small to medium companies!

This training really can pay for itself.

Have a look at our fleet driver training site for more information.

We also run a programme for company car driver training which is based on the SAFED principles - but has been adapted for the specific risks which company car drivers face. It also looks at the way modern diesel engines can be driven to reduce fuel consumption even further.

Fleet Driver Training Directory

2008-01-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

Beyond Driving are now able to provide Fleet Driver Training Courses including SAFED for Vans across the whole of the UK.

We have detailed many of the areas we cover in our Fleet Driver Training Directory, but we can confirm that we should now be able to cover the entire country.

Van Driver Training across the UK

Off Road Training across the UK

Company Car Driver Training across the UK

Fleet Driver Training North East

2008-01-31T10:36:00.000-08:00

Beyond Driving are now offering Fleet Driver Training (includind car and van driver training) alongside it's LANTRA 4x4 training across the North East - Teeside, Tyneside, Durham, Northumberland and all of the surrounding counties.

Fleet Driver Training North East

Van Driver Training North East

Fleet Driver Training Scotland

2008-01-31T10:28:00.000-08:00

Beyond Driving are now offering Fleet Driver Training (includind car and van driver training) alongside it's LANTRA 4x4 training across Scotland.

Fleet Driver Training Scotland

Van Driver Training Scotland

SAFED In house assessors course

2008-01-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

SAFED recently introduced a course so that larger companies can have a representative trained as an in-house assessor.

At Beyond Driving we are happy to say that we can now provide this course.

Please contact us if you would like more information.

SAFED Van Driver Training.

SAFED Van and Commercial 4x4 Training

2007-11-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to announce that we have a limited supply of subsidised places for SAFED Van Driver Training.

We offer the SAFED Van Driver Training through our main website, and we also offer SAFED Training for 4x4 Drivers through our 4x4 site.

There is a limited quantity of money available from central government to subsidise these places, so please contact us early.

SAFED and LANTRA

2007-10-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know that from the start of December we will be offering SAFED for Vans courses through Beyond Driving, and LANTRA 4x4 Training through our Off Road Training site.

The SAFED (Safe And Fuel Efficient Driving) course is a half day course specifically for Van drivers which boasts an impressive 5-15% fuel efficiency improvement, and using simple techniques improves risk awareness and room for error in driving without extending journey times.

The LANTRA 4x4 course is a professional users course which satisfies H&S regulations under the PUWER (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations). Everyone who uses a 4x4 as part of their job should now be trained in their use.

Off Road Driver Training for Professionals

2007-08-04T03:49:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of regulations that we have to adhere to on the road, and surprisingly enough, as soon as we get off road there are even more!

We also offer off road and 4x4 professional training now, have a look at our revamped website www.beyond4x4.co.uk.

Eco-Driving for Fleet Drivers

2007-04-09T05:31:00.000-07:00

Eco-driving is something of a speciality for me - I've never managed to get less than 18 mpg in any vehicle - even a 2.5tonne Land Rover, and it is something that we can easily teach.

Many of us feel that taking training for something we do perfectly well every day is a bit of an imposition - but what if that training could save us some serious cash in our own lives?

A simple bit of math may help us here - if you count up every penny you spend on fuel and take 10% off that - well this is what you can achieve with just 90 minutes of training and a little practice!

How much would this save you every year?

And 90 minutes training? - From only £40!

Bonus!

Driving Instructor Training Lancashire and Cumbria

2007-04-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's another new site. Driving Instructor Training Lancashire, Cumbria is now on line.

Fleet Driver Training Website

2007-04-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's up and running, Fleet Driver Training in Lancashire and Cumbria.

DSA Registered Fleet Driver Trainer

2007-03-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

I got my orange badge through the post this morning - it's too bright, it needs to fade a little in the windscreen!

The course that I have relied on for a couple of years has now been updated taking on many of the changes in the industry, and after the extra training to get on the official register.

Become a Fleet Registered Driving Instructor

2007-03-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. All I need to do now is send off for my orange badge (sending the requisite large amount of cash to the DSA, but hey ho!).

This first post is as a thank-you for Nigel Dawson of Excelsior Training, for getting me through his course. There are a couple of ways to get to be a Fleet Registered Driving Instructor, and the first is to go to one of the big companies, like Rospa, and do it through their in house training. The second is to do all of the study, and get a trainer to get you through the DSA's exams. The third, and the one I chose, was to go for an independent Fleet Driving Instructor Training Course. This is what Nigel runs.

Over 4 days (sometimes 5), you have to complete the theory test, which in Nigel's course is one devised by himself - so just memorising the DSA question bank is not an option. Then you need to prove that you can drive to a DSA standard for an hour with 4 or less driver faults, so slightly more strict than the Part 2. In the DSA test this includes a commentary drive, though in Nigels course, this is made more relevant by being a commentary drive based on demonstrating the correct way of doing something to a customer - targetted at showing them how to fix their problems. Personally I preferred this, and it made it more relevant.

The final part, is the instructional part, which involved giving a road risk presentation, demonstrating and teaching how to perform the vehicle (POWDER) checks, an assessment drive, and a coaching drive.

Overall the course was very interesting, and with another ADI and a police blue light trainer involved (the training was 3 to 1), it was very informative to see different styles of training, and how they work within the fleet framework.

Excellent stuff. All I need to do now is to find the work!
So if you want to become a fleet registered driving instructor, call Nigel, it's worth it.