Road safety training organisation Driver First Assist has launched a programme called Skills for Safer Journeys. It is an online training course that aims to improve safety for people who drive regularly for work, including coach and bus drivers.
Driver First Assist believes that the initiative will share the necessary skills to support at the scene of an on-road incident regardless of the type of vehicle they drive.
The 90-minute course can be completed in stages and it teaches participants how to make decisions using the principles of dynamic risk assessment, to safety park at the scene of an accident, to gather crucial information for the emergency services, to make a correct 999 call, and to provide first aid before paramedics arrive.
The organisation notes how a World Health Organisation report shows that 50% of deaths from road traffic accidents in developed countries occur within minutes of the incident occurring. Those who are present or arrive first at the scene can thus play an important role.
The report additionally found that many deaths from airway obstruction or external haemorrhage could have been avoided by lay bystanders trained in first aid.
Driver First Assist CEO David Higginbottom observes that in 2023 there were 1,633 fatalities from road collisions in Great Britain. He adds that in some cases the victim did not die because of the accident, but because people on the scene did not know what to do.
“We want to help employers to meet their health and safety obligations by giving drivers the skills they need to be safer on the road,” says Mr Higginbottom.
“Health and safety law does not end at the gate to the bus depot; when someone drives for work, the roads become an extension of the workplace, even if they are driving a personal vehicle for business purposes.”
Skills for Safer Journeys is available via the Driver First Assist website at £47.50 plus VAT per driver for lifetime access, with bulk discounts.
