Red Corporate Driver Training on its plans to go green

The days of simply handing over a set of car keys to a company driver should be coming to an end as a growing number opt for electric vehicles (EVs).

Such is the difference between a traditional petrol or diesel-powered car and an EV that fleet bosses must ensure every driver is given the relevant training on how to use the vehicle before they take to the road.

You might expect such advice from Seb Goldin (left), the CEO of Red Corporate Driver Training, as he has been tasked with growing the company’s driver training and risk management business and fleet operations. But Goldin says the vast amount of state-of-the-art technology fitted into new vehicles should be a genuine area of concern for fleets, particularly if company policy – rather than individual choice  – dictates a driver has an electric vehicle.

He says: “As more and more technology is fitted into vehicles, drivers don’t really know the vehicle’s limit point. Chassis control systems are so good today, but every vehicle can be affected by adverse weather conditions – floods or ice for example – and that’s when they need to be properly driven to correct any errors, such as oversteer. The vehicle will mostly do all that for you, but only if conditions allow.

“A lot of drivers get chucked the keys and have no idea what all the buttons do. My advice to fleets is to think about what your drivers need to understand about their vehicles. Think about what does semi-autonomous technology does for the driver but also what it doesn’t do.

"I hugely welcome such technology, but I also welcome people understanding what its limitations are.”

Goldin says it could be that automatic headlights are switched off by a technician servicing the car in a garage. Would drivers know how to immediately switch them back on when the need arises?

He also warns that some ADAS (advanced driver assistant systems) functions can fail should they get clogged up with road grime and salt from a gritted road.

He also believes drivers should be educated around how they need to plan their journeys differently in an EV.

Goldin is encouraged that many fleets have themselves sought to refresh their driver training programmes because lockdown made face-to-face tuition with a trainer was impossible.

He says: “It was a case of saying to fleets, let’s support people who have been working from home, particularly those in sales roles who are now back up to 20,000 miles a year from just a couple of thousand in lockdown. A lot of refresher training didn’t happen in 2020 or 2021. So that was our message to fleets post-lockdown.”

Goldin joined Red in January, replacing Ian McIntosh who continues to serve as a non-executive director. He was previously commercial director at TCC Group, a fleet training and road safety business.Previously he was MD of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and then founder of a driver training company called Business Driver, which was acquired by TTC Group.

An ambitious project

With around 1,500 franchisees, Red itself runs a sizeable fleet which mainly consists of petrol-powered Renault Clio and Vauxhall Corsa models. As well as training driving instructors and then selling them the franchise, it also offers approved driving instructors the chance to train for Fleet Badge qualification, which allows them to then go on to train fleet drivers.

Goldin says: “We train them to our exacting standards in terms of quality and consistency, and we can then offer them fleet work. It’s a busy area as the fleet market has come back to life with a bang post-Covid. It’s a nice mix of work for our instructors – a morning assessing a fleet driver in a van and then the afternoon teaching someone how to drive.”

Earlier this month the company announced it wants to electrify its fleet by 2025 – an undertaking that is “hugely ambitious and complex”.

Goldin says: “The needs of our instructors mean they require a supermini or small family car, and as most of our franchisees operate in metropolitan areas, they require cars with a workable range in excess of 150 urban miles between charges.

“Finding the right car that can provide the combination of range and cost in the next few years will be crucial, and so we are keen to discuss these requirements with carmakers.”

Its plans are not only a move to an all-electric future, but to take steps to reduce its carbon emissions as it moves towards that goal.

It’s not just about offering its franchisee driving instructors an electric car, the company says; it also wants to investigate all aspects of zero-emission driving, including home, kerbside and ‘on-the-go’ charging, as well as introducing green energy tariffs for instructors.

As well as driver training, other fleet offerings provided include compliance, such as driving licence checks, and risk assessment tutorials. It also helps companies manage their grey fleet, while skid awareness courses are run from the company’s premises, based at the world-famous Donington Park motorsport circuit.

A growth area for the business is providing four-wheel driving courses to utility company fleets or building contractors.

Golding says: “Young graduates joining those businesses find themselves thrown into a crew cab and they’re expected to drive across a field to drill a hole to take a soil sample. They need training.”

Wellbeing e-learning packages are also available and it’s an area that an increasing number of fleet managers take seriously. In fact, Goldin says the level of support a fleet manager has given their drivers in the past should be a key consideration for companies during the interview process, should a fleet role be advertised.

“The traditional fleet manager role is changing.” Goldin says, “It’s becoming more of a central business function role. They’re now asked, ‘what’s your HR strategy?’ and ‘how can we retain drivers?’.”

He adds that recruiting drivers themselves is easier if the company can demonstrate its commitment to staff wellbeing. He says:

“Drivers are more likely to go to a company that looks after them and cares about them getting home at night.” 

Need to reconsider driver training

Goldin also suggests fleet managers need to re-consider their driver training requirements as they adopt new electric vehicles.

The DVSA has launched a training and licensing requirement for anyone driving an alternatively fuelled vehicle between 3.5 and 4.25 tonnes, but Goldin says fleets should consider the type of vehicles they will be operating in the next few years.

“The DVSA’s new training and licensing requirement is a step in the right direction, but we think this definition is too narrow.

“It won’t be long before large EV panel vans weigh more than 4.25 tonnes because they will need extra battery packs to make them commercially viable to businesses, such as delivery fleets doing higher mileages and utility operators carrying heavy equipment.”

Instead of paying for a training for what it believes will be a narrow period of suitability, Red thinks the best solution is for businesses to assess their drivers and put those eligible forward for the more encompassing C1 training, which allows employees to drive vehicles from 3.5 tonnes to 7.5 tonnes GVW.

Goldin adds that this will allow businesses to be more flexible in their operations, countering driver absences and being prepared to adapt working practices if a new contract demands it.

On the company’s growth ambitions, Goldin says: “We’re the leading driving school in the UK, looking to leverage that brand across the corporate space.

“Our aspiration is to do what we have done for the brand on the driving school side over into the corporate world.

“We’re very much the market-leader on the driving school side. That ambition is underpinned by our ability to create our own fully qualified and fully trained team.”