NMAC 2021 Trainer Manual

NMAC2021 Trainer Manual

UKROEdUK Road Offender Education www.ukroed.org.uk

Contents

About this manual ........................................................ 1

Course overview ........................................................... 3

Module 1: Registration ................................................. 7

Module 2: Introduction ................................................. 9

Module 3: Do and don’t like ....................................... 15

Module 4: How are the motorways managed? .......... 21

Module 5: Know the signs .......................................... 35

Module 6: Manage speed and space ......................... 59

Module 7: Check driver and vehicle ........................... 85

Module 8: Action planning ....................................... 103

Module 9: Summary and close ................................ 115

Handling concerns about All Lane Running (ALR) motorways .......................... 119

Reference Material ................................................... 123

Transcripts ................................................................ 129

1

About this manualThis manual provides the essential information and guidance you need to deliver NMAC 2021. It covers online and offline delivery of the course and, for offline delivery, one- and two-trainer delivery models.

You should read this manual alongside:

• The NDORS Trainer Manual, which provides essential information and guidance for delivery of any NDORS course.

• NMAC Useful Information and Links, which clients can access after the course and which provides answers to some of the questions there is not sufficient time to cover on the course itself. Use this document i) to check that any brief answers you give to client questions are up to date and ii) to refer clients to if they want more information than you can provide in a brief answer.

What’s in the manual

The first section provides an overview of NMAC 2021: its objectives; the offences which are eligible for referral and for which it has been designed; the high-level structure of the course; the timetable; and the allocation of course content when delivered by two trainers.Subsequent sections provide detailed notes for each module of the course. The section for each module is divided into:

• An introduction which explains why the module is as it is. This section details the objectives and design of the module; how you will use the slides to deliver the objectives; and the behaviour change techniques you will be using in the process.

• Detailed, slide-by-slide instructions for what to do. This section sets out standards for delivery that should also be used for monitoring and assessment. These include Dos and Don’ts for delivery.

At the back of the manual, you will find:

• Guidance on how to handle concerns about All Lane Running (ALR) motorways if these are expressed by clients.

• Reference materials, including more details of research cited in the course and transcripts of the videos in the course.

2

Icons

Icons are used to indicate some of the more common things you need to do when delivering a course:

indicates that you need to click to move an animated slide forwards

indicates that you need to click to play a video – and how long that video is

indicates that you should ask clients to write something down

indicates that you should note responses next to names on your client list (online only)

indicates that you should collect responses on a flipchart (offline only)

indicates that you should facilitate a conversation – with a very rough indication of how long you might expect it to last

indicates a table exercise (offline only)

indicates a point where you ask clients to think ahead to the action plan and make a note of things that may be relevant

indicates a pause point

indicates a trainer handover (two-trainer delivery only)

Asking questions

Questions are a vital part of good delivery, but they play more than one role. As well as indicating what to ask and when, the slide-by-slide instructions also provide guidance on how to use those questions. Most questions are followed by one of five phrases:

• ‘Ask clients to write down an answer’ means you should do just that.• ‘Pause: allow but don’t force responses’ means that the question is designed to prompt

thought, but does not actually require a verbal response.• ‘Check that…’ means there is a right answer to the question, which you need to make sure

someone says – ideally a client but, if not, you.• ‘Collect a few responses’ means that you’re interested in hearing a range of views: this

could be because the question is a matter of opinion, or because the right answer will be delivered at a later point (e.g. by a video you are about to watch).

• ‘Facilitate a discussion’ means you’re not only interested in hearing a range of views, but also want clients to explore each others’ views.

9.22

4m

ActionPlan

3

Course overviewObjectives

The course aims to make motorways (and, in particular, managed motorways) safer, more efficient and a better experience for people who use and work on them.Its objectives are to increase clients’

• understanding of how to read and safely use motorways, and in particular managed motorways

• understanding of how and why variable speed limits and lane closures are imposed• awareness of the negative consequences for self and others of breaking the rules on

motorways – and the benefits of complying• recognition of their own personal vulnerability to these consequences• awareness of how rule-breaking behaviour on motorways is seen and judged negatively by

other road users• concentration and observation while using motorways• ability to maintain a safe space while using motorways

Note that success against these objectives depends on clients both i) engaging with the taught course and also ii) implementing a personal action plan after the course. A critical outcome of the taught course is, therefore, that clients leave committed to implementing a credible personal action plan.

It is not anticipated that every client will make (or need to make) progress on every objective. Rather, clients are encouraged to gain insight into the things that influence their driving, and to focus on change in the areas most relevant to them.

4

Eligibility

The table below lists the offences that are eligible for NMAC. It is at the discretion of the police force to decide if offenders are referred to the NMAC course, or given an alternative outcome depending on the seriousness of the offence.

RR84113 Exceeding a variable speed limit – ACD

RT88973 When driving on a motorway, failing to comply with red/green arrow/lane closure signals – manual detection

RT88974 When driving on a motorway, failing to comply with red/green arrow/lane closure signals – automatic equipment detection

ME82001 Driving in the wrong direction on a motorway

ME82002 Driving a motor vehicle the wrong way on a motorway slip road

ME82003 Driving on the central reservation/verge of a motorway

ME82004 Driving a vehicle which enters a motorway at a prohibited place

ME82005 Making a U turn on a motorway

ME82006 Stopping a motor vehicle on a motorway carriageway

ME82007 Reversing on a motorway

ME82009 Driving on the hard shoulder of a motorway

ME82011 Driving/stopping a vehicle on a motorway central reservation/verge

ME82012 Driving on a motorway as a provisional licence holder

ME82015 Driving a trailer in an offside lane of a motorway

ME82016 Driving a passenger vehicle in a right-hand lane of a motorway

ME82017 Driving a prohibited vehicle in an offside lane of a motorway

ME82021 Restrictions on animals carried in a vehicle on a motorway

5

How the course works

The NMAC course is designed to help clients see themselves as an active part of a larger system when they are using the motorways. Their actions can make motorways better – or worse – for everyone.

Safety is of course a critical element of what it means to make motorways better. But we also know that, for many clients, serious but very rare consequences will not provide a sufficiently salient motivation for behaviour change. That’s why, in Module 3, clients are invited to develop their own broader definitions of ‘better’ and ‘worse’, based on what they like and don’t like about motorways. These lists can then be used throughout the course to link desired behaviours to things that clients themselves value – and so build motivation to change.

Some of the things clients don’t like are likely to relate to the bad behaviour of other drivers and riders. There are opportunities throughout the course to show clients how they themselves may, without knowing it, behave in exactly the ways they judge negatively in others. This too can build motivation to change.

Module 3 closes with two questions, based on the lists of ‘likes’ and ‘don’t likes’ generated by clients:

• How are the motorways managed to give us more of what we like and less of what we don’t like?• What can we do to help as drivers/riders?

Module 4 addresses the first of these questions. In doing so, it provides a clear rationale for the restrictions imposed on motorways – while also emphasising the point that clients are an active part of the system, whose actions make things better or worse. The module concludes by repeating the message that the benefits of managing the motorways in this way are only realised if drivers and riders do as they are asked, and returning to the second question posed at the end of Module 3: what can we do to help? This is used to set up the agenda for the rest of the course.

Modules 5 to 7 then work through key knowledge, skills and behaviours required to stay safe and legal on the motorways – with all of these framed as ‘things you can do to help’. Module 5 is an opportunity to check that clients understand the meanings of the signs and road markings they will encounter. Module 6 addresses the importance of speed and space, and provides guidance on how to maintain a safe space. Module 7 focuses on issues in relation to maintaining concentration on the motorway. The module concludes with a brief reminder of the need to maintain one’s vehicle, alongside practical advice on what to do if one does ever need to stop on a motorway.

