DriveTech supports Eastern European driver training at JEPCO

15 January 2007

Hard-working East European students are recruited annually by a leading salad supplier… but, while they might be excellent at planting, harvesting and packing fresh food, can they drive?

It is a risk that family-owned, South Lincolnshire company J E Piccaver & Co (JEPCO), is not prepared to take. That’s why all would-be drivers are put through a three-day training course before taking to the wheel of company minibuses.

During the eight-month season - March through to October - up to 150 students from Eastern European countries, both inside and outside the European Commission, will be recruited by JEPCO. At any one time, at least eight of the students have been trained to drive the company’s six 17 seat minibuses on the 830 hectare farm and within a 36 mile radius of the farm’s accommodation camp.

The company’s student manager Graham Wilkinson said: “No-one is allowed to drive a minibus until they have completed the training course and received a certificate.”

A student’s driving competence is tested during the recruitment stage with the company searching among Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Moldovian and Latvian labour, for example. Would-be employees should ideally be in possession of an international driving licence, over 21 years of age and with at least two years driving experience. Additionally, some students’ licences may show that they can drive a small lorry.

Mr Wilkinson, who like all other farm management, has completed the driving programme designed by DriveTech (UK) plc, the country’s leading provider of at-work driving risk management, driver assessment and driver training solutions, said: “Back on the farm, I initially take the students that we have identified as potential minibus drivers out to test their ability. If their driving skills are poor, they will continue to work on the farm but they will not be allowed to drive.”

He recalled a few years ago how one Latvian student failed to make the driving grade when he drove along roadside verges and found acceleration control difficult. The student subsequently admitted that his driving licence had been ‘bought’ in his home country.

Students who meet JEPCO’s standards are then put through a one-day UK driving familiarisation course followed by a two-day driving minibus course during which they will test their skills on roads as diverse as country lanes, motorways and busy town centres under the expert eye of DriveTech (UK) trainer, Kevin Isaacson.

Additionally, Mr Isaacson checks the validity of all driving licences. This could include a cross-reference with the DVLA database.

Mr Wilkinson said: “If, at anytime, it is thought that any of the students are not competent enough to drive, they are taken off the programme.”

JEPCO began its driver training initiative in 1998 and, for the last four years, DriveTech (UK) has delivered the programme.

“The scheme gives us complete peace of mind. While it costs the company money, it is money well spent. We have reduced the number of incidents, mainly dings and scrapes, to virtually zero and the cost of the scheme helps maintain insurance premiums to acceptable levels,” explained Mr Wilkinson.

“There is massive responsibility on us as an employer and on the students who we ask to drive for us, particularly when they are ferrying up to 16 colleagues around the farm and in the local area on a day or evening out. We don’t think it is right to put someone in the driving seat without having their ability checked and ensuring they are safe.”

The students, it seems, are very grateful to be put through the course: “Our employees are coming into an environment which is totally alien to what they have experienced previously in their home country - they are being asked to drive on the opposite side of the road to which they are used to, in an unfamiliar vehicle and surrounded by far more traffic,” said Mr Wilkinson.

“No student I have asked to take the programme has refused and when they get a DriveTech (UK) certificate on course completion, they are delighted and take it home to show all their friends.”

All the students, who were trained in 2005, returned in 2006 and Mr Wilkinson said: “This shows the respect they have for the company and what we ask them to do. I think the minibus driving programme, that we have designed, ensures that we are seen as a caring employer.”

Additionally, students asked to drive tractors on the farm complex complete a separate tractor driving course. Students are also given English lessons by the company.

In today’s competitive marketplace, most of JEPCO’s customers, including some major blue chip companies, not only visit the farm to examine produce but also study how employees are treated and managed.

Mr Wilkinson said: “These companies want to be in a business partnership with highly professional and reputable organisations. This specially designed programme, that we put our drivers though, underlines our aim to be a first-class employer.”

The trainer’s view

Foreign nationals travel to the UK for work and frequently find themselves a driving job, but are they qualified to drive?

Being in possession of a driving licence is no guarantee of driving competence, according to Kevin Isaacson, a trainer with DriveTech (UK) plc, the country’s leading provider of at-work driving risk management, driver assessment and driver training solutions, and an expert on foreign licences.

“In some countries, it is common knowledge that a motorist can buy a driving licence from the government. While it is a legitimate driving licence, the motorists themselves often have no real driving experience. Consequently, when driving in the UK, they can quickly find themselves in trouble,” explained Mr Isaacson.

However, while checking the validity of a licence outside the country of origin is a near impossibility, asking would-be drivers to undertake a ‘test’, as soon as possible after starting work, is the easiest way of initially viewing a person’s competence behind the wheel, said Mr Isaacson.

