SPECIAL FEATURE

FOREIGN DRIVERS

Hard-working East European students are recruited annually by a leading salad supplier, but while they might be excellent at planting, harvesting and packing fresh food … can they drive? It is a risk that family-owned South Lincolnshire company J E Piccaver & Co (JEPCO) is not prepared to take, so all would-be drivers are put through a three-day training course before taking to the wheel of company minibuses.

During the eight-month season – March through to October – up to 150 students from Eastern European countries, both inside and outside the European Commission, will be recruited by JEPCO. At any one time, at least eight of the students have been trained to drive the company’s six 17-seat minibuses on the 830-hectare farm and within a 36-mile radius of the farm’s accommodation camp. The company’s student manager Graham Wilkinson says: “No-one is allowed to drive a minibus until they have completed the training course and received a certificate.”

A student’s driving competence is tested during the recruitment stage with the company searching among the Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Moldovian and Latvian labour, for example. Would-be employees should ideally be in possession of an international driving licence, over 21 year of age and with at least two years’ driving experience. Additionally, some students’ licences may show that they can drive a small lorry. Mr Wilkinson, who, like all other farm management, has completed the driving programme designed by DriveTech (UK) Limited, the country’s leading provider of at-work driving risk management, driver assessment and driver training solutions, says: “Back on the farm, I take the students we have identified as potential minibus drivers out to test their ability.

“There is massive responsibility on us as an employer and on the students who we ask to drive for us”

“If their driving skills are poor, they will continue to work on the farm, but they will not be allowed to drive.” He recalled a few years ago how one Latvian student failed to make the driving grade when he drove along roadside verges and found acceleration control difficult. The student subsequently admitted that his driving licence had been “bought” in his home country. Students who meet JEPCO’s standards are then put through a one-day UK driving familiarisation course followed by a two-day driving minibus course during which they will test their skills on roads as diverse as country lanes, motorways and busy town centres under the expert eye of DriveTech (UK) trainer, Kevin Isaacson.

Additionally, Mr Isaacson checks the validity of all driving licences and that could include a cross-reference with the DVLA database. Mr Wilkinson says: “If, at any time, it is thought that any of the students are not competent enough to drive they are taken off the programme.” JEPCO began its driver-training initiative in 1998 and for the last four years, DriveTech (UK) has delivered the programme.

“The scheme gives us complete peace of mind. While it costs the company money it is money well spent. We have reduced the number of incidents, mainly dings and scrapes, to virtually zero and the cost of the scheme helps maintain insurance premiums to acceptable levels,” explains Mr Wilkinson. “There is massive responsibility on us as an employer and on the students who we ask to drive for us, particularly when they are ferrying up to 16 colleagues around the farm and in the local area on a day or evening out. We don’t think it is right to put someone in the driving seat without having their ability checked and ensuring they are safe.”

Students who pass the test can drive the company's 17-seat minibuses

The students, it seems, are very grateful to be put through the course: “Our employees are coming into an environment which is totally alien to what they have experienced previously in their home country – they are being asked to drive on the opposite side of the road to which they are used to in an unfamiliar vehicle and surrounded by far more traffic,” says Mr Wilkinson. “No student I have asked to take the programme has refused and when they get a DriveTech (UK) certificate on course completion they are delighted and take it home to show all their friends.”

All the students who were trained in 2005 returned in 2006 and Mr Wilkinson says: “That shows the respect they have for the company and what we ask them to do. I think the minibus driving programme that we have designed reflects on us being seen as a caring employer.” Additionally, students asked to drive tractors on the farm complex complete a separate tractor driving course. Students are also given English lessons by the company.

“Before an assessment drive, safety checks on the delegate’s driving licence, vehicle and eyesight will be carried out”

In today’s competitive marketplace most of JEPCO’s customers, including some major blue chip companies, not only visit the farm to examine produce, but also study how employees are treated and managed. Mr Wilkinson says: “These companies want to be in a business partnership with highly professional and reputable organisations. The specially-designed programme that we put our drivers through underlines our aim to be a first-class employer.” The two-day course aimed at commercial businesses as well as charities and schools begins with an interactive presentation covering: organisations’ fleet safety policy and procedures, visual perception, hazard perception and knowledge perception, identification of drivers’ attitude and knowledge level, appreciation of key risk areas associated with driving minibuses (extra dimensions) and fatigue.

