Our Objectives & Skills Background

The primary aim of the Ride Drive organisation is to promote the concept of good public road driving manners and safety by cultivating a continuation of learning culture within the public domain. Very few drivers will seek out post–test driver training, and for the huge majority, the driving test is wrongly seen as the pinnacle of driver development.

Inadequate Driver Training

Members of the public, if they have not benefitted from Advanced Driver Training, are by default poorly equipped to deal with the every day complexities of road driving. The process they go through to gain their independence on the road, by comparison to what is available, is little more than a familiarisation course in how to operate a mechanical device, i.e. the car. It is only after the driving test does real life driving begin.

"There should be a two–tier training system," says Julian Smith, managing director and owner of Ride Drive. "Drivers should start by learning how to operate the machine (motor car) in a similar manner as they do now, but once they pass the test they should go through a short period of probation. They should use this time to gain some mileage experience and under conditions that are as controlled as possible. This would be followed by a Roadcraft based advanced driving course."

Casualty Statistics are Apalling

By average, 65 people are either killed or seriously injured on British roads very day through road traffic collisions. The number of deaths on the road per year is the equivalent to a total loss of life associated with eight Jumbo Jet aircraft, fully laden with passengers, crashing every 12-months. Driver error is the main contributory factor in all but a minute percentage of cases.

"Driver error within the statistics includes error that occurs through not having the level of skill to either cope with a situation, or to prevent being involved in it," Julian says. "Certainly, all through my police traffic patrol career, when investigating the causes of the many number of road traffic collisions I attended, just about all that were not drink or drug related could have been avoided had the people concerned received a higher standard of driver training."

Advanced Driver Training is Only Voluntary

Advanced driver training, at present, is only undertaken voluntarily and it is estimated that less than 1% of the motoring population, following their driving test, will seek further driver training. This is despite the fact statistically a driver will reduce the risk of being involved in a road collision to as much as 40% after completing a course of advanced driver training.

"Most people do the very best they can with the poor skills they have been given and many won’t even manage to perform as well as that. What is also true is that even poor drivers feel comfortable in what they do. It is what we call, Comfort of Habit and whilst a driver is comfortable with his or her poor habits and ability they will remain resistant to change."

Julian goes on to say, "You actually have to do very little with a standard driver to raise their game. Just improving their observation skill makes a big difference, and then if you throw in the process of bend assessment and a bit of road–space management, the overall change in development terms is huge. It’s hardly rocket science and anyone can benefit."

29–Years as a Police Advanced Driver

Julian served for 30–years with a British police force and for the majority of that time he worked as part of what was then referred to as the Traffic Patrol Division. This involved the achievement of an extremely high standard of advanced driver development by attending and completing a number of advanced driving courses.

It was through his service with the police that Julian was introduced to The System of Car Control, a format for road driving that became well known to him throughout his police driver training. After all, Roadcraft was originally published as The Manual for police driver training.

"Roadcraft is the ultimate driving system," Julian says. "There have been many people who have tried to knock the Roadcraft system of car control, saying it is out of date and no longer relevant, but I cannot agree.

Since my first introduction to police driver training, from basic courses through to advanced driver training, I have been completely disciplined in my application of the system. During my police career I sometimes had to push myself and the vehicle I was driving right to the ragged edge of reason, so I can therefore absolutely vouch for the System of Car Control. Certainly it has never let me down."

The Ride Drive Team

Those who secure a place upon the Ride Drive team must have received training to the Roadcraft system. This is one of the primary requirements. The standard driver trainer is simply not good enough. "These days," says Julian, "there are many processes through which people become conversant and fluent in the ability to coach to the Roadcraft system of car control, and this is not always through the emergency services.

We have some trainers who have gained their Roadcraft skills through civilian organisations and what they lack in their own ability we can make up for with our in–house development programme. We have members of our team who have a background in the emergency services too and appreciate their high&ndash driving skills. When building our team we choose carefully to make sure we get people of the right temperament to gain the quality we need. We only take on the very best."

Ride Drive aims to cover as much of the UK as possible with a highly motivated and well trained team, each operating from their own home area. "It’s like they say within the BBC," says Julian. "Wherever it’s happening, we’re already there."

About Ride Drive Services

Ride Drive provides services in driver assessment and training, but only to advance level and to The Roadcraft System of Car Control, this being the system as given by Roadcraft. "There is a lot of good stuff that has gone from Roadcraft," says Julian, "as over the years, and through the various updated editions, Roadcraft has become less of the training manual it was originally published to be and is now more of a reading book about driving."

Not satisfied with the current edition of Roadcraft, Ride Drive has its own manual and this is based on earlier editions of the good book. It is from this document that Ride Drive base all assessments and driver training.

Julian comments, "I was brought up on a blue coloured version of Roadcraft, which I had to learn almost cover to cover. Having seen subsequent editions, and what I see as a deterioration in the quality of content, I think the blue version was the best. Yes, I know the chapter covering cornering was academically inaccurate, but that aside and replaced by accurate information, that version takes some breating."

The Quality of Courses

In addition to the standard range of driver assessments and courses, Ride Drive has written, developed and produced two Accredited Advanced Driver Training courses. These have been accredited by a national awarding body, OCN Credit4Learning, and of course based on the Roadcraft System of Car Control. There are also matching Advanced Motorcycle Courses, based on the advanced riding system as given by the motorcycle version of Roadcraft.

"We wanted to show we are serious about what we do," says Julian. "By offering driver and motorcycle courses to this calibre I believe we have demonstrated our level of commitment to complete professionalism."

Successful candidates are able to gain a National Framework Qualification award, either by completing the Ride Drive Level–2 Advanced Driving Course or the Level–3 Advanced Driving Course. These standards are the equivalent in status, like for like, to other National awards, such as NVQ and BTEC.

Bearing in mind these courses were researched and written by highly qualified advanced drivers, they are challenging for the candidate to complete and offer an immense degree of satisfaction for achievement. Certainly they are delivered to a very high standard.

Our Treatment of the Customer

It is the aim of the Ride Drive organisation to provide a solid understanding of the driven vehicle, both in a theoretical and practical sense, and to have the ability to accurately risk assess the road environment.

It is also about the customer being allowed to develop their potential within a friendly, relaxed and non–judgemental environment. It is therefore intended that all who we become involved with shall actually enjoy the experience of improving their skills and use their cars more effectively on the public road.

For those who participate in a Ride Drive Advanced Driving Course, this will be the start of a whole new relationship with the car. By having an opportunity to experiment with what will be new ideas and methods each can discover a whole new system of driving that will help keep them, their vehicle and all who travel in it, a whole lot safer on the road.

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This page was last updated
Saturday, 19-Mar-2011

Our Objectives & Skills Background