A third of company vehicle drivers lack basic road knowledge

Over a third of company vehicle drivers lack knowledge of basic road laws and the Highway Code according to online driver training and fleet risk management company E-Training World.

As part of its online risk assessment, the Company evaluates four features of driving – attitude, knowledge, concentration/observation’ and hazard perception.

Over the course of the past 12 months, 36.6% of drivers scored as ‘high rish’ in the knowledge segment, something which E-Training World’s Managing Director, Graham Hurdle, believes is a significant worry for businesses who operate vehicle fleets.

Mr Hurdle said: “Many drivers haven’t read the Highway Code since the day they passed their basic L- test. As a result, many do not know what road signs and markings mean, nor what the laws of the road are.

“There are also an increasing number of foreign drivers, who passed their test in other countries, who have a basic lack of knowledge of UK rules, signs and laws.

“Some might argue that not knowing the rules of the road isn’t as serious as tailgating, driving at dangerous speeds or other actions that are the common causes of accidents.

“I couldn’t disagree more. Road signs are there to guide and warn us while on the road, and the laws that govern our driving are there to make our roads safe. Drivers who lack basic knowledge cannot conduct themselves within the law, or react to signs, if they don’t know what they are or mean.”

The online driver profiling system revealed that the overall risk, taking into accounts combined scores across all four segments, was less than 10% of drivers could be considered high risk. 70% would be medium risk and 20% low risk.

Hurdle said that it was the knowledge section that was causing problems for drivers and that brushing up on the Highway Code would improve their driving ability.

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