Driving:
Like I’ve said, I can appreciate some arguments against the need for formal training but I cannot and will not buy into any chauffeurs’ view they know all there is to know about driving on the back of a basic test they did years before.
That is complete and utter rubbish and no one can tell me otherwise. Yes, some drivers are better than others and some can likely be described as safe but to say they’re highly skilled, ‘professional’ drivers in the truest sense is simply untrue.
How many times have you seen a chauffeur company’s website state (and I quote) ‘our highly trained chauffeurs’ will do this, that, and the other. Highly trained in what exactly? Some of course genuinely are and have every right to make such a bold statement but there’s an awful lot who use such catchy lines in their marketing and let’s be honest, its tosh.
How can you be a highly trained chauffeur if you’ve never done any form of advanced driving as that’s the biggest part of what we do and is integral to offering clients the best service you can. A lot of people in our industry believe licences should only be issued to those with an advanced driving qualification because this alone would be the biggest leap forward possible in passenger safety. I’d simply say this, if you understandably can’t find the time or money for any other course, at least find a way of doing some form of driver training because it will improve your skill set and make you a significantly better driver.
So, what now?
If you want to invest in yourself you need to explore the options very carefully and tailor the training available to what you think you genuinely need. We’ve all got budgets and time is also an important consideration for working chauffeurs and operators.
Rightly or wrongly, you may feel content that you already have those soft skills down to a fine art and you want to jump ahead to either a much more driving or security orientated course. On the other hand you might be entering the industry and feel that the etiquette and advanced driving side of things, with perhaps a grounding in the security aspect would suit you much better.
Courses aren’t cheap, but in fairness to the training providers they cost a fortune to put on. Once you decide on what you want, view spending the money on training has just as important as changing or upgrading your car… because it most definitely is.
Andy Dubberley