All the students who trained in 2005 returned in 2006

Before an assessment drive safety checks on the delegate’s driving licence, vehicle and eyesight will be carried out. During the drive, the delegate’s strengths and weaknesses are discussed and new techniques suggested if applicable. A demonstration drive, with commentary, by the trainer then follows to illustrate these advantages and help identify key risk areas. Drivers are then given the opportunity to apply the new techniques with training tailored to achieve their personal and course objectives. There is a particular focus on smoothness and manoeuvring.

On the second day, a workshop session looks at personal safety for drivers, legal requirements, minibus equipment and passenger awareness, assistance and safety (including accessible minibuses where necessary), breakdown and emergency/evacuation procedures, use of passenger lifts and a theory test. Following each driver’s final on-road assessment, the trainer will go through each delegate’s training report, which will include both the practical driving performance and knowledge of minibus use demonstrated during the two days.

UK familiarisation course

This course specifically caters for foreign nationals who are new to driving in the UK. Although a set framework of a course is available, the final course content is dependant upon the delegate’s driving experience in both their home country and the UK. Experience has shown that, in some cases, additional training is required to reach a minimum safe standard in the UK.

A 60-minute interactive presentation includes: introduction to the company fleet safety policy and procedures, appreciation of the actual risks of driving in the UK, car control, UK speed limits, road signs and markings, junctions and roundabouts, traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, motorway driving, UK alcohol limits, visual perception, hazard perception and knowledge perception, mobile phone use, personal safety and fatigue. Before an assessment drive, safety checks on the delegate’s driving licence, vehicle and eyesight will be carried out.

During the drive, the delegate’s strengths and weaknesses are discussed and new techniques suggested if applicable. A demonstration drive, with commentary, by the trainer then follows to illustrate these advantages and help identify key risk areas, to which foreign visitors are more exposed. Drivers are then given the opportunity to practise in a safe environment with training tailored to dealing with high-risk areas. Additionally, hazard and accident perception and manoeuvring are introduced. In the event that the trainer feels that a driver has not reached a “minimum” and safe driving test standard for the UK, additional training will be recommended and the driver’s training coordinator will be advised.

The trainers' view

Foreign nationals travel to the UK for work and frequently find themselves a driving job, but are they qualified to drive? Recent Home Office figures suggest that around 12,000 people from the European Union accession states in Eastern Europe are working in the UK’s transport sector. Most drive HGVs and buses, with around a quarter driving delivery vehicles.

However, the number of Eastern European migrants working in administration, business and management is nearly 150,000 – and there are many other migrants from the rest of the EU and around the world. Jeremy Hay, managing director of Realtime Risk Assessment, says: “Few migrant office workers drive company cars but it is likely that a significant number fall into the category of drivers who make occasional business journeys in private, borrowed or rented vehicles. “These ‘invisible journeys’ represent a relatively high risk to employers, irrespective of the nationality of the driver. The employer has a duty of care to the driver even though the company may know little or nothing about their ability; experience; driving qualifications and status; insurance cover, or the state of their vehicle.”

Experts agree that the need to check documentation, carry out proper risk assessments, staff induction and UK familiarisation training are vital to discharge their duty-of-care responsibilities. Being in possession of a driving licence is no guarantee of driving competence, according to Kevin Isaacson, a trainer with DriveTech (UK) Ltd and an expert on foreign licences.

“In some countries, it is common knowledge that a motorist can buy a driving licence from the government”

“In some countries, it is common knowledge that a motorist can buy a driving licence from the government. While it is a legitimate driving licence, the motorists themselves have no real driving experience. Consequently, when driving in the UK, they can quickly find themselves in trouble,” explains Mr Isaacson.

Steve Johnson, of risk management specialist Drive & Survive, agrees, saying: “It is one thing to be driving an asthmatic ZIL panel van on the rural backwaters of Slovenia but quite another to find the right exit at the ‘magic roundabout’ in Hemel Hempstead in your brand new right-hand-drive Mercedes Sprinter. And it is not just being able to see, react and handle a vehicle. Many foreign drivers will inevitably not understand the rules, regulations or ‘culture’ of driving on the congested roads of Britain. It is therefore absolutely vital that they undergo a UK familiarisation course.” James Sutherland, managing director of Peak Performance, says: “We have a number of multi-national companies who routinely provide UK familiarisation training to employees working here on secondment, and the benefit of this practice is clear to their employers, their families and other road users as a whole.

