Location Overview – Stoke-on-Trent is a city and a large settlement in Staffordshire surrounded by Newcastle-under-Lyme, Alsager, Kidsgrove, Biddulph, and Stone, which form a metropolitan area around the city. Hanley is the main commercial centre, and the other towns which form the city are Fenton, Burslem, Tunstall, and Longton. Stoke-on-Trent is the famous home of the pottery industry and is known as The Potteries, and Stoke-on-Trent’s architecture is tied closely to the city’s industrial heritage. North Staffordshire was central for coal mining and has been since the 13th century. The mines are now all closed, but the scars of the mines still remain on the landscape. Stoke-on-Trent is ideally located between Manchester, Wolverhampton, and Birmingham and adjoins the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme and its wider borough, located to the west. It lies on the upper valley of river Trent at the southwest foothills of the Pennines near the Peak District to the northeast, as well as the lowlands of the Midlands and Cheshire Plains to the south and west.

Our courses are all tailored to the needs of the driver, regardless of being a private individual or corporate fleet training. Our courses offer a range of training, from general advanced/defensive driving courses to more specialist training to help a driver with their own confidence, motorway, post-RTC training or speed awareness or any other issues they may have, all drivers are unique in their needs, and we understand this.

Every course is tailored to the driver, but here are some of the key issues we aim to help a driver with:

Reviewing and discussing past driving experience and how that could be impacting (positively or negatively) to the client’s approach to driving

* Forward planning and observation
* Understanding better and learning to anticipate other road users’ actions
* Developing a positive mindset for driving
* Identifying and ironing out any at-risk habits
* Higher awareness of the impacts excessive speed can have
* How to use speed safely
* Creating a positive learning environment in rural, urban and motorway settings
* How to use commentary driving to improve your powers of planning and observation on all road types

A course may only last a half day, a full day or several half days – the things you are taught will last a lifetime. The report we send for each driver not only reviews their driving but also provides valuable hints and tips for the future. So you can refer back to the report time and again. Each report is assigned its own unique verification number, so anyone reading it can trust its integrity as a genuine, original report – this is especially important if you have been asked to do the training from an external party such as an insurer or employer.

The personal benefits of our advanced and defensive driver training:

* Increase your levels of skill and overall confidence
* Remove any risky driving characteristics
* Consider issues that may be specific to your driving
* Increase car control on all types of roads
* Reduce wear and tear on your car
* Improve your MPG – get more miles from your car

Looking for fleet driver training? Driver training for business clients offers a range of benefits that include:

* Taking control of your occupational road risk
* Demonstrate your Duty of Care
* Qualify for possibly reduced fleet insurance costs
* Show your drivers you care
* Help drivers who may be having specific issues with their driving
* Save on fleet fuel costs – advanced trained drivers can reduce their fuel costs by 20% or more

Stoke-on-Trent is nicely linked to the M6 motorway at junctions 15 and 16 on the A500, and the A50 provides a good east-west link between both the M6 and the M1 motorway. It joins the A500 close to the Bet365 Stadium. These areas are ideal for taking motorway training. In the past few years, we have trained many fleet drivers and private individuals from in and around Stoke on Trent, including Knutton, Chesterton, Packmoor, Caverswall and Stanley, to name just a few. Our driver training courses are all tailored to the individual driver, and we will come to your address, taking you out on the road using your own vehicle.

Our courses do vary in structure, although we have several courses based on duration:

3.5hr session
7hr session (which can be split for two drivers if needed)
2 x 3.5hr sessions
3 x 3.5hr sessions

Longer Duration Courses:

Our bespoke 3,4, and 5 x 3.5hr sessions are suited, for those that identify as having 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 levels. The time between each session will also be valuable as it allows you to reflect, absorb and practise what has been covered.

Get in Touch:

Our trained team are here to help you. Don’t hesitate to contact us with your requirements, and we will be able to help. For online enquiries, we aim to get back to you within 2 hours during working hours.

Road Safety Risks and Information – Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent is located between Manchester and Birmingham along the M6. A few fast A-road routes serve the area, such as the A38, A53, A50, and A52. It is a bustling city linking several smaller towns that come under the umbrella of Stoke-on-Trent, such as Newcastle Under Lyme, Hanley, and Middleport.

Junctions 15 and 16 of the M6 link into Stoke on Trent, and the A500 runs from Junction 16 into the city centre via the Queensway and links back to Junction 15.  This route has very high accident rates. There are several hot spots to be aware of, such as the Talke Interchange joining the A34 Talke Road into Newcastle under Lyme, where numerous severe and even fatal accidents have occurred in the last few years. The Porthill Roundabout linking the A5271 to Queensway and the Woolstanton Junction linking the A527 to Newcastle under Lyme are very similar with collision rates, and many of them can be blamed on poor lane exiting plus the added speed coming from a fast A road route. Queensway travels around Soke on Trent retail centre and meets the A50 at the Sideway interchange, where, again, the accident rates are very high, suggesting that more patience and better observations are needed, especially when driving over these areas in rush hour traffic.

At the City Road traffic lights, the A500 Queensway meets Church Street and the one-way system along the A52 into the city centre; this route is also shared with pedestrians, cyclists and busses, and many collisions around this route involve them, making for very serious and life-changing accidents. The traffic lights at London Road are an area of concern along with the joining of Honeywell and Shelton Old Road. Driving in inner city areas can be slow and frustrating at times, so it is essential to be extra aware of all road users, not just vehicles; there is always the possibility of a pedestrian stepping onto a busy road or a cyclist heading straight as you are turning left, it can take just a seconds lapse of concentration to be caught up in a severe accident. City Road and Kings Street are prime examples of serious accidents occurring in low-speed residential areas, suggesting that pedestrians have been involved.

If you have any specific roads you travel on in the Stoke on Trent area and are curious to know what parts are at higher risk of collisions, please contact us. We offer a free-of-charge service to anyone interested.