Throughout all of this, clients are prompted to reflect on their own behaviour and reminded that they will be making an action plan at the end of the course. In Module 8, clients create their action plan.

6

Course timetable

The course lasts a total of three hours, including 30 minutes for registration and a break.Note that the break takes place during Module 6. There is a short quiz before the break which is then debriefed after the break.

ModulePhysical classroom Virtual classroom

Duration Cumulative Duration Cumulative

1 Registration 15 15 20 20

2 Introduction 10 25 10 30

3 Do and don’t like 10 35 10 40

4 How are motorways managed? 33 68 33 73

5 Know the signs 20 88 20 93

6 Manage speed and space 2 90 2 95

Break 15 105 10 105

Manage speed and space (cont) 20 125 20 125

7 Check driver and vehicle 25 150 25 150

8 Action planning 20 170 20 170

9 Summary and close 10 180 10 180

Two-trainer delivery

NMAC2021 has been designed to be delivered in physical classrooms either by a single trainer or by two trainers working together.

If you are delivering NMAC with a co-trainer, you will need to agree in advance who is Trainer 1 and who is Trainer 2. Trainer handover points are clearly marked in this manual and on the slides.

Responsibilities for leading the course are detailed in the table below: remember that you should remain fully and actively involved when you are not responsible for leading.

Module Slides Who leads

1 Registration 1 Both

2 Introduction 2 – 5 Trainer 1

3 Do and don’t like 6 – 9 Trainer 2

4 How are motorways managed? 10 – 12 Trainer 1

13 – 14 Trainer 2

15 – 20 Trainer 1

5 Know the signs 21 – 58 Trainer 2

6 Manage speed and space 59 – 87 Trainer 1

7 Check driver and vehicle 88 – 99 Trainer 2

100 – 102 Trainer 1

8 Action planning 103 – 111 Trainer 2

9 Summary and close 112 – 114 Trainer 1

7

Module 1: RegistrationSlides1 (offline courses only)

Duration15 minutes (offline) / 20 minutes (online)

Lead trainerBoth trainers lead this module

Module objectives• Confirm the identity of clients• Set the right tone for the course• Identify client needs as early as possible

DesignTo some extent, the design of this module is driven by the practicalities of registration.

At the same time, it is important to recognise the potential impact of what happens in this first interaction on the client’s engagement with the course as a whole. First impressions really do matter.

The one-to-one nature of the registration process (both online and offline) also creates a unique opportunity for you to identify and anticipate potential barriers to that engagement, including specific client needs and concerns.

That’s why, even if no learning actually takes place during registration, the potential for later learning to take place can be greatly enhanced by steps you take to address clients’ anxieties, meet their needs, and remain constructive and non-defensive in response to the expression of negative emotions.

How to use the slides to deliver the objectives• This is not a slide-based module – although in offline courses you will make use of Slide 1 for the

welcome activity.• Make the most of the one-to-one registration with clients. Think about how you want clients to

see you: welcoming, professional, credible, approachable. Create a space for clients to tell you about anything that could get in the way of their engagement.

• In offline courses, you also have a role to play in managing the experience of clients who are not currently being registered. The welcome activity is designed to give clients something to do during registration that is relevant to the course.

Behaviour change techniquesThe following BCTs are used in this module:

BCT Slides Notes13.2 Framing / Reframing N/A The way in which you welcome clients

encourages them to view the courses as something that can help them rather than something that punishes them.

8

Slide 1

Online Offline

Show clients into the room and suggest places for them to sit. Try to achieve a mix of people (e.g. age and gender) at each table. If clients arrive before registration begins, let them into the room if you can. If this is not possible, make them feel welcome and suggest somewhere comfortable for them to wait until registration begins.

Start the welcome activity. Encourage clients to discuss at their tables the question shown on the slide, and make notes of their answers. As new clients enter the room, ask them to join the ongoing discussion at a table.

Register clients one by one. Use this one-to-one interaction to:• Make each client feel personally welcome• Ask: What concerns do you have about the course today?

What additional needs should I be aware of? Listen to any concerns or needs raised and agree how they can be addressed.

• Brief any interpreters/signers.

Offline

Ask clients to put their notes from the welcome activity on one side. State that you will return to these later in the course when you have provided them with more information.

Make sure you know what your provider’s registration requirements are.

Make sure you have read the latest guidance from UKROEd on ‘Use of Interpreters on NDORS Physical and Virtual Classroom Courses’, ‘Clients attending NDORS Physical Classroom Courses with Additional Requirements’ and ‘Clients attending NDORS Virtual Courses with Additional Requirements’.

This is the slide for the welcome activity. It is used in offline courses only. Leave the slide showing on-screen throughout the registration period. If current COVID restrictions allow, hard copies may also be provided at tables.

Module 1

9

Module 1

Module 2: IntroductionSlides2 – 5

Duration10 minutes

Lead trainerTrainer 1 leads this module

Module objectives• Explain what is going to happen and what is expected of clients• Set the right tone for the course• Encourage clients to relax

DesignThe design of this module is driven by practicalities – such as housekeeping (offline), the use of technology (online) and the need to set ground-rules.

However, the potential for later learning to take place can be greatly enhanced by effective delivery of this module.

How to use the slides to deliver the objectives• Use Slide 2 to introduce yourself. As part of this, you should briefly describe your expertise.

The purpose of this is not to make you sound arrogant or in any way ‘better’ than the clients, but to give them confidence that they can ask you questions and have a good chance of getting a correct answer.

• In online courses, get clients to introduce themselves. This is a good way of getting people over any initial discomfort with talking online, and also allows you to check you can hear them. In offline courses, this is an opportunity to get people talking to each other at their tables.

• Use Slide 3 to handle practical issues relating to the venue or the technology.• Use Slide 4 to check that people understand that the overall purpose of the course is to

help them stay legal and safe. In line with that objective, the question to ask clients is: ‘Why do you think the police offer these courses as an alternative to a fine and points?’ That question should get clients thinking about the desired outcomes of the course. DON’T ask clients why they chose the course, which will prompt them to think about the wrong outcomes.

• Use Slide 5 to introduce and gain consent to ground rules for the course. Remember that clients won’t just be listening to what you say in relation to this: they will also be looking at how you behave. Make sure that you think about how you model the ground-rules yourself, for example by showing respect for different views, being open minded and inclusive, and so forth.

• Use the last ground rule – ‘Use what you learn’ – to introduce the idea that clients will be completing an action plan at the end of the course. Encourage them to take notes of things they find personally relevant as they go along. Remind clients of this at appropriate moments throughout the course.

Module 2

10


BCT Slides Notes9.1 Credible source 2 The way you introduce yourself

to clients highlights that you are a credible source of information and clients can trust you.

1.3 Goal setting (outcome)

3 You are planting the idea that an advantage of clients changing how they drive is to be a safe and legal driver. Slide 3 also uses a cognitive bias – reciprocity bias; ‘We’re doing this for you therefore, you should be willing to change.’

13.2 Framing / Reframing 4-5 The way in which you welcome clients encourages them to view the courses as something that can help them rather than something that punishes them.

Module 2

11

Module 2

Slide 2

Welcome clients to the course.

Introduce yourself. State that you will do your best to answer any questions clients have. Briefly describe your expertise and how this qualifies you to answer questions.

