Driving is probably the riskiest activity that every Emergency Driver undertakes as part of their duty. Most people have learnt how to drive and passed their test many years ago, but like any learnt behaviours there is always room for improvement.
In other to get effective and efficient defensive drivers to man the newly acquired ambulance and the old one of VALCO, Management of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) contacted the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to organize a 3-day defensive driver training programme for their staff. There were 17 participants from the Company’s Hospital and other Departments of the VALCO who took part in the training programme. They were taken through the rudiment of driving in the classroom as well as the field and assessed on the following parameters.
- Forward free driving
- Forward cone driving
- Reverse free driving
- Reverse cone driving
After the assessment, 7 participant passed by obtaining 70% marks. Five (5) of them had 60% and above representing average performance. The rest performed below average.
Most drivers hardly take-up refresher training programmes after gaining their full driver licence. For this reason, some participants had difficulty undergoing the assessment. The programme was very successful with most participants expressing their appreciation for the delivery. The 3-day Training Programme was very successful with 12 participants certified as effective drivers.