“It is also a good idea not to over-burden new foreign drivers with heavy driving schedules until they become fully acclimatised and used to our road conditions.” Checking the validity of a licence outside the country of origin is a near impossibility, so asking would-be drivers to undertake a “test”, as soon as possible after starting work, is the easiest way of initially viewing a person’s competence behind the wheel, says Mr Isaacson. With different licence rules applying to European Commission residents, those from the European Economic Area and non-EC residents as well as to the class of vehicle being driven, too many companies assume that an individual is skilled behind the wheel.

Mr Isaacson says: “People from other EC countries are covered by the same rules as British drivers, while rules for drivers from other countries are more complicated. Different rules also apply depending on whether the stay in the UK is temporary or permanent and the types of vehicle being driven. “It is also vital for employers to, at least, undertake a visible check of an individual’s driving licence – licence number, country of origin, date of birth, vehicles that they are qualified to drive, and so on. If the licence is a forgery that could be identified when the foreign driver exchanges their original document for a UK licence. “As a minimum, to reduce risk, I would suggest a foreign licence check with the DVLA to determine whether drivers have previously been identified by the UK authorities. This might highlight a previous motoring offence or a problem in the past with the licence.”

He adds: “JEPCO is one of very few companies who put their foreign drivers through such a rigorous training process. Most companies simply do not know what the basic driving licence criteria is for foreign nationals before they begin employing them. That’s potentially a big risk. “The only way to fully minimise risk is to encourage each foreign driver to undertake a UK driving licence test, although this may be difficult to mandate under EC legislation.” Despite the attraction to employers of affordable foreign drivers who have a reputation for being diligent, hard working and industrious, Mr Johnson says employers should be cautious before signing them up and agrees that licence checking is the first step.

“Those from the EU or EEA have almost open-ended dispensation to drive in the UK on their existing licences providing they are valid in the country of issue, but would you really know what you were looking for if presented with one from Lithuania or Slovakia? Would you even know if it was genuine? Would you be able to interpret the penalty codes? Once again the only way to resolve the issue is to engage the services of a professional licence-checking provider. Those from outside the EU or EEA are only permitted to drive for 12 months in the UK if a resident and will then have to take a UK driving test.

“Employers have a responsibility to monitor this and ensure they are not encouraging somebody to drive illegally. In fact Drive & Survive has comes across several instances of senior managers, and even board members of major corporations, who have been driving on illegal licences for a considerable period of time in the UK without seemingly knowing they were breaking the law.

“The other concern is the driver’s incident record. The 4th EU Directive on registering company vehicles for insurance cover is very robust and compliance is nearing 100%. It is now possible to cross reference insurance information between member states but no such arrangement exists for those countries outside the EU. It is therefore very difficult for an employer to verify a non-EU driver’s claims record or just how many crashes they have been involved in. Statistics prove that if a driver has one crash they are highly likely to have another. The absence of such information can be very expensive for a potential employer of a foreign driver.”

There are many people who will be amongst migrant workers who will assume another person’s identity to gain work

Doug Jenkins, managing director of Cheshirebased Driving Services and chairman of the Fleet Safety Association, says: “There are many people who will be amongst migrant workers who will assume another person’s identity to gain work, it is nothing new. Unlike building a house or fitting a kitchen when it can be seen quickly whether or not a person is competent without much damage, driving can have devastating consequences if not assessed.

“There are a number of suppliers that will check a person’s identity and are reliable. With regard to the driving licence, several items need to be checked. The obvious ones are the correct category of vehicle that you want them to drive, not forgetting that not all countries have the same categories, so a heavy truck may not be the same as the UK’s class C. DVLA do have a scheme where a driver can apply for a UK counterpart and have their details registered with DVLA. If in doubt, ask the experts.”

“Employees should also be asked whether they are happy to drive on business in the UK”

For employees who drive their own vehicles on business Mr Hay warns: “Some low-cost insurance policies exclude business use or limit the number of business miles covered. Also, many policies require a full, valid UK driving licence: that is not the same thing as a valid licence to drive in the UK that was issued in another country.” He adds: “Employees should also be asked whether they are happy to drive on business in the UK. It’s a simple question but easy to overlook in the case of employees for whom driving is not a core activity. If they are worried or reluctant, consider offering them training or removing the driving element from their role.”

Mr Sutherland added: “Above all else, a company should be able to show in a clear audit trail that it has taken all reasonable steps to identify and minimise the risks associated with driving for work, so that in the event of a serious incident, it can prove it has met its duty-of-care requirements and not lay itself open to possible prosecution.”

 

 

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