Location Overview: Basingstoke is a traditional market town that expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s after the Second World War to accommodate part of the London overspill. It is the largest town in the county of Hampshire and is situated in south-central England, lying across the valley at the source of the River Loddon at the western edge of The North Downs.
Basingstoke is oddly known as ‘Donut City’ because it features many roundabouts. The M3 running through Basingstoke takes you to Southampton via Winchester and, in the other direction, to the southwest of London. The A339 circles around the city’s eastern and northern parts, and the A33 takes you straight to Reading and the M4. The A30 runs east to Hook and west to Salisbury. The A303 to Wiltshire and the West Country begins a few miles southwest of Basingstoke, sharing the first few miles with the A30. B3400 Worting Road brings you into the city from Whitchurch and Oakley.
Remember – Each driving course is totally bespoke to your own specific needs and requirements. This applies to both our business and private client courses.
Course Content:
During our advanced courses, we cover a range of elements bespoke to the driver’s needs. Below are the everyday things we look at:
- Looking at the driving style and driving history to make a customised session
- Looking ahead and developing better observation skills
- Increasing focus on speed and excessive speed consequences
- Improving driver attitude towards a safe and proactive way of driving
- Tutoring by using the System of Car Control
- Understanding and avoiding road rage situations
- Manoeuvres in confined spaces, parking and reversing techniques
- Safe driving on motorways and dual carriageways
- Identifying and dealing with pedestrians and cyclists in urban driving
- Using environmentally friendly ways of driving and saving fuel
- Boosting overall driving confidence
Key learning points of our driver training:
- Become a safer, more skilful driver
- Address any issues which could be impacting you as a driver
- Demonstrate your intention to become a safer, improved driver
- Dealing and addressing issues which may have been holding you back
Training is a little different for commercial clients – the end client, the person receiving the training, is often not the person who decides to do the training. While we help the driver to improve, from a commercial perspective, your business will benefit from:
- Demonstrating your Duty of Care
- Potentially lower your fleet insurance costs
- Providing the opportunity for an employee to improve their driving
We have carried out many advanced driver training sessions in and around Basingstoke for private clients wanting to gain more confidence and corporate fleets, ensuring their drivers are as safe as possible.
We have tutors across the UK who have superb knowledge of their local areas and come to you for the training.
Our courses do vary in structure, although we have several courses based on duration:
- 3.5hr session
- 7hr session (which can be split between 2 drivers if needed)
- 2 x 3.5hr sessions
- 3 x 3.5hr sessions
Courses with Longer durations:
Our tailored 3,4, and 5 x 3.5hr sessions are suited for drivers who have specific issues with their driving, such as driving anxiety, significant driving issues on particular roads, or who have not driven for a very long time. These longer courses are booked mainly by private individuals, although they are also open to our business clients.
These longer-duration courses are great for those facing particular (often very specific) issues, as it can take time to build up your skill and confidence. The time between each session will also be valuable as it gives you time to reflect, absorb and practice what has been covered.
Talk to us:
We have several training options and packages. Please call us for more information. Our friendly and knowledgeable team members will explain everything you need to know and manage your enquiry right through to the delivered training.
If you’re looking to train many drivers, we will be happy to provide a detailed quote and how we can best arrange the training based on your organisation’s specific requirements.
Road Safety Risks and Information – Basingstoke
The M3 encircles Basingstoke to the south and the A339 to the north and east of the town, and it is a bustling town with numerous collision statistics that show a high traffic volume. There is a very high amount of collisions around the Junction 6 area on the M3, which shows both accidents on the exits and slip roads joining and on the roundabout to link to the A339. These collisions may be due to speeds, too slow or too fast, and poor lane positioning. The roundabout of the London Road, Ringway South, and the A339 is particularly accident-prone as three fast and busy routes are meeting, which is even more hazardous during rush hours. Junction 7 shows some collisions, but worryingly, numerous collisions lead to Junction 8 and the merging of the A303. This could be due to last-minute panicking and quick lane changing.
Churchill Way, East and West, runs through the centre of Basingstoke, and there are many accident sites situated along the whole route, these are mainly around the traffic light and roundabout junctions and could be down to frustration and lack of clear observations. While many accidents may be less severe due to lower speeds in urban areas, the roundabout at Victory Way has seen a few severe and sometimes fatal collisions in the last few years, so it is essential to be fully aware of not only your driving but aware of other drivers intentions as well. The A340 creates a ring road from the A339 at Winklebury, through Basingstoke and linking back to the A339 along the Ringway West and South, where it meets the M3 linking to Junction 6. This ring road entirely surrounds Basingstoke town centre and is relatively accident-free apart from a few junction areas such as Worthing Road traffic lights and Ringway South Roundabout. Nearer to the town centre, the roads begin to narrow, and commuter traffic is competing with public transport. Hence, the collision statistics rise dramatically, especially along Winchester Road and Sarum Hill. The one-way system of New Road and New Street has numerous crash sites, and the area around the Basingstoke rail station is another concern. Busy urban areas are always frustrating to drive, but staying alert to other drivers and knowing your direction is essential.
This is a small outline of collision sites in Basingstoke. If you have any specific roads you travel in the area and you may be keen to discover what parts are at higher risk in terms of collisions, please contact us. We offer a free-of-charge service to anyone interested.