Drivex DVSA-accredited, licence category BE Towing Familiarisation and Towing Safety Courses.
In response to the UK Government's sudden decision to axe the formal DVSA car and trailer test, Drivex has created a range of courses for those companies, charities and other organisations that have staff who need to tow heavy trailers.
All of our courses are also suitable for clients who need to tow trailers for personal reasons such as caravans, boat trailers, car trailers, horseboxes etc.
''As recently as May 2019, figures from Highways England, the government organisation in charge of the country’s motorways and major A-roads, said around 4,000 accidents a year involved trailers of one description or another. That’s an average of just under 11 per day.''
All courses are DVSA-accredited and fully HSE compliant. They are designed to give delegates an excellent grounding in trailer handling skills and towing safely on the road.
Take a look below and see which of our range of courses best suits your needs...
Trailer Towing Familiarisation Course (one-day)
This 1-day course covers all of the essential skills to enable drivers to work with heavy trailers safely. With a core-skill syllabus and a practical approach this course gives delegates the chance to enhance their knowledge and skills when working with heavy trailers.
Two options are available for this course:
- Use your vehicle and trailer combinations. This gives the advantage of the training and practical skills being tailored to your own real-life situations.
- Using Drivex vehicle and trailer combinations. The ideal solution where your own vehicle(s) and trailer(s) may not be available for training purposes.
''This course is designed to give your business a fully HSE-compliant training solution to enable staff to work with and tow heavy trailers safely and efficiently''
Course Aims:
The Drivex trailer Towing Familiarisation Course is designed to give a practical introduction to towing for drivers who are required to tow heavy trailers for which they have entitlement to drive but not necessarily the knowledge, skill or experience to drive them safely and efficiently. This could be for licence categories BE or C1E.
Delegates will also learn about defensive and eco-safe driving techniques.
Course Objectives:
- Trailer reversing practice
- Trailer coupling and uncoupling practice.
- Full vehicle appreciation including roadworthiness and safety.
- Enhanced hazard perception and awareness skills as required by vehicle type
- Selective use of gears
- Progressive use of accelerator and brakes
- Compliance with speed limits
- Compliance with other changes in Road Traffic Regulations applicable to vehicle type
- Utilisation of engine braking / torque
- Use of cruise control
''The ideal course for those who have driving licence entitlement to tow but who have no previous experience.''
Who should attend?
Anyone who requires introductory training to towing heavy trailers which is significantly different to those with which they are familiar. For example:
- Drivers who have entitlement to tow heavy trailers but have no previous experience of this type of vehicle.
Course Duration:
Normally a full day (Delegate to trainer ratio 1:1) but can be varied to suit individual client circumstances.
Course Location:
South of England, Isle of Wight or customer premises.
Benefits of attending:
- Compliance with Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Compliance with Provision and use of work equipment Regulations 1998
- Improved driver satisfaction
- Less down time due to maintenance and repairs
- Savings on fuel, tyres and spares
- Enhanced company image
Preparatory Work:
All delegates should have a full and UK-valid Driving Licence for the vehicle and trailer combination being driven and be familiar with the latest edition of the Highway Code.
Course Fees:
All courses are individually costed and fees will depend upon course location, course duration, number of delegates and type(s) of vehicles used. To discuss your own individual requirements contact us on 01983 810012.
Trailer Towing Familiarisation Course (two-day for 1 candidate or three-day for 2 candidates)
''This 2-day course is designed to give your business a comprehensive, robust, HSE-compliant training solution to enable staff to work with and tow heavy trailers safely and efficiently. Extensive practice using clients' own vehicle and trailer combinations in a real-world environment''
This 2-day course covers all of the essential skills covered in our Trailer Towing Familiarisation Course (one-day) course and then expands into day two to work with client's own vehicle and trailer combinations in real workplace environments. With an expansive syllabus and a highly practical approach this course gives delegates the chance to enhance their knowledge and skills even further when working with heavy trailers.
This course can be adapted to a three-day course for two candidates. This gives the advantage of a shared learning experience for the candidates and a 25% cost reduction compared to 2 two-day courses!
Typical course structure (two-day):
- Day 1
Using Drivex vehicle and trailer combinations. Our vehicle and trailer combinations are specifically chosen to give a good understanding and practice of the core skills when working with and towing heavy trailers.
- Day 2
Use client vehicle and trailer combinations. This gives the advantage of the training and practical skills being tailored to clients' own real-life situations including various vehicle and trailer combinations as well as site and road situations staff will come across in their work role.
Course Aims:
The Drivex trailer Towing Familiarisation Course (two-day) is designed to give a highly practical introduction to towing for drivers who are required to tow heavy trailers for which they have entitlement to drive but not necessarily the knowledge, skill or experience to drive them safely and efficiently. This could be for licence categories BE or C1E.
