Seven out of ten work drivers never offered training

72% of people who drive for a living in the UK have never been offered driver training, this is according to a survey by IAM Drive & Survive.

The results showed 44 per cent of those drivers would welcome the opportunity. Only three per cent of the respondents said that they had been offered driver training but had declined.

When participants of the survey were asked which areas of their driving could be improved by training, 29% claimed that they would benefit from having a refresher course on the Highway Code. Other areas of their driving participants felt could be improved by training included:

• Fuel efficient driving – 19 per cent
• Sticking to speed limits – 17 per cent
• Manoeuvring and parking – 14 per cent

A high number of the drivers we surveyed stated that they would welcome training, most of them continued saying they wouldn’t be interested in participating because of the time it would take to complete the training.

People who drive for a living are involved in an estimated third of all fatal and serious accidents, employers are legally obliged to protect their employees. Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care. Driving for business sits firmly within this legislation.

IAM Drive & Survive’s chief executive Simon Best said: “These findings reflect poor management decisions as business leaders fail to act to adequately protect their employees and in doing so put them and other road users at risk.

“A third of accidents involve somebody driving for work and these results show that government initiatives to enforce driver safety are simply not working. It is clear that businesses such as ours must work even harder to get the message out on the importance of continuous development.”

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*Information sourced from http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/2014/7/15/seven-out-of-ten-work-drivers-never-offered-training/52968/