National Driver Alertness Scheme

The TTC Group® acts as a provider for the National Driver Alertness Course scheme. As an alternative to court prosecution the police refer drivers to the scheme.

It is offered to some drivers who are deemed to have been involved in 'driving without due care and attention' incidents. These incidents may include being involved in an incident/crash or using a mobile phone when driving

The National Driver Improvement Scheme and subsequent National Driver Alertness Course was initially set up as a result of the 'North Report' published in 1988. One of the recommendations made in the report was that:

"A pilot study of one day retraining in basic driving skills as a disposal option should be undertaken to determine whether such retraining produces a lasting improvement in the driving skill of the offender undertaking it."

Since that time the scheme has been successfully implemented by some 40 plus police forces in partnership with local authorities and the private sector.

The course is held over one day, comprising of four hours of theory and approximately three and a half hours of practical on-road tuition.

All the training is conducted by specially selected and trained Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs), some of whom have specialist skills with larger vehicles.

To successfully complete the course a client must:

• Attend all sessions
• Complete all course paperwork
• Make a positive contribution to the course
• Show a willingness to improve their driving
• A driver who successfully completes the course is referred back to the police and no further action is taken – no points, no fine.

Evaluation of this course has shown that many people feel that this type of course should be made available to volunteers who have not been involved in any incident and not referred by the police. Consequently this provision has been made and anyone who wishes to attend the course for his or her own improvement should contact the TTC Road Safety Division.