Green/Blue Light Course

 The Go For It Green/Blue Light Course  follows the recommendations of the Blue Light users Working Party Expectations Document. This document was formulated following representative discussions between the Police, Fire, Ambulance and Ministry of Defence and was led by the Driving Standards Agency.

The working party agreed to a set of core competences they considered to be the minimum necessary for any driver to be skilled in before driving a vehicle in such circumstances.

These competences are in three elements, which include the performance criteria and the required underpinning knowledge, as follows:

Element One - the ability to assess the need for an emergency response;

Element Two - the ability to drive the vehicle safely to emergencies;

Element Three - the ability to demonstrate the correct attitude when responding to emergencies.

Ideally, all students attending this course should be qualified to either IAM or RoSPA standards. Go For It are able to assist potential students to achieve this standard either through individual training at the students convenience or through semi-intensive work-placed training.

The Law

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all employees while at work. You also have a responsibility to ensure that others are not put at risk by your work-related driving activities.

Two sets of law apply to work-related road safety.

Health & Safety law focuses primarily (but not exclusively) on the duties of employers to establish safe systems of work. Key duties include undertaking risk assessments and having in place H&S management systems to ensure safe systems of work. The HSE Guide 'Driving at Work' makes it clear that health and safety law applies to on-the-road work activities and the risks should be effectively managed within a health and safety system.

Road Traffic law is concerned mainly with individual driver behaviour and the vehicle owner. However, the enforcement of road traffic law does not usually address the extent to which employers have discharged their duties of care, for example by establishing safe journey parameters or providing appropriate vehicles.

Balance of Responsibility

Work related road safety is a shared responsibility between employer and employee.

Who is responsible for At Work Road Risk?

The HSE states that any employer, manager or supervisor with staff who drive, ride or cycle at work, and in particular those with responsibility for fleet management, are responsible for ensuring at work road safety.

 What does the law require?

Essentially, to comply with existing health and safety laws. These include :

• Ensure company vehicles are roadworthy and comply with road traffic laws and regulations
• As far as practical, to protect the health and safety of all employees at work (including in vehicles) and ensure others are not put at risk by work related activities
• Take responsibility for managing health and safety effectively
• Monitor and review risk assessments, health and safety policies and procedures
• Consuly with employees on health and safety matters

Who is protected by the law?

All staff who need to drive as part of their work. This covers staff who drive as a job and those who drive occasionally or for short distances, e.g., travelling to and from meetings, site visits, and travelling to and from home to a non-permanent place of work.

The law also covers both company and privately owned vehicles.

Does my organisation need to have/review its existing policies and procedures to manage at work road safety?

If the organisation employs five or more staff and you answer 'no' to any of the following questions then you are urged to seek help and advice as soon as possible.

• Are you fully aware of the laws relating to the Health & Safety of staff driving at work?
• Does your organisation have specific policies and procedures to cover drivers, vehicles (company and privately owned) and journeys?
• Does your organisation regularly monitor and review its policies and procedures?
• Do you know who is responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring policies and procedures to manage at work road safety within your organisation?
• Do your staff receive licence checks, driver assessments and training before driving at work?
• Are you confident that sufficient policies and procedures are in place to ensure that the organisation is not open to possible prosecution in the event of an at work collision involving an employee?

Having read the above guidance you may now consider it to be beneficial that your drivers are properly trained, and regularly assessed, as a matter of some importance.

The Go For It green/Blue Light Course trains students to the same high standards as the emergency services. Our course is based around the police System of Car Control (Roadcraft) and includes

• Observation techniques
• Anticipation and Planning
• Positioning
• Defensive driving techniques
• Brakes and gears

The course begins with a theory session covering

• Introduction to driving emergency response vehicles
• The law and exemptions
• Roadcraft
• Making safe progress

Following initial assessment drives on all students, the course then moves on to practical instruction and includes the use of blues and twos in a variety of traffic environments including rural and urban situations.

Our course is tailored to suit your requirements but the minimum recommended training course should be no less than 2 days duration with the preference being for the full 4 day course. Shorter courses will rely on prior knowledge and experience by participating students.

At the conclusion of each course all students receive a certificate and individual reports are provided to employers highlighting any areas that may require further development.

This course is designed for corporate customers only and unfortunately is not available for individuals.

For more information call Go For It on 0800 8818021