Online Offline

Ask clients to introduce themselves one by one, by saying their first name and where they are in the country.

Ask clients to introduce themselves to each other at their tables, with a first name and where they have travelled from today.

Module 2

12

Slide 3

Online Offline

Explain the videoconferencing controls, following the guidance from your provider.

Briefly explain venue practicalities (fire exits and toilets)State that there is no smoking. Explain where clients can smoke during the break if they wish to.Note current COVID-safe guidance from UKROEd and the venue.

Explain restrictions on the use of mobile devices.

Make sure you have read the latest guidance from UKROEd on ‘Use of Mobile Devices on NDORS Physical Classroom Courses’ and ‘Use of Mobile Devices on NDORS Virtual Courses’

The slide shown is for the offline course only (StaySafe version).For online courses, it will be replaced by a provider-specific slide covering use of the video-conferencing software.

Module 2

13

Module 2

Slide 4

Briefly explain the process the course is part of. Clients are here because they committed a driving offence. The police offered them a choice of a fixed penalty fine and licence points or this course. They chose the course.

Ask clients: Why do you think the police offer these courses as an alternative to a fine and points?Collect a few responses.State that points and a fine don’t help people avoid doing whatever they did again, whereas this course is designed to do just that. The courses are offered to help people stay legal and safe.

State that at the end of the course you will let the police know they have successfully completed the course, and the police will then take no further action in relation to the offence.

Do NOT ask clients why they chose the course.

Module 2

14

Slide 5

State: There is no exam or test at the end of the course. But for you successfully to complete the course, I need to ask you do to a few things.Briefly explain the ground rules for the course one by one, keeping the tone light:• Timekeeping. Ask clients to return at the agreed time at the end of the break.• Respect. Explain that you will be asking clients to talk to each other through the

course. Ask them to be careful about the language they use, make room for others to speak, and remember that different people have different needs.

• Confidentiality. Remind clients about restrictions on phone use and recording, and that these are strict police requirements.

• Open mind. State that you would very much like clients to share their existing knowledge and opinions, but to do so with an open mind.

• Participate. State that, in the past, clients who have participated fully in discussions and activities have got the most benefit from the course.

• Use what you learn. Remind clients that the purpose of these courses is to help them, and that that depends entirely on what they do with anything they learn. Encourage clients to keep notes as they go along of things they find personally useful.

State that, at the end of the course, you will ask them to identify something they are going to take from the course, and to create an action plan.

Ask clients to confirm that they are happy to stick to these rules, for example by giving you a thumbs-up.

Online Offline

Check that clients have pen and paper handy.

Encourage clients to use pen and paper provided at tables. If a Logbook is being used, introduce the Logbook.

Check for any questions.

Hand over to Trainer 2.

ActionPlan

Module 2

15

Module 3: Do and don’t likeSlides6 – 9

Duration10 minutes


Module objectives• Get clients participating as soon as possible, with questions they should not find hard to

answer• Establish a collective focus on positive outcomes in the future• Generate examples of the things clients value, which can be referred back to later in the

course• Introduce the two key questions the course is structured around

DesignThis module lays the ground for subsequent modules. It is designed to create a context in which you can start to have the conversations you need to have with clients. It does not directly address any of the course objectives, but makes it possible for those objectives to be addressed.

We know that many clients face barriers to engagement at the beginning of courses. They may expect a negative experience at the course – focused on blaming them, or scaring them, or showing them up. Or they may expect to be lectured, rather than prompted and listened to. This module is designed to start to show clients, from the outset, that these expectations are unfounded.

Moreover, by referring back to their ‘likes’ and ‘don’t likes’ throughout the rest of the course, you can demonstrate to clients that you really are listening to and respect the things that they are telling you. This will make it much more likely that they listen to and value the things you say to them.

We also know that clients may be angry or upset about their penalty notice. The exercise in this module may provide some clients with an early opportunity to vent and move beyond these emotions.

Specifically in NMAC, we know that clients may have strong views about the removal of hard shoulders on ALR motorways. These views may be raised in this module. Make sure you have read the guidance on Handling Concerns about ALR Motorways.

While the module does not directly address any of the course objectives, you may notice ways (for example, the use of the word ‘help’ on Slide 9) in which it is introducing themes that are developed in Module 3.

16

How to use the slides to deliver the objectives• Use the activity on Slides 6 and 7 to get clients talking, and to show that you are willing to

listen to whatever they have to say. • If required, use this opportunity to show early on that – provided they stick to the ground

rules – you are comfortable with clients saying what they think about motorways.• Remember to introduce the topic of safety explicitly at the end of the activity on

Slide 7. Clients are unlikely to mention safety, but are also likely to agree with you that it is important.

• Use the discussion on Slide 8 to introduce the idea that the responsibility for keeping the motorways running safely and efficiently is shared. Note that, to do this, you do NOT need to argue that all or even most of the things clients like and don’t like relate to road user behaviour. Some, like roadworks, may not relate at all. All that matters is that some of those things relate to road user behaviour.

• Use Slide 9 to link this idea of shared responsibility to the two questions around which the course is structured. This is a signposting slide, designed to connect the pieces of the course and give clients an idea of what is going to happen. Don’t try to introduce any information or make any additional points on this slide.


BCT Slides Notes1.3 Goal setting

(outcome)6-7 The discussion of what clients

like and dislike about motorways identifies the outcomes clients would like from changing their behaviour.

6.3 Information about others’ approval

8-9 Some clients realise that others dislike and therefore disapprove of how they drive.

13.2 Framing / Reframing 8-9 Clients realise that they share the responsibility for improving the experience of driving on motorways.

17

Module 3

Slide 6

Ask: What do you like about motorways?

Online

Ask clients to write down a few answers.

Offline

Ask clients to discuss briefly at their tables.

Ask clients to hold up their answers to the camera.

Ask for a few responses from each table.

Note responses next to names on your client list.

Create a list of ‘Likes’ on flipchart.

DO make it clear that clients can write in whatever language they like, or draw pictures if they prefer – now and throughout the course. Remember that writing may create difficulties for some clients.

DO ask clients to tell you what they have written or drawn if you can’t easily see or understand.

DO refer back to the list of likes and don’t likes throughout the rest of the course, helping clients to make the link between the behaviour that’s required of them and the outcomes they want to achieve.

Do NOT get drawn into debates or explain points that will be covered later in the course.

18

Module 3

Slide 7

Ask: What DON’T you like about motorways?

Online

Ask clients to write down a few answers.

Offline

Ask clients to discuss briefly at their tables.


Ask for a few responses from each table.

Note responses next to names on your client list.

Create a list of ‘Don’t likes’ on flipchart.

State (unless already mentioned by clients): Obviously none of us want to be involved in an incident or collision either. Safety usually doesn’t get mentioned because it is so obvious that we all want safe motorways.

Clients may raise concerns about All Lanes Running (ALR) motorways at this point, and you will need to handle these sensitively. Read the guidance on Handling Concerns about ALR Motorways.

Do NOT get drawn into debates or explain points that will be covered later in the course.

DO refer back to the list of likes and don’t likes throughout the rest of the course, helping clients to make the link between the behaviour that’s required of them and the outcomes they want to achieve.

19

Module 3Module 3

Slide 8

Ask: Who can make motorway driving better for everyone?

Facilitate a discussion

State: The responsibility for making motorway driving better for everyone is shared between:• The people who manage the motorways• All of us using the motorways, and what we do and don’t doConfirm clients agree.

