Northumbria driver education schemes extended

22 January 2009

DriveTech has not only had its contract to supply Speed Awareness workshops in Northumbria renewed but the company has also won the contract to supply both Driver Improvement and Rider Intervention and Developing Experience (RIDE) courses in the region as well. All the contracts are concurrent and run for four years from February 2009.

“We are extremely pleased that the effectiveness of the workshops that we have been delivering over the past three years has been recognised in this way,” says Andy Wheeler, Director of the company’s police schemes division, DriverAware.

“We now have the opportunity to make an even greater change in driver behaviour in the county, which will save lives, reduce injuries and even lower carbon emissions.”

DriveTech currently runs some 28 different police educational schemes throughout the UK for various police forces, whereby offenders are offered the opportunity to attend a workshop rather than pay a fine and have their licence endorsed with three points.

Journalist Chris Blackhurst, who writes for the London Evening Standard, recently attended a similar DriveTech-run course in London as a paying customer. Here is an extract of what he wrote afterwards:

“I was expecting boy racers in Top Gear jackets. Instead we seemed to be roughly the same age and sensible – clearly the police thought we might listen and learn. And we did.

“For the first half we had a bit of a chat. None of us had revisited the Highway Code. Only one of us got all the questions right about speed limits on different types of road……questions about our lifestyles and driving habits gave us a personal profile…..none of this was made public. It was between me and my conscience……Chris (the presenter) asked us how and where we’d been caught. Everyone answered in near apologetic tone. Then he showed us a picture of the aftermath of a fatal accident in north London….the car was travelling at 39mph in a 30mph zone…on the way back and coming into work I didn’t go over 30 once.”

Further information about DriveTech’s wide-ranging work in driver education please refer to www.drivetech.co.uk

For further information, members of the media should contact
Steve Johnson on direct line +44 (0)1344 467896, mobile +44 (0)7894 621134 or on steve.johnson@drivetech.co.uk

Editor's Notes

DriveTech (UK) plc is one of the UK’s leading providers of road risk management, driver assessment and education. We work with organisations whose employees ‘drive for work’ (FleetSafe) and with members of the public, who are offered education as an alternative to prosecution by the police (DriverAware), as well as a totally fresh approach to learning to drive (Advantage).

DriveTech’s vision is ‘working together to eliminate road death and serious injuries’ by providing the most effective and innovative solutions, using education and technology, to minimise risk for all road users.

DriveTech (UK) has won the Institute of Transport Management’s ‘Fleet Award for Driver Training’ in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 and the ‘European Driver Safety Specialist’ award in 2005. In September 2007, it was named the ITM’s ‘UK Driver Training Solutions Specialist’ and in 2008 DriveTech was voted ‘Best Driver Training Company’ in the Green Fleet Awards.

DriveTech is a member of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, the Association of Car Fleet Operators, the Association of National Driver Improvement Scheme Providers, the DfT’s ‘Driving For Better Business’ campaign and is accredited by both the Driving Standards Agency and City & Guilds.