Driving tests

Fleet driver training

Good companies ensure that their drivers are safe. If you have vehicles on the road and drivers driving for you for work you must provide them with fleet driver training and monitoring to mitigate the risks because a vehicle used for work is legally a place of work.

Why are company drivers more at risk of accidents?

More than 30% of all road accidents are work-related and it’s for a number of reasons:

  • tanker truckCompany drivers spend more time on the road so their exposure is higher
  • Time pressures are increased at work – getting to meetings or making deliveries on time when traffic can be frustrating
  • Drivers’ minds are on what they will say when they get to a meeting, or what they just said, which is a major distraction
  • Drivers often drive vehicles they are less familiar with, e.g. they may have a private vehicle and a company vehicle. Getting out of one vehicle and into another requires more thought – what side are the indicators on, how fast can I accelerate across this intersection, what are my braking distances, etc?
  • fleet driver training onlineMost drivers that have had a licence more than 5 years cannot pass the learner licence theory test, which means they are driving not knowing the road rules and this increases their accident risk
  • Drivers often have to drive in that 2-4pm period when we feel fatigued
  • Drivers are often driving with distractions – hands-free phone calls still elevate the risk of an accident, and looking for a client’s premises means they are not looking at the road, but scanning for signage.
  • Fatigue is cumulative during the week

Add to this the risk carried by drivers who moved from overseas and never had to take a New Zealand licence test (this applies to drivers from 24 countries, most of which drive on the right!), plus drivers that passed their test in provincial towns without ever getting training on a motorway.

What are the consequences of having an accident in a company vehicle?

Vehicle accidents can be very expensive:

reduce vehicle crashes

Reduce the risk of costly and disruptive vehicle crashes

  • lost opportunities – business missed or unable to be completed
  • lost staff productivity – injuries and disruption
  • vehicle damage – non-insured portion (insurance excess)
  • increased insurance costs
  • vehicle downtime – cost of hiring a replacement vehicle
  • disruption to work – disruption caused to other team members
  • management of the accident – disruption to administrative team members who have to deal with the accident.

The driver may be fined if they broke the law, and some fines are substantial.

The company may be fined if the accident was deemed to be preventable and due to you not providing adequate training; fines for health and safety breaches can be upwards of $100,000.

Why is DT’s Fleet Driver Training Plan the best solution?

It’s cost-effective and proven to increase driver awareness and skills.

  • suitable for drivers of cars, utes and trucks

    Suitable for cars, utes, trucks, motorbikes and more

    It’s delivered online so is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year on any device – computer, smartphone or tablet

  • As it’s online-based, the costs are significantly less than classroom-based training
  • As it can be done at any time, the training material can be digested whenever is convenient without interrupting your work schedules
  • Because the training is broken up into manageable modules, it can be done in smaller sittings which makes it easier to remember and apply the material
  • Each module’s learning outcome is able to be achieved at the learner’s preferred pace
  • As there’s unlimited access to the training material, modules can be repeated as often as required to ensure they know it
  • land rover defender on farmEvery training module is available on-demand – there’s no waiting for a trainer to become available – so new team members can be trained immediately before they drive your company vehicles
  • You can prove that a person has done the training by downloading reports of their activity and results, covering off your health and safety compliance obligations
  • The time saved by our automated reports in keeping a record of your drivers more than pays for the system
  • Drivers can store their qualifications and endorsements, with expiry dates so that you can check they are still current
  • Training modules are regularly enhanced and expanded, ensuring that any changes to legislation or road rules are accommodated
  • agricultural vehicle drivers can learn the road rules

    Agricultural vehicle drivers can ensure they know the road rules

    The modules cover material essential for car, heavy vehicle, motorbike, construction vehicles and forklift drivers all for one very low cost – you just choose which modules you need.

How does it work?

It takes just three very simple steps:

  1. Count up how many drivers you have in your company right now
  2. Purchase the right number of course licences by clicking here (or just start with two drivers then purchase more as you need them)
  3. Invite the drivers by entering their email addresses into the system. They’ll receive an invitation email and can start the modules immediately.

That’s it!

So that you can follow up, you’ll receive automatic emails to let you know:

  • How many drivers don’t accept your invitation within 14 days
  • How many drivers accept your invitation but haven’t completed a training module within 14 days

You can even assign managers to help you generate reports. Managers are free.

Need to see more info and some screenshots? Click here.

Let’s get started – click here to purchase a course.

driver training courses