2m

Do NOT argue that the things clients do and don’t like all relate to road user behaviour if they don’t (e.g. roadworks don’t).

20

Module 3

Slide 9

State: Today we’re going to look at the two sides of this shared responsibility.

State: We’re going to start with what the people who manage the motorways are doing to give us more of what we like and less of what we don’t like. In particular, we’re going to look at the reasons why they set variable speed limits and close lanes.

State: Then we’re going to move on to the things we can do to help keep the motorways running smoothly and safely.

Check for any questions


21

Module 3

Module 4: How are the motorways managed?Slides10 – 20

Duration33 minutes – including 13 minutes of video content

Lead trainerTrainer 1 leads slides 10 – 12Trainer 2 leads slides 13 – 14Trainer 1 leads slides 15 – 20

Module objectives• Increase clients’ understanding of how and why variable speed limits and lane closures are

imposed on motorways• Increase clients’ understanding of the benefits for self and others of sticking to the rules on

motorways• Encourage participants to recognise their own shared responsibility for keeping the

motorways working safely and effectively• Prompt participants to start thinking why they personally are at risk of breaking the law on

motorways

DesignThis module provides clients with information about how and why variable speed limits and lane closures are imposed on motorways. As most of this information is provided in two videos, you can focus on ensuring the other objectives of the module are met.

One of the reasons why we provide this information is because we know that people who don’t understand why limits are set and lanes closed can start questioning whether they really need to stick to them. For example, if you see lanes closed without ever seeing a reason – and without understanding why that is happening – you may conclude that the closures are unnecessary, and be tempted to use the closed lanes.

To counteract this, the module is designed to encourage clients to apply the new information they are being given and think about the consequences of their behaviour. In part, this is about drawing attention to the possible consequences of breaking the rules; but the emphasis is on encouraging clients to identify the benefits of sticking to the rules.

The second reason we are providing information about how motorways are managed is because we know that people often don’t think about themselves as having an active role in making the motorways work for everyone. Many people approach motorway driving with the mindset: ‘I’m trying to get to my destination as quickly as possible. All these people are in my way. And now they’re closing lanes and slowing me down…’

Module 2

22

To counteract this, this module is designed to encourage a different mindset which highlights shared responsibility for keeping the motorways running safely and efficiently: ‘We’re all trying to get to our destinations as quickly (and safely) as possible. Lane closures and variable speed limits are helping us co-ordinate our efforts…’ To promote this more collaborative mindset, restrictions and closures are deliberately framed as requests and opportunities to help in this module.

The module does not directly ask clients why they personally have broken the rules: but it does ask them why ‘we’ in general might do so, given the clear benefits of sticking to those rules. This is a way of prompting and creating an opportunity for clients to reflect on their own behaviour without directly requiring them to do so.

How to use the slides to deliver the objectives• Use Slides 10 and 11 to introduce the Regional Operations Centre (ROC) video in an

interactive, engaging way.• Let the ROC video on Slide 12 introduce the information.• Use the debrief of the video to get clients to reflect on what they have just watched and

draw their own conclusions. Let clients work it out themselves, and avoid the temptation to tell them what they should think. However, if clients are really struggling, you can check that the key messages have been heard.

• Bring the potential consequences of not following the rules to life by asking clients to take another perspective, and share their own experiences of being broken down on a motorway (and so reliant on the good behaviour of others).

• Create an opportunity to start reflecting on their own behaviour by asking why some drivers nevertheless, don’t follow the rules. You can do this in a light touch way, because the question is repeated later in the module.

• Use Slide 13 to introduce the Phantom Traffic Jam video. You should not be introducing information yourself here.

• Let the Phantom Traffic Jam video on Slide 14 introduce the information.• Use the debrief of the video to get clients to reflect on what they have just watched and

draw their own conclusions. Let clients work it out themselves, and avoid the temptation to tell them what they should think. However, if clients are really struggling, you can check that the key message has been heard.

• Create another opportunity to start reflecting on their own behaviour by asking how we can cause Phantom Traffic Jams, and why we do these things. Again, you can do this in a light touch way.

• Use Slides 15 and 16 to make sure that clients have understood the key reasons why variable speed limits and lane closures are imposed on motorways.

• Use the activity on Slide 17 to get clients thinking about the benefits of managing the motorways this way. Then use the messages on Slide 18 to drive home the point that these all depend on all of us sticking to the rules.

Module 2 Module 2

23

• Use the question on Slide 19 to create a final opportunity in this module for clients to reflect on their own behaviour, by returning to the question: why we don’t always do as we are asked? Remember, each time you ask this question it is an opportunity for clients to reflect and draw their own conclusions. Don’t feel you need to force the discussion.

• Use Slide 20 solely as a signposting slide. This slide is there to connect the pieces of the course. Don’t try to introduce any information or make any points on this slide. Instead, use it to:

o Shift the focus of discussion from the how the motorways are managed (the first question set up on Slide 8) to the things we can do to help (the second question set up on Slide 8) o Introduce the three topics that will be covered


BCT Slides Notes5.2 Salience of

consequences10 Clients recognise that ROCs deal with serious

incidents that are relevant to them. 13.2 Framing / Reframing 11 Clients take the perspective of an ROC

worker and how they would respond to an incident, which encourages them to focus on the need to prioritise safety.

5.1 Information about consequences

12 Clients realise that how they drive affects the safety of other road users.

6.3 Others' approval 11-12 Clients recognise that RTOs want them to stick to the rules.


13-14 Clients learn that how they drive can cause phantom traffic jams.

13.2 Framing / Reframing 13-14 Clients learn that speed restrictions can make traffic flow faster, rather than slow it down so there are advantages to speed restrictions.

5.2 Salience of consequences

15-16 Clients learn that there are important reasons, very relevant to them, why lanes are closed and limits reduced.

5.3 Social and environmental consequences

17 Clients realise that their driving behaviour can impact others, both on and off the motorway.


18 Clients realise that if they break the rules they could stop motorways working safely and efficiently.

4.2 Information about antecedents (triggers)

19 Clients reflect on what triggers their unsafe or illegal motorway driving behaviours.

13.2 Framing / Reframing 20 Clients realise that they have a role to play in making motorways safer and more efficient.

24

Module 4

Slide 10

State that you’d like to look at the first of the two questions: How are the motorways managed to give us more of what we like and less of what we don’t like?

Ask: Does anyone know what this is a picture of? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. If any clients know about Regional Operations Centres, allow them briefly to share what they know. Otherwise, state that the photo shows a Regional Operations Centre (ROC), and that the role of ROCs is to manage incidents on the motorway.

Ask: What do you think are the most common incidents the staff in ROCs have to deal with?

Online Offline

Ask clients to write down a few answers

Ask clients to discuss at their tables

Ask a few clients to read out their responses. After asking a few clients, ask the rest of the clients if they have anything else to add to the items already mentioned.

Ask for feedback from the tables. Ask each table to focus on things they can add to the things already mentioned.

Do NOT pre-empt the points explained in the video on Slide 12.

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Module 4Module 4

Slide 11

Select one of the types of incident identified by clients. State that you would like to use this type of incident as an example.

Ask: Imagine that you work in an ROC. How would you respond to [selected type of incident]?

Facilitate a discussion.


2m

26

Module 4Slide 12

State that you are going to play a short film that explains what happens in the ROC. Encourage clients to make notes of anything they'd like to discuss as they watch.

