Despite pressures to cut costs, companies are continuing to invest in driver training.

Over 60% of fleet managers confirm that their companies have resisted pressures to cut their training budgets in the latest Fleet News poll.

This is confirmed by a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which found that seven in 10 employers said training remained a high priority.

The introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter Act and the updated Health and Safety at Work Act have focussed managers’ minds on the need for driver training.

“Due to the recent changes involving heath and safety at work and the focus on the car being defined as a workplace, we felt the need to continue with the investment so as to include attention to those aspects,” explained Terry Fleury, transport and communications manager at Care Nursing.

“This training is for staff who drive and for managers.”

The Department for Transport-funded SAFED scheme, which trains van drivers in safer and fuel-efficient driving techniques, has seen demand for training grow by one-third over the past month.

Unsubsidised training schools are also reporting higher demand for their services.

Driver training company DriveSense has seen “significant growth” in the demand for its green driving courses.

Graham Hurdle, managing director of E-Training World said that in the last six weeks the company has converted “nearly every enquiry received”.

He said companies are now more aware of their duty of care obligations, but also of the need to keep costs down.

DriveTech agreed: “For those customers where there is already a driver risk management programme in place it’s pretty much business as usual, because they’re saving substantial amounts of money at a time when every penny counts,” said spokesman Steve Johnson.

Those savings can be significant, as Nicola Waite fleet manager at Smeg UK explained.

After introducing a raft of training and risk management initiatives, she said the company’s annual insurance premiums dropped by £200 per vehicle.

“We also had fewer instances of drivers speeding and less accidents.

"Vehicles are returned in better condition and therefore rectification costs are lower,” she said.

“In the current climate whilst businesses are looking at reducing costs there are some corners that cannot be cut and one of these is driver training.”

Training fleet managers is also high on the agenda despite the economic gloom, with the Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM) courses proving popular.

“Our experience thus far is that all of our courses are still being well supported,” said ICFM chairman Roddy Graham.

However there is a still a significant minority – 40% – of companies that are cutting their training budgets.

“Training, like any other area, has been looked at and our budget has been cut by nearly 40%,” said one fleet manager.

“That includes training for my own personal development and the training of our drivers.

"Such a move is short-sighted as far as I’m concerned as training can bring around savings in the longer-term.”

Last year the Schwan Food Company cut its training budget. “Driver training which had never held a high priority was one of the first to suffer,” said the company’s site administrator, Bob Collins.