Council offers free online taster sessions for driving instructors for the Engage programme

Cheshire West and Chester Council is offering new online Engage taster sessions for driving instructors to improve driver education for young drivers.

If you are a driving instructor, you can book your free place on Eventbrite #engagedriving. The first two taster sessions are:

Wednesday 1 March 11am – 12pm

Monday 13 March 1.30pm – 2.30pm.

The Engage Partnership brings together Cheshire and Merseyside local authorities, Cheshire and Merseyside Police, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, Merseyside Road Safety Partnership, Safer Roads Greater Manchester and local Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs).

Councillor Karen Shore Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member - Environment, Highways & Strategic Transport said: “I’d encourage all Approved Driving Instructors to book a free taster session. Engage gives instructors new tools and new ideas to support learners to stay safe in their first few months of solo driving.”

The aim of Engage is to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in the roads. It is an educational programme for young and new learner drivers, delivered by ADIs during lessons. These are specifically designed to increase the learner’s ability to cope with topics that are critical to the safety of new drivers, their passengers and other road users. Topics include dealing with distractions, impairment, fatigue, speed, vulnerable road users and peer pressure.  All of which are considered contributory factors in road traffic collisions. Engage Instructors ensure they have the coping strategies to help them deal with these.

The new Engage online taster sessions will enable ADIs to see how the programme can help them train safer drivers and how they can easily access the high-quality training along with a range of resources to use during their usual driving lessons.

The Council is urging all Cheshire ADIs to sign up to become an Engage Instructor.  As it helps to prepare young drivers for the crucial period after they have passed their driving test, when they are most vulnerable, and most collisions occur.

Since 2012 Engage has been busy building a community of ADIs across Cheshire and Merseyside and now Greater Manchester to help keep their skills and knowledge up to date.

All training material is delivered by Ian Edwards who helped to develop the scheme. Ian is an international consultant in driver education and training and at the forefront of Coaching/Client Centred Learning.

For more information visit the website: 

www.engagedriving.co.uk 

..or contact Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Road Safety team at: 

roadsafety@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk