Almost 10 per cent of fleet drivers in the UK have potentially serious driving issues such as poor hazard perception, attitude, knowledge and observational skills that pose a severe risk to themselves and other road users. That's according to a decade's worth of driver appraisals by E-Training World from its assessment and training programme. The company's analysis over the last 10 years found an average 9 per cent of company car, van and HGV drivers are high risk on the nation's highways, with 68 per cent a medium risk and less than a quarter (23 per cent) regarded low risk. This accurate risk rating is designed to give fleet operators peace of mind that they have adhered to their duty of care requirements, not only to their own drivers but other road users, according to Graham Hurdle, managing director of E-Training World. "While some individual companies show variations to these figures, this trend is based upon average statistics across all drivers," he said. "The aim of any risk assessment is to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a driver and establish what risk they pose when behind the wheel. Our system achieves that by taking the long-established methods of evaluating a driver's attitude, knowledge, concentration and observation and hazard perception. "Each section of the assessment carries equal weight and we do not penalise drivers if they are young, drive high mileages or have points on their licence. "The risk rating is calculated on their ability and has proven to be extremely accurate and, using the results, companies can not only enjoy peace of mind that they have adhered to their duty of care requirements, they can also make intelligent decisions regarding whether a driver needs training and what form that training should take."
