Location Introduction – Lichfield is a cathedral city in Staffordshire and is 18 miles south-east of Stafford, 8.1 miles south-east of Rugeley, 9 miles north-east of Walsall, 7.9 miles north-west of Tamworth and 13 miles south-west of Burton Upon Trent. The magnificent city of Lichfield is situated between the high ground of Cannock Chase at the west edge and the valleys of the Rivers Trent and Tame at the eastern border. At the end of the 19th century, brewing was the main industry in the area, along with large market gardens providing food for the growing towns of nearby Birmingham and the Black Country.
We offer a range of courses, including:
* General advanced and defensive courses
* Younger drivers
* Confidence training
* UK Familiarisation
* Pre-court assessments
* Motorway training
* Performance training
All courses are built around the needs and requirements of the individual driver, but below are some of the many things we look at:
* Understanding observational elements of driving (seeing) and building these into your driving plan
* Manoeuvres and reversing (This is often requested in confidence training)
* Undoing years of ingrained bad habits
* How to deal with complex and busy traffic environments
* How to become a safe driver on urban and rural roads and also motorways
* How to understand other drivers and what they may do next
* Understand your own limitations and at-risk factors – most of which you won’t be aware of
* Working towards an expert level of forward planning and observation
* Learning to manage speed and become more speed aware
* The system of car control – IPSGA
* Learn how you and other drivers think when behind the wheel
You will be issued a driving report after each session – sent by email. This report is fully documented with us and has a unique verification number attached – proof you’ve had training with a qualified professional. In your report, you will be able to see how you improved and in what areas, along with some valuable tips to ensure you keep up your improved standard of driving.
The personal benefits of our advanced and defensive driver training:
* Upskill your levels of skill and overall confidence
* Increase vehicle control on every road type
* Consider issues that may be specific to your driving
* Lower fuel costs
* Reduce wear and tear on your vehicle
* Identify and remove any higher-risk driving characteristics
Looking for fleet advanced driver training? Driver training for business clients provides many benefits that include:
* Managing your occupational road risk
* Demonstrate to your drivers that you care
* Help employees who have specific issues (confidence, speeding, collisions)
* Possibly reduce your fleet insurance costs
* Demonstrate your Duty of Care
Lichfield is ideally located on the UK road network and historically, the Roman roads of Ryknild Street and Watling Street crossed approximately 2 miles south of Lichfield at Letocetum and today, they follow the same routes as the A38 and A5 – both roads we provide driver training on. The A38 runs south to Birmingham and northeast towards Derby. Along the western perimeter of Lichfield is the A51 road, which runs southeast to Tamworth and north to Chester. The nearest motorway is at Junction 5 of the M6 Toll, located 2 miles south of Lichfield, with Junction 9 of the M42 and junction 4A of the M6 motorways. Our advanced driver training sessions are bespoke to the individual driver, whether that is a private course or for a company, and we come to you while you use your own vehicle for the training.
We offer full or half-day training options. We also provide multiple half-day options.
The 3.5hr course is the shortest course duration we offer. Ideal if you want a course to cover the main elements of driver training (such as confidence, general advanced driving, motorway, refresher, and pre-court). This is popular for business clients who are training many drivers back-to-back, we can offer AM or PM slots from your office or work site. For private clients this can be a fantastic “toe-in-the-water” session and if you wish to take more sessions later this is a great assessment of your driving overall.
The 7-hour (full-day) course is a popular option – Ideal if you need slightly more than a 1 x 3.5-hour session and wish to get it done in one day. There are 2 x 30-minute rest breaks worked into in this course. The course is 7 hours from start to finish but closer to 6 hours of actual driving. We have found this is more beneficial than trying to do 7 hours in one go.
Compared to the 1 x 3.5-hour session, there is more time to identify and remove bad habits and longer time to introduce and practice various advanced/defensive techniques. The driving report will be far more detailed than the 1 x 3.5-hour session.
Business clients tend to opt for the 7-hour session when they have a driver or drivers with specific issues such as speeding, high collision rate, inexperienced driver etc. If you’re doing a pre-court advanced driving session, this is more suited than a 1 x 3.5hr session if a driving ban looks probable.
Talk with us:
While we cover as many things as possible on this page, we understand you may still have questions. Please call or email us if you wish to discuss anything. A member of our team will only be too pleased to help you. We can help both private individuals and business clients.
If you’re looking at a quote for a large number of drivers, we will be able to provide such, along with how we can best approach the training based on your business needs. Training large numbers requires a little extra planning, but we have many years of experience in managing large, often complex driver training sessions, which involve multiple start locations and hectic diaries.
Road Safety Risks and Information – Lichfield
The City of Lichfield is situated in Staffordshire and is served by the A51 and the A38, with the A5192 creating a ring road around the north of the city centre.
Lichfield is a very busy small city and carries a high volume of traffic in and out of the city daily. The Swinfen interchange links the A38 to the A5148 and the A5206, London Road. This interchange has several collision sites across the roundabout that could be blamed on poor lane exiting, and it is wise to always keep an eye out for other drivers who may be struggling on significant intersections like these. The London Road merges into the A51 at Upper St John Street. It continues into Lichfield City Centre via the Birmingham Road or St John Street, with high collision sites near every road crossing and traffic light junctions along the route. These accidents occur when poor observations and a lack of good indications are applied, which are probably worse during rush hours. Some of the worst affected areas are the Tamworth Road and Shortbutts lane meeting and the traffic light system at the meeting of the A5127 Birmingham Road. St. Johns Street continues into the city centre and meets Bore Street, where numerous accidents are found; this route is also served by bus stops, with many passengers alighting buses, and this can be a reason that collision rates are so high, it is always very wise to hold back when driving behind a bus as you cannot always see the pedestrians in front. Cyclists are also using these inner-city routes, which can be another reason that collision rates are so high and severe.
Birmingham Road merges into Trent Valley Road, and numerous accidents are seen again near road crossings and traffic light junctions. As it reaches the roundabout intersecting the A5192, Cappers Lane and Valley Road, several accident sites are noted; again, this could be due to poor lane exiting and being in the wrong position for exiting. These significant intersections can be very challenging, especially during rush hours and if you are unfamiliar with the area. Most of Lichfield city centre is pedestrianised, but Bore Street runs through the centre, and there are several accidents noted here which, considering the lower speeds, have been very severe and possibly have involved pedestrians or cyclists. Another area of concern is the junction of the A38 where Wood End Lane and Brookhay Lane meet. The majority of collisions happen on the large curved roundabout junction.
This is only a minimal outline of collision sites in the Lichfield area. If you have any specific roads you travel on in the area and are keen to discover what parts are at higher risk of collisions, don’t hesitate to contact us. We offer a free-of-charge service to anyone interested.