Click to play the video

Allow a few seconds of silence at the end of the film.Ask: What stood out for you?Facilitate a discussion. Encourage clients to share what stood out for them – building on each other’s ideas as appropriate. Make sure you allow time and space for people to reflect and think.Check that key messages have been heard (if not already raised by the clients)

• The ROC sees the road a lot further ahead than you can• If you never see the incident, that means the system is working

Ask: Does anyone have an experience of having to stop on a motorway? Pause: allow but don’t force responses.

Remind clients: If you ever have to stop, your safety depends on others following the signs.

Ask: Why do you think some drivers don’t follow the signs? Collect a few responses

Online

Note ideas next to the name of the client who suggests them on your client list.

Offline

Record ideas on flipchart.


This slide will initially appear blank. It contains a video that will play on a click The video concludes with a screen reading: ‘What stood out for you?’

5m

Do NOT add your own ideas about why drivers don’t follow the signs.

You will refer back to clients’ ideas about why drivers don’t follow signs on Slide 19

9.22

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Module 4 Module 4

Slide 13

State: As we’ve just seen, variable speed limits are sometimes set in response to incidents. But they can also be set for other reasons. When the motorway is very busy, speed limits can be reduced so the traffic moves faster.

Ask: Has anyone come across this idea before? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. Allow clients to share anything they do know.

Ask: Has anyone heard of phantom traffic jams? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. Allow clients to share anything they do know.


28

Module 4Slide 14

State that you are going to play a short film that explains how reducing speed limits can sometimes help the traffic to move faster.Encourage clients to make notes of anything they’d like to discuss as they watch.

Click to play the video.

Allow a few seconds of silence at the end of the film.

Ask: What stood out for you? Facilitate a discussion. Encourage clients to share what stood out for them – building on each other’s ideas as appropriate. Make sure you allow time and space for people to reflect and think. Check that everyone has understood and accepts the key message: that reducing speed limits allows the traffic to move faster by reducing the risk of phantom traffic jams.

Ask: What about us? What can we do as drivers/riders to reduce the chances of phantom traffic jams for the people following us? Check that clients understand the points made in the video: not getting too close to the car ahead, not changing lanes unnecessarily, not getting distracted.

Ask: Why do you think people do the things that cause phantom traffic jams? Collect a few responses.

Online


Offline

Record ideas on flipchart – alongside the ideas already collected on Slide 12.

Ask: When we’re in traffic, how often do we think about the people BEHIND us, and the possible consequences of our behaviour for them? Pause: allow but don’t force responses.

Check for any questions

Hand over to Trainer 1

This slide contains a video that will play on a click The video concludes with a screen reading: ‘What stood out for you?’

5m

3.46

You will refer back to clients’ ideas about why people do things that cause phantom traffic jams on Slide 19.

29

Module 4 Module 4

Slide 15

State that you would like to summarise the key points covered so far.

Ask: Why close lanes? What reasons have we seen? Collect a few responses.

When you have heard the main points, click to reveal the answers. Give examples of what you mean by ‘obstructions’ and ‘infrastructure defects’, for the benefit of any ESOL speakers.

This slide is animated. The ‘answers’ to the question appear on a click. All of the ‘answers’ appear at the same time.

30

Module 4

Slide 16

Ask: Why reduce speed limits? What reasons have we seen? Collect a few responses.

When you have heard the main points, click to reveal the answers.

This slide is animated. The ‘answers’ to the question appear on a click. All of the ‘answers’ appear at the same time.

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Module 4 Module 4

This slide is animated. The four questions appear one at a time on successive clicks.

Slide 17

State that you would like to review the benefits of managing the motorways this way.

Online Offline

Click to reveal each question in turn. For each question, collect a few responses (different clients each time). Check if other clients wish to add anything else before moving on to the next question.

Click until all four questions are revealed. Allocate a question to each table, and ask clients to discuss it. Invite responses from each table in turn. Check if other tables wish to add anything else before moving on to the next question.


Do NOT get drawn into arguments if clients identify downsides to managing the motorways this way. It is not your role to promote this way of managing the motorways.

Make sure that you have read the guidance in this manual on Handling Concerns about ALR Motorways.

DO link back to things that clients said they liked and did not like about motorways.

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Module 4

Slide 18

State: We only get these benefits if everyone does as they are asked. The system as a whole only works safely and efficiently if each of us does our bit.

Remind clients of the point you made earlier (Slide 7) that: The responsibility for making motorway driving better for everyone is shared between:• The people who manage the motorways• All of us using the motorways, and what we do and don’t do

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Module 4 Module 4

Slide 19

Ask: Why do we sometimes NOT do as we’re asked? Remind clients that this is a question you have already touched on a couple of times.

Online Offline

Ask clients to remind you of their earlier responses. If they do not remember, remind them of some of the points they made on Slides 12 and 14.

Ask clients to look again the flipchart on which you collected their responses on Slides 12 and 14.

Ask: Are there any other reasons we haven’t talked about yet? Pause: allow but don’t force responses.

34

Module 4

Slide 20

State: The rest of the course will focus on the second of the two questions: What can we do to help as drivers/riders?

Remind clients that, at the end of the course, you will ask them to create an action plan and commit to making a positive change. Encourage them to make a note of anything that might be relevant to this as you work through the topics.

State that you are going to look at three key things we can do to help.Read out the three topics. State that you will work through these three topics in turn.

Check that clients are happy with this plan for the rest of the session.


ActionPlan

Do NOT go into further detail about the content of the topics at this point.

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Module 4

Module 5: Know the signsSlides21 – 58

Duration20 minutes


Module objectives• Increase/confirm clients’ understanding of how to read motorway signs and road markings,

in particular those found on managed motorways

DesignThis module ensures that clients understand what signs and road markings are telling them they can, should and must not do. It focuses on the issues for which they may have been referred to NMAC.

The section is structured around three critical questions a driver or rider should be able to answer whenever they are on a motorway. For each question, a series of photos (and one short video) are provided, which you can use to model how to extract answers from signs and road markings.

We know that some clients commit the offences for which they are referred to NMAC because they do not understand what they can, should and must not do. That’s why this module is needed. However, we also know that many other clients who attend NMAC already know all of the information covered in this section. That’s why pace and focus are so important. The module must meet the needs of the first group of clients without boring or alienating the second group.

There is a vast amount of information that could be delivered in this section. In order to ensure pace and focus, priorities have been agreed with regard to the specific points that are delivered. These priorities derive from the offences for which people can be referred to NMAC and have been reviewed and agreed with multiple stakeholders (including trainers).

Please stick to these agreed priorities. If you add in additional information, you will risk overloading some clients and boring others, so diluting the impact of the points we have to make. That’s why we ask you to stick to the key points and not add in additional information.

The design of this module rests entirely on your skill and discipline as a trainer. The course designers have assumed that you will:

• Keep the focus on the question at hand – i.e. keep the focus on speed limits in the section on ‘What’s the speed limit?’

36

• Stick to making the priority points in the manual, and avoid diluting their impact by making lots of additional lower priority points.

• Answer individual client questions, doing your best to: o defer questions to a more relevant moment or to a pause point if they are off topic o keep answers succinct and factual o avoiding getting drawn into debates – see in particular the guidance on Handling concerns about ALR Motorways.

How to use the slides to deliver the objectives• Use Slide 21 to set up the three questions to be covered in this module. This is a

signposting slide, designed to connect the pieces of the course and give clients an idea of what is going to happen. Don’t try to introduce any information or make any additional points on this slide.

• Use Slide 22 to focus on the first question: ‘What’s the speed limit?’ This is another signposting slide. Don’t try to introduce any information or make any additional points on this slide.

