Newslink April marketing special

Conference 2024 Telford: Full report
Session 5: John Lepine MBE
European matters, and
road safety’s future
MSA GB’s former general manager John
Lepine MBE gave delegates a look at some
of initiatives emerging from Europe in the
driver testing and training profession, from
his vantage point of working with the
European Driving Schools Association,
EFA.
He started by comparing the learningto-drive
journeys pupils take in Ireland,
France, Belgium and Holland, finding many
similarities with Britain’s - but many
glaring differences too.
In Ireland, a theory test pass is needed
before practical tuition can start, with
lessons opening with 12 hours of
mandatory tuition. The test itself can be as
long as 100 minutes, and costs €85
In France, two systems exist. The
Apprentissage Anticipé de la Conduite
(AAC) can begin at 15 if certain criteria are
met. First the pupil must sign up with a
registered driving school for an “evaluation
of knowledge”. If successful, they then
follow a minimum of 20 hours driving
practice with a school before taking a
general theory test. If successful, a
certificate is issued that is valid for five
years to drive accompanied by an adult,
with three obligatory teaching follow-ups
by the driving school.
This is an expensive course, requires a
lot of parental involvement and is regarded
as a very middle class programme, but is
effective, with a 70 per cent L-test pass
rate.
For those reluctant to go down this path,
a cheaper option has a theory test followed
by a practical exam from the age of 18.
Interestingly the theory test pass entitles
the holder to five goes at the L-test, rather
than the two-year deadline in Great Britain.
The Netherlands’ system is perhaps the
closest to ours. Some differences remain
- lessons can be only with an ADI, refresher
training is required for ADIs, but the
outcomes are similar, with around 42 hours
of training taken on average for a pass.
Belgium’s system is befitting a nation
with such a complicated linguistic, political
and civic structure: chaotic. There are eight
paths to a licence, depending on which part
of nation you live in.
John provided a flowchart which
highlighted the old adage that if Belgium
didn’t exist, no one would be daft enough
to invent it.
Simusafe/FitDrive
Two projects EFA had been involved in
were Simusafe and Fit Drive. The first
looked at the benefits of using simulators
for teaching driving. A research programme
had found benefits, particularly in areas
that were difficult to teach in real life such
as bad weather driving, night-time driving
and how to safely use advanced driver
assistance systems.
FitDrive was focused on looking at a
driver’s medical profile and trying to
protect everyone from unexpected
medical emergencies that were a danger to
other road users. It monitors a driver’s
health over a long period and creates an
identikit of your health, with warnings if
changes in health occur.
The question of dual controls
A third project of interest had links with
conference supporter and exhibitor
He-Man, the manufacture of dual controls.
EFA has asked, what happens to dual
controls when they are no longer needed?
The research considered the fate of old
duals across Europe, with some interesting
differences in what happens to them.
Some countries insist they are disposed
of and cannot be re-used, but others,
including Great Britain, have no regulations
covering their subsequent use. He-Man’s
concern is that second hand duals could
end up being re-used, with incorrect fitting
and be a danger to the public.
It was noted that all countries require
dual controls, though in some they have a
third pedal to act as the accelerator.
In France a buzzer fitted to the duals tells
the learner when the ADI has intervened
on their behalf.
First aid lessons
Many nations in Europe have a First Aid
component in their driver training
curriculum. As part of this, EFA had led on
the Basic Life Support Project with a
campaign called ‘Learn To Drive. Learn
CPR’, produced in collaboration with the
European Resuscitation Council (ERC). This
encouraged a greater awareness of how
CPR can save a life in the event of a cardiac
arrest, and combined learning it with
learning to drive.
EFA had commissioned a catchy upbeat
dance track with lyrics in English telling
young people how to administer CPR - and
was thrilled to win the Best Road Safety
Project Award at the CIECA 2024
Conference in Dubai.
Conference enjoyed watching the video,
which you can see for yourself by clicking
HERE.
26 NEWSLINK n APRIL 2024