RoSPA Young Drivers at Work Report

Chapter 4
Would employers recognise and make use of a
‘driving for work qualification’?
4.1 Would a post-test qualification
be useful?
Respondents were asked how useful they would find a
driving for work qualification.
Chart 4: How useful would an additional driving for work
qualification be? (N = 407).
Very useful
52%
Don’t
know 2%
Quite useful
35%
Not very
useful 5%
Not at all
useful 4%
Nonresponse
2%
52% of respondents indicated that they would find it very
useful. The next largest group (35%) said that they would
find a qualification quite useful – which may indicate some
reservations about the idea or the way that it would be
implemented. 9% of respondents indicated that they
would find such a qualification either not very useful or not
at all useful.
Reponses showed that smaller organisations would be less
likely than larger organisations to find a qualification
useful. See Chart 5.
Cross-tabulating Q2.1 ‘How adequately do you feel the
current driving test prepares young drivers for driving for
work?’ with Q3.1 ‘How useful would you find an additional
driving qualification?’ revealed that:
The usefulness of an additional driving qualification was
negatively correlated with the reported adequacy of the
current driving test, e.g. respondents who believed the
current test was adequate were less likely to find a posttest
qualification useful.
Chart 5: How useful would an additional driving for work
qualification be?,shown by organisation size (N = 399).
100%
1 3
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
12
2
49
44
2
Small
5
30
38
3
Medium
12
61
128
9
Large
(Organisation size unknown not included)
Not at all useful
Not very useful
Quite useful
Very useful
Non-response
% of responses
Interview findings
The majority of respondents were very positive towards a
driving for work qualification:
“More training: better driving. ”
(Driver Liaison Officer, private company)
Respondents who did not think that a driving for work
qualification would be useful were those who felt that
there should be a single but improved driving test.
They thought that all skills should be included in the
learning to drive and testing process and that no
differentiation should be made for people who drive for
work or for younger drivers more generally:
“If you’re a fit and proper driver you’re fit and
proper to be on the road for whatever reason and
for whatever occasion and there’s no distinction. ”
(Director, private company)
“Young or new drivers should all be trained to a
far better standard than the current test offers.
There should be no distinction between a nonworking
driver and a driver who drives for work. ”
(Questionnaire respondent)
12 Young Drivers at Work Report