• Use Slides 23 – 36 to model how to extract answers from signs and road markings to the question: ‘What’s the speed limit?’ Stick to the priority points detailed in the manual.

• Use Slide 37 to focus on the second question: ‘Which lanes can I use?’ This is another signposting slide. Don’t try to introduce any information or make any additional points on this slide.

• Use Slides 38 – 51 to model how to extract answers from signs and road markings to the question: ‘Which lanes can I use?’ Stick to the priority points detailed in the manual.

• Use Slide 52 to focus on the third question: ‘Where can I stop safely in an emergency?’ This is another signposting slide. Don’t try to introduce any information or make any additional points on this slide. But do use this opportunity to acknowledge that clients are likely to have good questions not just about where they can stop safely, but also about how to stop safely. Explain that you will write these down to deal with later.

• Use Slides 53 – 57 to model how to extract from signs and road markings answers to the question: ‘Where can I stop safely in an emergency?’ Stick to the priority points detailed in the manual. Write down any questions about how to stop safely so you can return to them later.

• Use Slide 58 to show how all three questions can be answered on a single stretch of road. In offline courses, this is also a debrief of the welcome activity.


BCT Slides Notes4.1 Instruction on how to

perform a behaviour23-36 Explain to clients what the speed limit signs

mean.4.1 Instruction on how to

perform a behaviour38-51 Explain to clients which lanes they can use.

4.1 Instruction on how to perform a behaviour

53-57 Explain to clients how to use an emergency area.

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Module 5

Slide 21

State that you are now going to talk through the first of the three topics: know the signs. State: Whenever you are on the motorway, you should be able to answer these three questions. Read out the three questions on the slide.

State that signs and road markings give you all the information you need to answer these questions. You are going to quickly review the most important signs and markings. Depending on which motorways they use, clients may not see all of the signs that follow on a regular basis.

Remind clients that, even if they know all of the information you are about to share, others in the group may not. Sometimes the reason people come on these courses is that they did not understand what the signs were telling them to do. Check that everyone agrees that the topic is important enough to be worth going over again. Encourage clients to keep an open mind and ask any questions they have.

Do NOT answer the questions on the slide.

Do NOT introduce additional topics unless clients explicitly ask about them.

Do keep the focus on the question being addressed and stick to the priority points

Do answer clients’ questions briefly, or defer to a relevant point or pause point.

Do NOT get drawn into debates about whether the signs should be as they are.

Relevant to all of Module 5

38

Module 5

Slide 22

Slide 24

Slide 23

State: Let’s start by making sure we always know what the speed limit is.

Remind clients that, as explained at the beginning of the video about the ROC, the busiest sections of the motorway have variable speed limits, which can be reduced in response to incidents or traffic conditions. State that this is the sign that shows you when you are entering a stretch of motorway with variable speed limits. Check that clients have seen this sign.

Ask: What’s the speed limit here? Check clients know the national speed limit on a motorway without a variable speed limit.Ask: Is it the same for all vehicles? Check that clients know the different limits for different vehicles, in particular HGVs and those towing.Ask: Is the speed limit the same in all lanes? Check that clients understand that the speed limit is the same in all three lanes.

Do NOT answer the question on this slide. Move straight on to the content of the module.

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Module 5Module 5

Slide 25

Slide 27

Slide 26

State that this picture shows an example of the sign on the slip road. Ask: If you see this sign, what does that tell you about the speed limit? Check that clients understand that they will now need to keep their eyes open for other signs displaying the current speed limit.

Ask: What is the speed limit now? Check that clients know this means the limit is 60mph. Ask: What does it mean that the number is in a red circle? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. Remind clients that a red circle means the limit is a legal maximum. It’s not just advice. (Avoid use of the term ‘mandatory’, which can cause confusion, especially for ESOL speakers.)

State that this is an example of the kind of sign you need to look out for. Ask: Given that the sign is blank, what does that tell you about the speed limit? Check that clients understand that a blank sign means that no variable speed limit has been applied. The speed limit is therefore either the national speed limit or whatever is indicated by other signs (for example, if there are signs showing temporary restrictions through roadworks).

40

Module 5

Slide 28

Slide 30

Slide 29

State that you will often see variable speed limits above the lanes, like this.

Ask: What about this sign? Which lanes does the 50mph limit apply to? Check that clients understand that the limit applies to all lanes.

Ask: What does it mean if one of the screens is blank, as in this picture? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. State that this means there has been a technology failure. The 60mph limit applies across all lanes.

This image is used on a number of occasions on the slides that follow. The gantry signs have been digitally altered to show different possible scenarios. This has been done so clients can see how the same sign might show different information at different times.

This image is used on a number of occasions on the slides that follow. The sign has been digitally altered to show different possible scenarios. This has been done so clients can see how the same sign might show different information at different times.

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Module 5Module 5

Slide 31

Slide 32

Ask: What does this sign mean?Check that clients understand that this is the national speed limit sign. This is used to show that the variable speed restriction is ending here. State that the word ‘End’ may also be used sometimes to show that restrictions are ending.

Ask: Suppose you’ve been driving along a stretch of motorway with the speed restricted to 60mph. You see these signs ahead. When can you increase your speed above 60mph? Check that clients know the national speed limit does not apply until you have passed the signs. Remind clients that it is a speed limit, not a target.

Remind clients that if the signs are all blank, this also means that no variable speed limit has been applied. The speed limit is therefore either the national speed limit or whatever is indicated by other signs.

Ask: Suppose you’re going along a stretch of motorway with 60mph limits shown on the signs, and then the next sign you see is blank like this. What would that mean? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. State that the end of a variable speed limit should always be marked by gantries showing the national speed limit sign or the ‘End’ sign. A blank gantry could therefore be faulty, and you should assume that the previous speed limit still applies.However, if you see two blank gantries in a row and no other signage to indicate a different speed limit the official advice is that you can then return to the national speed limit, while keeping a careful eye on the traffic conditions and the road ahead.

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Module 5

Slide 33

Slide 35

Slide 34

State that this sign tells you that you are leaving a stretch of motorway with variable speed limits. Ask: What speed limit applies after this sign? Check that clients understand that the national speed limit will again apply.

Remind clients that these are the signs that tell you when you’re entering and leaving a stretch of motorway with variable speed limits. Between these signs, you have to keep an eye on the signs to see whether a variable limit applies.

State that this is an example of the sign in context.

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Module 5Module 5

Slide 36

Remind clients that the red circle means the speed limit is a legal maximum. If they go faster than this then they are breaking the law. State that you might occasionally see 20mph and 30mph limits. These are only ever set by a Traffic Officer in unusual circumstances, for example if there is a vehicle travelling the wrong way down the motorway ahead of you.

Click to reveal the advisory sign.

State that they may also see signs like this on motorways that do not have variable limits. The amber lights will be flashing. Ask: Does anyone know what kind of limit this is? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. State that, because there is no red circle, this is an advisory limit.

Check for any other questions clients have about speed limits on motorways.

Do NOT talk about non-variable speed restrictions that clients have not asked about.

DO briefly answer any client questions about non-variable speed restrictions on motorways, e.g. through roadworks, on urban motorways, average speed cameras, etc.

This slide is animated. The advisory sign appears on a click.

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Module 5

Do NOT answer the question on the slide.

Slide 37

Slide 38

State: We’ve looked at how to work out the legal maximum speed limit, so let’s now be sure we know which lanes we can use.

Ask: Which lanes can you use? Check that clients understand they should drive in the left lane unless overtaking.

Ask: Does it matter what vehicle you are driving? Check that clients understand the restrictions on which vehicles can use the outside lane. Check that clients understand the restrictions on provisional licence holders using a motorway.

Ask: When should the hard shoulder be used? Check that clients understand the hard shoulder can only be used in an emergency. You’ll return to the topic of where to go in an emergency later.

Ask: When can you drive in the hard shoulder? Check that clients understand that the only time you can drive in a fixed hard shoulder is when you are rejoining the carriageway. State that, on some stretches of motorway, the hard shoulder can be opened to traffic at busy times. The next slide shows an example.

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Module 5Module 5

Slide 39

Slide 41

Slide 40

State that this is an example of a hard shoulder that has been opened to ease the flow of traffic. The extra lane has been clearly designated for M40 traffic only.

State that, on some motorways, the hard shoulder has been converted into a permanent lane – as in this photo.

State that this is an example of a hard shoulder that could be opened, but is currently closed to traffic. Ask: What would happen if you drove in the hard shoulder with this sign showing? Check that clients understand that they would be breaking the law if they did this.

If clients ask where they should go in an emergency on a motorway like this, reassure them you’ll be returning to this question shortly. It’s the third question in the ‘Know the Signs’ module.

46

Module 5

Slide 42

Slide 44

Slide 43

Ask: What’s the meaning of the different markings between the left-hand lane and the rest of the motorway in this photo? Check that clients understand that the left-hand lane here is for traffic leaving at the next junction.

Ask: If people leave it too late to get into the correct lane, what might the consequences be? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. Remind clients of the video about phantom traffic jams. Unnecessary lane changes can cause jams for the drivers and riders behind you.

Remind clients that, as explained in the video earlier, lanes on motorways with variable speed limits can be temporarily closed with a ‘Red X’. This is an example of a closed lane. Ask clients to remind you of some of the reasons why lanes may be closed.

Ask: What warning do you get that a lane is going to be closed ahead? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. The next slide shows the answer.

State that this is the sign that warns you a lane is closed ahead, and tells you to move to the next lane as directed. The arrow may point left or right, depending on which lane is closed. Ask clients if, in the video about the ROC, they noticed the operative (Darren) explaining how he had set signs telling drivers to ‘divert their vehicle’ out of the lane before they ‘approach the mandatory Red Xs’. This is the sign he was talking about.

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Module 5Module 5

Slide 45

Slide 47

Slide 46

State that this is an example of what you might see in reality. All of the vehicles in the left-hand lane here should be looking to move out of that lane, as it is closed ahead.

State that this is the ‘Red X’ sign the operative, Darren, referred to in the video. This means the lane is now closed. Ask clients if they can remember the analogy Darren gives for going through a Red X. If not, remind them that he compares it to driving through traffic cones.

State that this is another example of a sign warning you that you need to get out of a lane that is closed ahead.

Ask: After passing a sign like this, what sign can you expect to see next? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. The next slide shows the answer.

48

Module 5

Slide 48

Slide 49

Ask clients to look at this photo again. Ask: What happens after you’ve gone past the Red X? Can you re-join the lane again? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. State that doing so is both illegal and unsafe.

State that this is an example of what might be up ahead. This is why you cannot go back into the lane that has been closed. Ask: What about once you have passed an incident like this? Can you now re-join the lane? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. State that doing so is still both illegal and unsafe.

This is an exact repeat of the image on Slide 43.

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Module 5Module 5

Slide 50

State that this short video shows why you cannot assume that, just because you’ve seen an incident, you can now rejoin a closed lane. Ask clients to watch the van, as indicated in the video.


Check that clients saw that the van pulled in, thinking it was safe to do so, and then had to pull out again immediately.

Ask: Is the van driver the only person breaking the law here? Check that clients have noticed that two lanes are, in fact, closed – clearly visible in the final image of the video. All drivers in these two lanes are breaking the law.

Ask: Why do you think the van is so keen to pull into the closed lane? Collect a few responses from clients. State (if not suggested by a client) that one likely reason is that the driver wants to take the upcoming junction. Ask: What should the van driver have done? Check that clients understand that, if the lane is closed, so is the junction. Remind clients of the comparison with driving through cones, and ask if they would take a junction that had been coned off.

Ask: So how do you know that it IS legal and safe to move back into a lane that is closed? Check that clients understand that they need to see speed limits (national or otherwise) or an ‘End’ sign showing above the lane in question. Ask: Is it safe if all the signs above all the lanes are blank? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. Remind clients that, as with variable speed restrictions, the end of a closed lane should always be marked by a gantry showing a speed limit (national or otherwise) or the ‘End’ sign above that lane. A blank gantry could be faulty, and you should therefore assume that the lane is still closed.

This slide contains a short video. It will play on a click. The video includes a simple instruction to clients (‘Watch the driver identified with the blue circle’). You should leave the final image of the video on screen when it finishes, as you will refer to it in the discussion.

0.36

50

Module 5

Slide 51

Ask: Which lanes are closed here? Check that clients understand that the left-hand lane is closed.

Click to reveal the question.

Ask: Is it ok to use the closed lane, as others are doing? Check that clients understand that it is illegal to pass under the Red X. They may not themselves see this rule being enforced – but the drivers of the cars in that lane will be picked up by the cameras and receive a fixed penalty notice.

Check for any other questions clients have about which lanes they can and can’t use on motorways.

This slide is animated. The question in the blue box appears on a click.

51

Module 5Module 5

Slide 52

State: We’ve looked at how to work out the speed limit and which lanes we can use Let’s now look at where we can stop safely in an emergency.

State that you will be saying more about what to do in an emergency at the end of the course. In this section you just want to make sure clients understand the signs and road markings. State that if clients have questions about what to do in an emergency they are welcome to raise them and you will write them down to address later. Check that clients are ok with this.

Do NOT answer the question on the slide.

DO write down any questions clients ask about what to do in an emergency, and refer back to them on Slide 101.

52

Module 5

Slide 53

Ask: Where would you go on this road in an emergency? Check that clients understand that stopping in the hard shoulder will often not be their only option, even if there is something wrong with their car. Leaving at the next exit, or at a service station, is much better if possible. It is easier and safer to try to sort out the emergency there, and then rejoin the motorway. It is also easier and safer for a breakdown organisation or friends or family to rescue them if they can’t get started again.

Ask: When are you allowed to stop in the hard shoulder? Check that clients understand that the hard shoulder is for use in genuine emergencies only. For example, if you have to stop because your child needs the toilet, you MUST go to the next service station or take the next exit. It is illegal – and dangerous – to use the hard shoulder for things that are not real emergencies.

Ask: Is it ever legal to reverse in the hard shoulder? Check that clients understand that this is illegal.

53

Module 5Module 5

Slide 54

State that this picture shows a dual carriageway rather than a motorway. Note that many dual carriageways do not have hard shoulders. Ask: So where would you go if you had to stop but could not make it to an exit? Check that clients understand that they should use one of the layby areas. Note the layby areas shown in this picture.

Do NOT use the comparison with dual carriageways to defend the removal of hard shoulders on motorways.

DO help clients understand where they should go if they need to stop on a motorway with no hard shoulder by providing a (hopefully) familiar reference point: laybys on dual carriageways. In particular, use the comparison to help clients who are confused by the removal of hard shoulders to understand what they are meant to do if they need to stop.