With different licencing laws applying to European Commission residents, as well as those from the European Economic Area and non-EC residents, and also rules concerning the class of vehicle being driven, too many companies assume that an individual is skilled behind the wheel.

Mr Isaacson said: “People from other EC countries are covered by the same rules as British drivers, while rules for drivers from other countries are more complicated. Different rules also apply depending on whether their stay in the UK is temporary or permanent and the types of vehicle being driven.

“It is also vital for employers, at a minimum, to undertake a visible check of an individual’s driving licence - licence number, country of origin, date of birth, vehicles that they are qualified to drive etc. If the licence is a forgery, then this could be identified when the foreign driver exchanges their original document for a UK licence.

“As a minimum, to reduce risk, I would suggest a foreign licence check with the DVLA to determine whether drivers have previously been identified by the UK authorities. This might highlight a previous motoring offence or a problem in the past with the licence.”

He added: “JEPCO is one of very few companies who put their foreign drivers through such a rigorous training process. Most companies simply do not know what the basic driving licence criteria are for foreign nationals before they begin employing them. That’s potentially a big risk.

“All companies have a duty of care towards all employees from whatever their country of origin. If a person is expected to drive as part of their job, then the employer should undertake driving licence checks and ensure all individuals are competent to drive in UK conditions.

“The only way to minimise risk fully is to encourage each foreign driver to undertake a UK driving licence test, although this may be difficult to mandate under EC legislation.

“Giving an employee the keys to a vehicle they have never seen before, on congested roads and to drive on the opposite side of the road to which they are used to, is a recipe for disaster. The company could be found guilty of breaching health and safety rules in the event of a crash.”

UK familiarisation course

This course specifically caters for foreign nationals who are new to driving in the UK.  Although a set framework is available, the final course content is dependant upon the delegate’s driving experience in both their home country and the UK. Experience has shown that, in some cases, additional training is required to reach a minimum safe standard in the UK.

A 60-minute interactive presentation includes: introduction to the company fleet safety policy and procedures, appreciation of the actual risks of driving in the UK, car control, UK speed limits, road signs and markings, junctions and roundabouts, traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, motorway driving, UK alcohol limits, visual perception, hazard perception and knowledge perception, mobile phone use, personal safety and fatigue.

Before an assessment drive, safety checks on the delegate’s driving licence, vehicle and eyesight will be carried out.

During the drive, the delegate’s strengths and weaknesses are discussed and new techniques suggested if applicable. A demonstration drive, with commentary, by the trainer then follows to illustrate these advantages and help identify key risk areas, to which foreign visitors are more exposed. Drivers are then given the opportunity to practice in a safe environment with training tailored to dealing with high-risk areas. Additionally, hazard and accident perception and manoeuvring is introduced.

In the event that the trainer feels that a driver has not reached a ‘minimum’ and safe driving test standard for the UK, additional training will be recommended and the driver’s training co-ordinator will be advised.

Source: DriveTech (UK)

Minibus Plus driving course

The two-day course, aimed at commercial businesses as well as charities and schools, begins with an interactive presentation covering: organisations’ fleet safety policy and procedures, visual perception, hazard perception and knowledge perception, identification of driver’s attitude and knowledge level, appreciation of key risk areas associated with driving minibuses (extra dimensions) and fatigue.

Before an assessment drive, safety checks on the delegate’s driving licence, vehicle and eyesight will be carried out.

During the drive, the delegate’s strengths and weaknesses are discussed and new techniques suggested, if applicable. A demonstration drive, with commentary, by the trainer then follows to illustrate these advantages and help identify key risk areas. Drivers are then given the opportunity to apply the new techniques with training tailored to achieve their personal and course objectives. There is a particular focus on smoothness and manoeuvring.

On the second day, a workshop session looks at personal safety for drivers, legal requirements, minibus equipment and passenger awareness, assistance and safety (including accessible minibuses where necessary), breakdown and emergency/evacuation procedures, use of passenger lifts and a theory test

Following each driver’s final on-road assessment, the trainer will go through each delegate’s training report, which will include both their practical driving performance and their knowledge of minibus use, as demonstrated during the two days of training.

EDITOR’S NOTES

DriveTech (UK) plc is a leading provider of  ‘driving at work’ risk management, driver assessment and driver training solutions.

DriveTech (UK)’s goal is to reduce both an organisation’s vehicle business costs and the personal risk for ‘at work’ drivers, by significantly improving driver ABC - attitude, behaviour and competence – therefore supporting driver safety and corporate ‘duty of care’ requirements.

DriveTech (UK) has won the Institute of Transport Management’s ‘Fleet Award for Driver Training’ in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 and its ‘European Driver Safety Specialist’ award in 2005.

For further information contact:

David Richards at DriveTech (UK) at david.richards@drivetech.co.uk or 01344 467271.