Location Intro – Poole is a large and vibrant coastal town and seaport located in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is 21 miles east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east, and it is the second-largest town in the ceremonial county of Dorset.

Poole is an excellent location for driver training, offering a varied mix of busy urban roads, complex roundabouts, coastal routes and surrounding rural roads. This diverse driving environment provides the ideal opportunity for drivers to develop their observation, anticipation and hazard awareness skills. From navigating Poole’s busy town centre and the roads around its harbour to driving on the faster routes and country roads across Dorset, our advanced driver training helps drivers build confidence, improve road safety and develop smoother, safer and more efficient driving techniques.

We offer a range of bespoke courses, which include:

* General advanced and defensive courses
* Motorway training
* Performance training
* UK Familiarisation
* Confidence training
* Younger drivers
* Pre-court assessments

All courses are built around the needs and requirements of the individual driver, but below are several things we look at:

* The system of car control – IPSGA
* Working towards an expert level of forward planning and observation
* Understanding observational elements of driving (seeing) and building these into your driving plan
* Manoeuvres and reversing (This is often requested in confidence training)
* How to become a safe driver on urban and rural roads and also motorways
* Understand your own limitations and at-risk factors – most of which you won’t be aware of
* Undoing years of ingrained bad habits
* Learning to manage speed and become more speed-aware
* How to deal with complex and busy traffic environments
* How to understand other drivers and what they may do next
* 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 includes a unique verification number, proof you’ve trained with a qualified professional. Your report will show how you improved and in what areas, along with useful tips to help you maintain your improved standard of driving.

Key learning points of our driver training:

* Become a much improved, more skilful motorist
* Work on any issues which could be impacting your level of skill and safety
* Demonstrate your intention to become a safer, improved driver
* Deal with and address issues which may have been holding you back

Training is a little different for commercial clients – the end client, the person who has the on-road 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 the following:

* Demonstrating your business Duty of Care
* Potentially lower your fleet insurance costs
* Providing the opportunity for an employee to develop
* Showing you care
* Lower fuel costs

The A350 is the main artery route in Poole town centre, running north along Holes Bay, and then onto the A35, and as a single carriageway to Bath and Bristol. We use these roads for much of our driver training because they are fast-moving and great for introducing advanced driving techniques. To the east, the A337 leads to Lymington and the beautiful New Forest. The A35 runs from North Devon to Southampton and connects to the A31 on the town’s outskirts.

The A31, the most significant trunk road in central southern England, links to the M27 motorway at Southampton – ideal for motorway confidence training. From here, the M3 motorway leads to London, and you can also reach the M4 north of Newbury via the A34. Poole Bridge, a narrow bascule built in 1927, connects the town centre and Hamworthy. The Sandbanks Ferry serves the road link to Studland and the Isle of Purbeck across the narrow entrance of Poole Harbour. Advanced driver training in Poole and the surrounding areas has been carried out with our highly qualified tutors, who will come to you, and you can use your vehicle for the training, car, vans or campervans.

Half or Full Day?

Our half-day option works best if you want to train several drivers back-to-back. It’s cheaper per head, and your business has less downtime. As a private client, a half-day is ideal if you simply need a short refresher.

A full day is better suited if you or a driver has specific issues, such as limited confidence, complaints about their driving (company drivers), or if you’re a private client and want more than a half-day session but want to get the training done and dusted in one day.

We find many clients opt for the full-day session, book one driver in the morning and one in the afternoon, with no additional charge, and it works really well for business clients.

Contact us for advice and information:

We are happy to chat with you about your exact requirements. Our team are trained to advise on course information and how they run and offer a non-judgemental approach for those who wish to open up and discuss specific issues. We know that for some, this is the first step in reaching out on their journey to confident driving. Please call or email for more information and advice.

Key Roads in Poole:

A35 – A key road that runs through Poole, connecting the town to Dorchester to the west and the M27 near Southampton to the east. It is one of the primary routes for travelling through the region.

A350 – This road runs from Poole to the north, linking the town to Blandford Forum and other areas in the Dorset countryside.

A3049 – Known as the Poole Northern Distributor Road, this connects various parts of the town and provides an important link for local traffic.

A31 – Although not directly passing through Poole, the A31 is a major road that leads to the town via the A350. It connects Poole to the west and the M27 to the east.

Road Safety Risks and Information – Poole

Poole, in Dorset west of Bournemouth, is primarily served by the A350. Its coastal location attracts a surge of traffic in the summer, increasing accidents, particularly among drivers unfamiliar with the area. This is a common scenario in holiday destinations. Therefore, it’s crucial to emphasise the importance of understanding your directions when driving in a new area, as it can significantly reduce the risk of accidents.

Blandford Road North, B3068, travels into Poole from the A35 at Upton Roundabout through a residential area, with many collisions noted along the route, especially at the meeting of Poole Road, B3067 traffic lights, through Hamworthy and along Blandford Road as it joins the mainland across the bridges. Further along, at Holes Bay Roundabout, the A350 links to Poole via a dual carriageway and runs into the retail centre; a challenging junction links to West Quay Road and the B3068, which runs into Towngate Bridge. This route is especially busy for shoppers and commuters and is shared with bus routes. There are several carpark entrances on this route, such as Seldon Lane and the Lighthouse Carpark, as the retail centre of Poole is pedestrianised. Still, numerous accidents occur along this road, and drivers need to pay extra attention to pedestrians and cyclists in these areas.

From the Holes Bay Roundabout, the A3049 links to the A35 at the Fleetsbridge Roundabout and heads south into Poole via Wimborne Road, a densely populated residential area. Several areas are hazardous, especially near road crossings and small retail parks such as Longfleet Road and Melstock Road. The A35 then continues to Parkstone Road to the west into Poole and Bournemouth Road to the east. Many of the accidents in these areas involve holidaymakers new to the area.

These are only a very brief outline of collision sites in Poole. If you travel specific roads in the area and want to know which parts are at higher risk of collisions, please get in touch with us. We offer this service free of charge to anyone interested.