HGV drivers will be taught safer driving skills through courses run by FM Conway’s London Highways Academy of Excellence.
The infrastructure services company has teamed up with cyclist training provider Cycle Confident to provide up to 1,500 construction HGV drivers per year with safer driving skills.
The collaboration will see Cycle Confident use FM Conway facilities to deliver driver training across London aimed at reducing accidents involving large vehicles and cyclists. The courses will be open to construction firms of all sizes, helping small and medium sized contractors to train their drivers in safe driving best practice.
The Safe Urban Driving course, sponsored by Transport for London, trains construction HGV drivers in operating safely around cyclists and other road users. The course includes practical training where drivers take to the saddle on London’s roads and it also includes theory on London’s changing streetscape and how to share the road with cyclists.
The courses require a minimum of 15 drivers to make them viable, a stipulation which has, until now, made it difficult for some contractors to take part. Now the TfL funded courses will be made available at FM Conway’s facilities across London.
David Showell, director at Cycle Confident, said: “Safe urban driving courses provide the opportunity for HGV drivers to experience first hand the often vulnerable nature of being a cyclist on London’s streets. This experience helps develop their already highly professional driving skills, resulting in safely sharing roads with cyclists.
Sharon Field, head of corporate social responsibility at FM Conway, added:
“We’ve seen first-hand that these courses improve driver awareness and safety around all road users. This partnership will also give more construction SMEs the opportunity to educate their drivers – and that’s crucial as cycling becomes part of the fabric of London.”
In addition to driver training FM Conway has also committed to implementing cyclist protection measures on its entire fleet of vehicles.
The London Highways Academy of Excellence, which is run by FM Conway and its partners, was launched in 2013 to offer training for all aspects of working on London’s roads.
