Safe from harm: Sue Baker discovers how to keep your company car drivers out of danger

White van man carves you up, his face animated with road rage. Someone follows you, pointing at your car and gesticulating at you to stop. Or perhaps you have a breakdown, alone, late at night and miles from home on a dark country road.

So what next? Would you know how to handle the situation? Have you ever thought through the strategies for dealing with a lone emergency when you are out in your company car?

Possibly not. Most of us are too busy getting on with the job to pause and reflect on self-defence in a tricky situation. But even if individual company car drivers do not plan for the risk potential, it is something that fleet managers should not ignore.

Those potentially hazardous scenarios are some of the topics covered in a new self-defence course for drivers--male and female launched as a joint initiative by training specialists Driver Training Matters and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

The first seminar in a nationwide series was staged near Basildon in Essex. Around a dozen of us signed up for the 145 [pounds sterling] day-long teach-in, led by instructor Christine Eales, a personal safety consultant with the Trust.

The truth is out there

Eales began by reassuring us about some significant differences between perception and reality. It is important to know that although driving alone especially in strange territory and late at night--can make you feel edgy about being vulnerable, the risk factor is actually relatively low. Statistically you are very unlikely to be a victim of road rage, or in danger of physical attack if your car lets you down.

It is another misconception that women are more at risk than men. Although female drivers tend to be more concerned about the vulnerability of their personal safety on the road, it is actually men who are at greater risk of aggression and attack.

We were told that the key to avoiding trouble on the road is fourfold: prepare, look confident, avoid risk, and never assume. It is vital never to let yourself think like a victim. "If you plan ahead and look confident, you radiate non-vulnerability," said Eales. "If you start feeling stressed, give yourself time to stop and recover. Don't take chances--a short cut isn't safe if you can't see a way out."

Fear is a magnifier, and it gives women in particular a distorted perspective of their own risk levels, said Eales. "Statistically, men are twice as likely to be the victims of violent crime, but women fear it much more."

She challenged us about pre-drive preparation, and struck an instant chord as the group exchanged guilty looks with one another.

"How well did you check and prepare your cars today before coming here? How diligent are you about doing it in advance of any trip?" asked Eales. "If you're like most people, you probably just jump in and drive."

Don't we all? But it's a bad choice. Regular checks on the tyres, the level of fuel in the tank, knowledge of what all the warning lamps mean, familiarity with the car handbook--they all play an important part in preventing the risk of a breakdown and avoiding trouble.

Think carefully about where to park, we were told. Just finding a parking space is the most pressing priority for most of us but there are other considerations. For instance, if you are parking in daylight and are likely to come back to the car after dark, are there any streetlamps nearby? Is the spot at the darker end of a cul-de-sac? If it is in a multi-storey car park, try to find a bay that is not hidden behind a pillar or a taller vehicle.

"Always reverse-park into a space, so you're ready to drive straight off," Eales urged.

Female drivers should think about de-personalising and de-gendering the car before leaving it parked. "As well as not leaving anything valuable on display, remove anything that shows this car has a woman driver. Think what the car might be saying about you, and put it all away out of sight in the boot."

Rage reaction

Road rage is a smaller risk than publicity invites us to believe, but a worry nonetheless. So how

should you react if another driver cuts up rough?

"I know this is easier to say than do, but try to stay calm, avoid direct eye contact and don't succumb to confrontation. Don't let yourself feel intimidated," said Eales. "But if you do something silly on the road, don't be afraid to apologise, because it is better to try to defuse another driver's anger than to have to deal with it."

What if someone persists and is determined to confront you?

"If that happens, drive on and don't stop until you reach a safe place. If you're pursued, don't go home; drive to somewhere busy, or a police station."

Car jacking is a worry, especially for senior user-choosers with a high-end company car. The best way to cut down the risk is by taking sensible precautions, Eales advised.

Play safe by keeping the car doors locked as you drive. Never, even for a moment, leave the keys hanging in the ignition. Always, without fail, lock the car when you go to pay at a filling station. And don't play the hero.

"If someone is determined to take your car from you, don't resist," said Eales. "It's insured, and your safety is more important than the car."

But could there be an insurance problem if you simply hand over the keys? Not according to the Association of British Insurers give up the keys in an aggressive car-jacking situation, and your insurance remains valid, it says. Leave the keys in the ignition while you're out of the car, however, and your insurance will be void.

Eales also covered anxiety-manage it, she said, rather than let it build up and hinder you. You can unwind by doing tension release exercises when sitting in traffic: stretching, tensing, then relaxing. Breathe in, then sigh deeply. Shrug your shoulders and gum your face to relax the muscles. Any driver can benefit from these tricks to help maintain alertness under pressure.

Others on the course included several from local councils, who were there to check it out for their employers. One participant was an executive chauffeur, keen to learn techniques for protecting the personal safety of clients. Another was a company director and BMW convertible owner who was motivated by fear of car jacking.

Two women among us were doing the course because they had been victims of attacks while driving alone. "Your experience is unusual," Eales reassured them. "Most women will never experience anything similar. But they worry they might, which is why we're here."

With more courses lined up for next year, let's hope that Eales and her colleagues can help company cars drivers remain safe.

2006 course dates

Dates booked so far include 26 January in Chelmsford, Essex; 22 February in Hitchin, Herts; and 9 March in Maidstone, Kent. Other dates are currently being finalised.

For more information call 0845 226 7613, or go to www.drivertrainingmatters.co.uk or 020 8876 0305, www.suzylamplugh.org

COPYRIGHT 2005 DMG World Media Ltd.
COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group