National Driver Alertness Course
The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales & Northern Ireland (ACPO) favour education rather than punishment for certain offences where the driver would benefit from attending an appropriate course rather than receiving a fine and penalty points.
For many years, Staffordshire County Council have been providing the National Driver Improvement Course on behalf of Staffordshire Police, this being a one and a half day course consisting of a mixture of in-class and on-road training.
When a person is involved in a Road Traffic Incident and evidence is collated by the Police which indicates that they have been 'Driving Without Due Care and Attention or Reasonable Consideration to Other Road Users' contrary to Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act, 1988, the person/s involved are given an option to either have the incident referred to the Crown Prosecution Service where they may receive a fine and penalty points on their driving licence, or an opportunity to attend a National Driver Improvement Course.
After attending and successfully completing the course, the driver will be notified by the relevant Police Authority that no further action will be taken for their particular incident. The date of course completion is recorded and on a National Database. If the driver is involved in another road traffic incident, falling under the same criteria within 3 years of the course completion date a second course will not be offered in lieu of proceedings.
Staffordshire to pilot new one-day course
The National Driver Improvement Course has been around since 1988 and whilst it has been very successful in offering drivers valuable road safety awareness, ACPO realise that it is time for the course to be reviewed in line with modern defensive driving techniques.
Following a review by experts in the field of road safety and driving behaviour, a new one-day course has been designed but needs to be piloted prior to being adopted nationally.
Staffordshire Police have been selected and have agreed to be among a handful of Police forces delivering the pilot and from September 29th, the National Driver Improvement Course provided by Staffordshire County Council will be replaced with the new one-day course entitled National Driver Alertness Course.
National Driver Alertness Course
Course aim:
- Reduce crashes, injuries and deaths on the roads
-
Improve quality of life in our communities
Course format:
- 09.00 - 09.15 - Registration and welcome
- 09.15 - 11.35 - Classroom session 1
- 11.35 - 12.05 - Light buffet brunch (provided)
- 12.05 - 14.00 - Driving session 1
- 14.00 - 14.15 - Break and workbook activity
- 14.15 - 16.15 - Driving session 2
- 16.15 - 16.45 - Course summary and conclusion
Course Cost:
The National Driver Alertness Scheme is completely self financing and costs £125.00 Refreshments are provided during the in-class elements but in order to keep the cost of the course as low as possible, while a lunch break is scheduled, food is not provided. Attendees are asked to bring a packed lunch or they can purchase snack lunches at the venues used for lunch breaks.
Course Locations:
Courses will be held in either Staffordshire Fire & Rescue HQ, Pirehill, near Stone, or in Central Staffordshire, at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust HQ, Wolseley Bridge, near Rugeley.
Precise details, including a venue location map, are provided to attendees. (see below)
Completion criteria:
The National Driver Alertness Course is an alternative to prosecution; this means that if it is satisfactorily completed, no further action will be taken against the driver for the original offence.
Satisfactory completion simply means attending for all sections of the course and making a positive contribution throughout the day.
Willful non-compliance or willful misbehaviour whilst on the course will result in the driver being expelled from the course. Their file will be returned to the referring Police Authority who will proceed with prosecution for the original offence.
It is a statutory requirement that any course offered must be completed within 5 months of the driver's offence date and only one course option can be accepted within any three year period.
Been offered a course and want to take it elsewhere in the country?
PLEASE NOTE
This website allows you to find your nearest course
supplier.
You will need your driving licence number to log in once you have
located a course supplier and a course you would like to attend,
you will need to contact the course supplier direct; you cannot
make a booking via this website.
