Occupational Driver Appraisals
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is the only agency in Great Britain charged with setting driving standards. DSA has a wealth of experience in assessing drivers and riders because it conducts over one million driving tests, across all categories of vehicle, every year.
Aims and objectives
DSA has the expertise to carry out Occupational Driving Appraisals (ODA) and offers companies an objective and informed view of an employee's driving ability.
ODA aims to:
• identify and specify the driver training needs of organisations and individuals
• improve and increase the awareness of road safety
• increase driver awareness of driving and road safety issues
• help employers achieve high safety standards
• promote the culture of continual driver development
Quality appraisals
The appraisal lasts for about 60 minutes and covers various types of road and traffic conditions, including motorways where possible. The assessor will look for a safe, competent drive over a route that includes hazards typical of the driver's everyday work.
Safety rather than method are assessed, mindful of environmental driving techniques. Driving skills will be highlighted in the comments, to help promote continued professional development. The assessor will look to establish an informal, supportive approach, to create the best environment for the driver to drive at his or her best.
The appraisal form identifies areas of strengths and weaknesses focusing on all relevant aspects of the drive. The form is self-explanatory for drivers and identifies the overall standard achieved in each category.
A 'four band' approach to each category helps and encourages companies and employees to promote continual professional development.
There are eleven driving categories to be assessed:
- knowledge and effective use of all controls
- manoeuvring exercises
- move-off procedure
- effective use of all mirrors in normal driving
- correct and effective use of signals
- response to traffic signals and traffic signs
- road positioning
- negotiating junctions and roundabouts
- separation distance
- appropriate speeds
- display awareness, anticipation and planning skills
The Contracts
A contract with a fixed number of assessments is agreed at the outset. As a guide, it is realistic to assume that one assessment per driver employed is carried out in the first year. The service is not designed to provide individual one-off assessments.
Potential benefits
The ODA improves the quality and self-esteem of drivers when used as part of an appropriate training and motivation scheme. This fosters an improvement throughout the company with potential benefits such as a reduction in:
• occupational driver incidents with the possibility of lower costs
• having vehicles off the road, giving improved asset utilisation
• sick absence offering improved manpower efficiency
Management information will be provided to identify training needs or to evaluate a period of training.
Typical comments
A typical comment from an organisation which has already taken advantage of our ODA service:
“As part of the drivers’ professional development, the appraisals have identified individual driving competence against a national standard. It was pleasing to have positive feedback from DSA and from the drivers who were appraised”
Transport Operations Manager
British Nuclear Fuels plc
For further information
If you have any questions or simply want some more information please contact the Driver Quality Monitoring (DQM) team by emailing the author below.
Page last updated: 11/11/2005