Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service (CSFRS) have become one of the first in Scotland to update their innovative emergency response driver training course.
The move follows new government legislation which states that all emergency service drivers should be trained to the highest possible standards when driving under emergency response conditions.
CSFRS driving instructors, Watch Manager Robert Thomson and Colin Aitken, have both attained Driving Standards Agency qualifications which enable them to provide instruction for both large goods vehicles and cars. They also equip course participants with advanced driving skills during the emergency response driver training course.
The emergency response driving course comprises five days of intensive driver training and involves driving fire appliances under emergency response conditions. Officers within the Service, who attend operational incidents in a car, also receive this intensive driver trainer course.
Watch Manager Thomson said:
“As an emergency service, we have to provide a rapid response to potentially life-threatening situations. There are risks associated with emergency driving but we have put in place a number of control measures to reduce that potential risk.
“The emergency response driver training course developed by CSFRS for their drivers is primarily focused on the driver’s ability to use his or her discretion as to when and where to exceed the speed limit on a road and the skill to do so as safely as possible given the need and circumstances.
“We recognise the dangers that are on the roads and the importance of this new legislation and we want to ensure that all our drivers are trained to the highest level possible.”
However it is not only operational staff that are being offered driver training. In the interest of road safety, support staff that drive Fire Service vehicles at the Service’s Maddiston HQ are also being given training courses on defensive and Eco driving techniques.
Watch Manager Thomson added: “Providing staff with information on Eco driving will help the Service to reduce fuel costs and hopefully reduce exhaust emissions.”
The Service is committed to ensuring all its drivers are well equipped to drive safely in all conditions.
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Further information:
Nicola McGann, Corporate Communications Officer
Tel: 01324 716996 Mobile: 07792 457553
E-mail: nicola.mcgann@centralscotlandfire.gov.uk