Responsible for a wide range of services, including education, social work, housing, and the environment, East Lothian Council employs over 5,000 people and runs a vehicle fleet of more than 200 vans, 55 Large Goods Vehicles, 24 buses and 24 cars.
Prioritising at-risk road users
To improve the safety of people cycling and driver attitudes toward vulnerable road users, the local authority felt it was essential to provide its drivers with the most up-to-date training.
Working in partnership with Cycling Scotland, they embedded Road User Awareness Training into their training catalogue. The course, which provides 7-hours of Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC) accredited training for Large Goods Vehicle and Passenger Carrying Vehicle drivers, includes a practical on-cycle session and aims to ensure the council’s drivers are actively thinking about the safety of more at-risk road users. Whilst initial courses were delivered by Cycling Scotland, in time the council’s in-house trainers qualified to deliver the theory and practical elements of the course, ensuring a sustainable model for future training delivery.
Embedding the training
Paul Duncan, Health & Safety Trainer at East Lothian Council explained the process,
“We started by completing two funded Road User Awareness Training modules provided by Cycling Scotland. We then worked with Cycling Scotland to explore delivering these modules ourselves and, at the same time, worked towards achieving the Cycling Friendly Employer award.
Cycling Scotland provided valuable assistance from the beginning, helping us explore the possibility of running our own training program. The cycle trainers were excellent, covering all aspects of the training, from theory to practical application, and were supported by their team over several months.”
Three employees, including Paul, completed a four-day Cycle Trainer course to qualify as course trainers, and collaborated internally on depot infrastructure, costs, and course content delivery, meaning that they are now able to deliver training sustainably at East Lothian Council.
Putting yourself in the position of someone who cycles truly emphasises the importance of giving road users space.
After the training, Jose Caballero, a Recycling Advisor who drives both light and heavy goods vehicles in his role said,
“One of the first things I learned was how much has changed since I last cycled, particularly the increased road traffic. This highlighted the importance of this training, and I would recommend that all lorry and bus drivers participate in at least one of these day courses. Putting yourself in the position of someone who cycles truly emphasises the importance of giving road users space.”
Benefits of Road User Awareness Training:
East Lothian Council reported experiencing immediate benefits from the training: improved driver and staff engagement, enhanced training infrastructure, improved driver attitudes and the achievement of the Cycling Friendly Employer award. Alongside training, the council also now provide company bicycles to encourage staff to cycle to work.
Three more council staff recently qualified as Cycle Trainers, supported by Cycling Scotland funding.
Ross Largue, East Lothian Council’s Waste Team Manager, summing up the long-term impact of the training said, “The training has improved our drivers’ awareness and attitudes towards cyclists and other at-risk road users, along with many more employees joining our company cycling scheme.”