Delegates will also learn about defensive and eco-safe driving techniques.
Course Objectives:
''This course is designed to give a fast-track route to gaining extensive towing experience and is the course we recommend!''
- Trailer reversing practice
- Trailer coupling and uncoupling practice.
- Full vehicle appreciation including roadworthiness and safety.
- Enhanced hazard perception and awareness skills as required by vehicle type
- Selective use of gears
- Progressive use of accelerator and brakes
- Compliance with speed limits
- Compliance with other changes in Road Traffic Regulations applicable to vehicle type
- Utilisation of engine braking / torque
- Use of cruise control
Who should attend?
Anyone who requires introductory training to towing heavy trailers which is significantly different to those with which they are familiar. For example:
- Drivers who have entitlement to tow heavy trailers but have no previous experience of this type of vehicle.
Course Duration:
Normally two days (Delegate to trainer ratio 1:1) but can be varied to suit individual client circumstances.
Course Location:
South of England, Isle of Wight or customer premises.
Benefits of attending:
- Compliance with Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Compliance with Provision and use of work equipment Regulations 1998
- Improved driver satisfaction
- Less down time due to maintenance and repairs
- Savings on fuel, tyres and spares
- Enhanced company image
Preparatory Work:
All delegates should have a full and UK-valid Driving Licence for the vehicle and trailer combination being driven and be familiar with the latest edition of the Highway Code.
Course Fees:
All courses are individually costed and fees will depend upon course location, course duration, number of delegates and type(s) of vehicles used. To discuss your own individual requirements contact us on 01983 810012.
DVSA BE Car and Trailer Test equivalence course
'This course is not about proving you can drive, it is about showing that you have the knowledge and skills to adapt your drive to reflect the particular challenges that arise when towing heavy trailers'
This course gives candidates the opportunity to take our own 'in-house' Drivex BE Practical Test. Replicating the exact structure of the original DVSA test, this course gives parity and continuity of standards between those drivers that have gained their BE entitlement via a DVSA test and those that have automatic BE entitlement.
Course Aims:
To give candidates the knowledge and skills to safely tow heavy trailers behind licence category B (cars and small vans up to 3.5 tonnes maximum authorised mass) vehicles by passing the Drivex B+E (car and trailer) Practical Driving Test.
Delegates will also learn about defensive driving techniques.
Course Objectives:
- To give drivers the required knowledge and skill to pass the B+E Test.
- Trailer reversing practice
- Trailer coupling and uncoupling practice.
- Enhanced hazard perception and awareness skills
- Selective use of gears
- Progressive use of accelerator and brakes
- Compliance with speed limits
- Utilisation of engine braking / torque
Who should attend?
Anyone who has a requirement to tow heavy trailers that fall within licence category BE and needs to demonstrate a proven ability to safely handle heavy trailers and has the knowledge and skill to drive safely on the road when towing.
Course Duration:
''At every DVSA Test Centre where we presented candidates we achieved PASS RATES WHICH ARE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE UK AVERAGE!''
Normally two or three days depending on previous trailer experience (Delegate to trainer ratio 2:1) but can be varied to suit individual client circumstances.
Course Location:
Normally customer premises, Drivex Training Centre in Southampton or on the Isle of Wight.
Benefits of attending:
- Compliance with Road Traffic Acts and Regulations
- Compliance with Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Compliance with Provision and use of work equipment Regulations 1998
- Improved driver satisfaction
- Less down time due to maintenance and repairs
- Savings on fuel, tyres and spares
- Enhanced company image
Preparatory Work:
All delegates must hold a full UK Car Driving Licence (including category BE) and be familiar with the latest edition of the Highway Code.
Additional Information:
Due to the Minimum Test Vehicle Requirements specified for the Drivex B+E Practical Test this course is usually conducted in one of our vehicle and trailer combinations.
This course normally runs on a 1:1 or 2:1 delegate to trainer ratio to suit individual client / vehicle requirements.
Validation
At the end of the course delegates will take a Drivex BE Practical Driving Test replicating the original DVSA test. The test will last four 1-hour and 15-minutes and will include the following elements:
- Vehicle and trailer safety questions (show me / tell me format).
- Reversing exercise.
- Trailer uncouple, safety inspection and recouple exercise).
- On the road drive (including 10-minute independent drive).
The test will be conducted and marked in the same way as a DVSA test with a Pass or Fail outcome.
Course Fees:
All courses are individually costed and fees will depend upon course location, course duration, number of delegates and type(s) of vehicles used. To discuss your own individual requirements contact us on 01983 810012.