Highways England, the UK government company responsible for the country’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads, has joined forces with the Freight Transport Association (FTA) to offer bespoke safety training for drivers who travel on smart motorways.

The eight-hour, one-day course is aimed at commercial and haulage drivers and is designed to provide practical, relevant training. It covers the past, present and future of smart motorways, the different signals on the network, driver behaviour and the role of traffic officers. A key aspect of the course is that it integrates into the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC), the standard qualification for which all professional bus, coach and lorry drivers must complete 35 hours of training every five years. The course should be available from any training establishment offering Driver CPC training. Course material for operators with their own training department is available free of charge from Highways England.

Wayne Carey, Senior Partnership Manager at Highways England, said, “Hauliers are among the most frequent users of smart motorways, so we want to ensure we are providing as much support as we can to ensure those journeys are as safe as possible.”

Malcolm Bingham, Head of Road Network Management Policy at the Freight Transport Association added, “FTA is conscious that hauliers would appreciate more advice about driving on smart motorways. That is why FTA has worked in partnership with Highways England to produce the training module, which is now approved for use on the Driver CPC course programme.”

Companies wishing to enrol their drivers on the course should e-mail:  Course@highwaysengland.co.uk.

Photo: Smart Motorway