Does your company have experienced off-road drivers in the workplace? Or would you prefer integrated training and assessment? Increase your company standards by having staff who are proficient in off-road driving techniques and skills. Vehicle sympathy, risk management, route planning, and all-important vehicle checks prior to taking a 4×4 off-road can help reduce costs and minimise the risk of an accident in the workplace! These courses ideally take place in the 4×4 vehicle normally driven at work.
4×4 and off-road vehicles form a critical part of many businesses’ operations. Businesses rely on these types of vehicles to succeed in their objectives. But 4×4 vehicles and the terrain on which they operate present serious and unique risks to drivers.
Anyone who uses a 4×4 vehicle off-road as part of their work duties must, therefore, comply with Health & Safety legislation as well as understand how to safely use their vehicle to the best advantage.
Driving 4×4 vehicles professionally, particularly off-road, presents additional challenges, including driving on unfamiliar surfaces such as grass, mud and/or rocks, and controlling the vehicle on steep gradients and through water. Many of the techniques required to drive safely off-road are counter-intuitive to drivers who have not been trained by experts. In addition to improving safety, training can help reduce operating costs, lower fuel consumption, and minimise maintenance and insurance costs. 4×4 courses are mostly delivered on-road, as this is one of the best ways to introduce drivers to 4×4 best practice and get comfortable with the technology.
Driving on a gravel, grass and rock surface with ruts, mud and water sections can help us assess your own driving skills and will help to enhance handling and driving skills. This will help you understand vehicle handling problems and the mistakes pupils make, as well as giving a good insight into techniques used to train and demonstrate the various disciplines used while teaching. We will try to go through how easy it is to break differentials and half shafts on this type of terrain. Sessions will include wading techniques and how to talk about preparing a vehicle for water. Including failed hill climbs, how to demonstrate torque as opposed to power and the use of the high and low box.
We will also cover the various types of recovery techniques used, from Hi-Lift jacks through to Tirfor winches and onto vehicle-mounted winches (subject to change should we feel the client requires further driving tuition). Additionally, we will demonstrate and discuss various recovery techniques you may need to pass on to potential clients, as well as advanced techniques and the convoy driving procedure.
What do courses cover?
- Recognising and understanding the various types of 4×4 drivetrain; their capabilities and limitations
- Recognising and understanding the limitations of various tyre designs
- Preparation of the vehicle for driving off-road
- Assessing the ground to be driven on
- How, when and why to use transfer gearboxes (and what can go wrong if used incorrectly)
- How, when and why to use traction aids as fitted to trainees’ vehicles, i.e. differential locks and/or electronic traction control
- Weight distribution and weight transfer, and how these affect traction
- Correct use of gears, clutch, throttle, brakes & steering
- Avoiding transmission wind-up
- Avoiding damage to the vehicle and minimising damage to the terrain
- Principles of off-road driving
- Safe procedures (and what can otherwise go wrong)
If your business relies on 4×4 vehicles for its operations, it’s crucial that your staff are properly trained and equipped with the skills and knowledge to operate these vehicles safely and efficiently. Beyond Driving’s professional 4×4 training courses can help your business improve its standards, reduce costs, and minimise the risk of accidents in the workplace.
With expert instruction on a range of topics, from vehicle sympathy to route planning and risk management, your staff will come away with a deep understanding of 4×4 driving techniques and skills that will serve them well in their work. By enrolling your staff in a Beyond Driving course, you can ensure that they are fully compliant with Health and Safety legislation and equipped to operate 4×4 vehicles to the best of their ability.
Visit Beyond Driving’s 4×4 Instructor Training Course page today to learn more about how you can improve your company’s 4×4 driving standards and help your staff stay safe and effective on the road.
