Ford to invest £2.1 million in free driver training program across Europe

Ford Motor Company announced that it will invest £2.1 million (Rs 20.2 crore) in 2016 to provide free driver training to 7,000 18- to 24-year-olds across Europe.

Ford has now invested a total of £7.1 million (Rs 68.3 crore) on training through its Ford Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) program in Europe since 2013. This year, the automaker will offer the free driver training for the first time in Finland and Poland, and continue its training services in the UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Spain and Turkey.

Commenting on the new investment, Jim Graham, manager, Ford DSFL, said, “Too many young adults are dying in car crashes caused by a combination of inexperience and poor decision making. With this new £2.1 million investment in young driver training for 2016, we can provide a further 7,000 young people with the skills and knowledge that could help save their lives.”

The company has already trained 13,500 novice drivers in Europe, providing free, hands-on classes covering hazard recognition, vehicle handling, and speed and space management. The program also highlights the risks posed by social media distractions such as texting and taking selfies at the wheel, as well as the dangers of drinking and driving, or driving after taking drugs.

Further, the US-based carmaker has also teamed with several safety organisations across Europe, including the AA Driving School, Brake and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in the UK; the Belgian National Road Safety Association; Association Prévention Routière in France; Deutscher Verkehrssicherheitsrat in Germany; the ACI in Italy; Road Safety Russia in Russia; Dirección General de Tràfico in Spain. 

“Newly qualified drivers still have so much to learn about safety on the road so we strongly urge young drivers to take advantage of Ford DSFL training. It’s fun, free, informative, and because we constantly re-evaluate what we teach, it’s always relevant,” summed up Graham.