If African countries must develop, road safety is not an option - it is a necessity. Road safety requires tremendous effort - it will not happen by accident!*

A Transaid volunteer conducting driver training in Zambia, 2009.

Professional Driver Training

 

Every year globally, approximately 1.3 million people are killed in road crashes.  This statistic is set to rise even more dramatically in the next decade.

 

In sub–Saharan Africa there is a huge shortage of skilled heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers and little quality training available. Dangerous driving is caused by a combination of lack of training, working extremely long hours, driving badly maintained and overloaded vehicles, with poor road infrastructure and weak traffic enforcement. Transaid is working to address a core part of this problem by improving professional driver training standards.

 

In partnership with the Industrial Training Centre Trust (ITCT), a quasi-governmental training centre based in Lusaka, Zambia, Transaid is working to build capacity to deliver driver training to internationally recognised standards.  Through the sharing of driver training skills and best practice, the four driver trainers at the ITCT have received inputs from several European transport and logistics companies to build on their expertise to deliver quality training programmes. In addition to knowledge surrounding vehicle manoeuvring and maintenance, drivers have also developed skills in risk management and health and safety awareness which they are passing on to benefit trainees.

 

 

 

*Dr Ebrahim Malick Samba, WHO Africa Regional Director, 7 April 2004, Message of the Regional Director on the occasion of World Health Day 2004

 

 

Current and past projects:

 

Malawi
• Malawi and Zambia, Development of Commercial Driving Standards, 2004 - present

 

Nigeria
• Nigeria, Training of Ambulance Driver Trainers, Yobe State, PRRINN-MNCH Update, August 2009

 

 

Tanzania

• Tanzania, Second round of bus driver training begins with support from National Express

• Zambia and Tanzania, Regional Coordinator appointed to advocate for driver training standards across borders 

• Tanzania, Bus driver training gets underway with National Express, April 2011

• Tanzania, Motorcycle Training, March 2011 

• Tanzania, Stagecoach seconds Project Manager to PDTP, Dar es Salaam

 

 

Zambia

• Zambia, Driver Training Study Tour, March 2011

• Zambia and Tanzania, Regional Coordinator appointed to advocate for driver training standards across borders

• Zambia, Professional Driver Training Project, 2008 to present

• Transaid trains St John Ambulance Drivers in Zambia, November 2007