54

Module 5

Slide 55

State that the same principle applies on stretches of motorway with no hard shoulder. These have Emergency Areas which – like the hard shoulder – can only be used in a genuine emergency if you cannot make it to an exit or service station. Point out that using an Emergency Area when you do not really need to may prevent someone who really does need it from using it. State that this is an example of the latest style of Emergency Area, painted bright orange to make it clearly visible.

Ask: If you are on a stretch of motorway with no hard shoulder, how do you know how far it is to the next Emergency Area? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. The next slide shows the answer.

Clients may raise concerns about the removal of the hard shoulder at this point. Make sure that you have read the guidance on Handling Concerns about ALR Motorways.

55

Module 5Module 5

Slide 56

State that this is the kind of sign you will see telling you how far it is to the next Emergency Area. Check that clients have seen signs like these.

56

Module 5

Slide 57

Ask: Where would you go in an emergency in this situation? Check that clients have noticed that the left-hand lane is closed by a Red X. State that, if they genuinely have no other alternative, they can cross the closed lane to reach the Emergency Area. However, as always, it is better to get to the next junction or a service station if possible. Remind clients that the lane may have been closed so that someone else can re-join the main carriageway from an Emergency Area like this one.

Check for any other questions clients have about where they should go in an emergency. State again that you will be saying more about what to do in an emergency at the end of the course.

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Module 5Module 5

Slide 58

This slide is animated. The information communicated by signs and road markings will appear on a click.

Online Offline

State that you’d like to quickly recap the information you have just covered by looking at this photo.

State that you would like to take a quick look at the welcome activity in light of the information you have just covered.

Ask: What do the signs and road markings here tell you that you should and should not do? Collect a few responses. If necessary, prompt with the questions covered in this section: e.g. ‘Which lanes can you use?’

Click to reveal the information communicated by signs and road markings.

Briefly highlight any points missed by the clients.

Encourage clients to make a note of any points of personal interest, as they may want to refer back to these when they create an action plan. Allow time for clients to make any notes.


DO NOT spend a long time analysing this photograph or raising points other than those highlighted on the slide.

ActionPlan

58

Left deliberately blank

Module 2

59

Module 6: Manage speed and spaceSlides59 – 87

Duration22 minutes – including 8 minutes of video contentThe break happens shortly after the beginning of this module.


Module objectives• Give clients a better understanding of the consequences of driving even a few miles an hour

faster than the speed limit• Increase clients’ awareness of the need to maintain a safe space, and ensure they are able

to do this in practice• Encourage clients to reflect on how their own behaviour on motorways may be seen and

judged by other road users

DesignThis module is designed to tackle issues of speed and space.

The module begins with a quiz, which has been included to create a change of pace after the previous module, and to prompt client thinking about the issues to be covered before taking a break.

With regard to speed, we know that one reason why clients break the speed limit is that they do not believe a ‘few miles an hour’ over the speed limit actually makes that much difference. We also know that, at higher speeds, people are prone to overestimate how much time they will gain by going a little bit faster.

To counteract this, the first part of the module presents information about the actual consequences of driving even a few miles an hour faster than the speed limit.

With regard to space, we know that one reason why clients may drive too close to the vehicle in front is that they simply do not realise that they are doing so. In part this may be because distances between vehicles feel so different when seen from the perspectives of the driver following and the driver being followed. It may also be because people rely on what looks right. Some may not know any other way to assess the space they are leaving.

We also know that many clients feel negatively about other drivers who follow them too closely. In the first part of this section, clients are given an opportunity to air these views before being shown – using photos taken from different perspectives – how likely it is that they might be close-following others without realising it. The implication of this is then drawn out: all the negative judgements they aired are being said about them by other drivers.

At this point, clients should feel motivated to improve their spacing on the road. The next step is to make sure they’re able to do this into practice. Clients are first reminded what a safe distance is: 2 seconds in good conditions. A second photo exercise is then used to show clients how

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hard it is to estimate 2 seconds by eye. They need a more reliable technique – based on a fixed point and a phrase which takes two seconds to say – which is then supplied and demonstrated.

The module concludes by addressing the legitimate concerns many clients have that, if they do leave a safe space, their efforts will be undermined by other people cutting into it.

How to use the slides to deliver the objectives• Use Slide 59 to make the transition to a new topic. This is a signposting slide.• Use Slides 60 – 66 to take clients through the quiz. Check clients have understood the

questions and written down their answers. Then take a break.• Use Slide 67 to introduce and close the break.• Use Slide 68 to introduce the Stopping Speeds video by finding out how clients answered

Question 1 of the quiz. But don’t give the answer: tell clients to look out for it in the video. This will give them another reason to pay attention.

• Let the Stopping Speeds video on Slide 69 introduce the information. • Use the debrief of the video to get clients to reflect on what they have just watched and

draw their own conclusions. Let clients work it out themselves, and avoid the temptation to tell them what they should think. However, if clients are really struggling, you can check that the key messages have been heard.

• Prompt clients to think what the differences in stopping speed being discussed mean in practice.

• Use Slide 70 to explain what the differences in stopping speed mean for one particular issue: injury and potential fatality. It’s really important that you keep this discussion factual and unemotional: we know that creating strong emotional responses in the training room does NOT translate into behaviour change, and may even be counter-productive. You may feel like you’re making a positive difference by getting an emotional reaction, but the evidence is that you may, in fact, be doing harm.

• Use Slides 71 – 73 to show how little you gain in terms of time by travelling over the speed limit. This is done by giving the answer to Question 2 of the quiz.

• Use Slide 74 to shift the focus to space. This is a signposting slide, so don’t introduce any information on this slide.

• Use Slide 75 – 76 to explore how clients feel about those who follow them too closely. Make notes that you can refer back to on Slide 80.

• Use Slides 77 – 80 to show clients how different the same distance feels from the perspective of the driver following and the driver being followed. Many clients – even those who guess that the distance is the same – are likely to opt for a higher speed when they see it from the perspective of the driver following. (In the process of doing this, you will also be giving the answer to Question 3 of the quiz.)

• Spell out the implications of this: it’s possible that many of us are close following other people without meaning to, and without realising we are doing it, because the distance feels larger from our perspective.

• Link this back to the messages captured on Slide 76. Those people we are close following without meaning to, and without realising it, are judging us negatively in exactly the same way we judge others negatively.

• Use Slides 81 – 82 to introduce the idea that we should be leaving a two-second gap (or more). Do not explain on these slides how to do this.

• Use Slides 83 – 84 to show clients how hard it can be to estimate a two-second gap by eye, and why we need a more reliable technique to measure distances.

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• Use Slide 85 to introduce that reliable technique: a fixed point and a standard phrase that takes two seconds to say.

• Use Slide 86 – 87 to introduce and discuss practical challenges around maintaining a safe distance in practice.


BCT Slides Notes5.1 Information about

consequences69 The video explains the difference that a few mph can

make to residual speed.5.5 Anticipated regret 69 The video encourages clients to conclude that they

should not make a bad decision in terms of speed choice that they end up regretting.

9.3 Comparative imagining of future outcomes

69 The video prompts clients to imagine the different outcomes, should they need to suddenly stop, of when they comply with the speed limit and when they don’t.


70 Clients learn about how increased impact speed makes injuries and fatalities more likely.

5.5 Anticipated regret 70 Clients conclude that they would not want to injure or kill somebody for the sake of a few mph.

4.2 Information about antecedents (triggers)

70 Clients reflect on and discuss why they might drive faster than the speed limit.


71-73 Clients learn they save only 86s if they ignore the speed limit in the scenario described at the start of the module.

9.3 Comparative imagining of future outcomes

71-73 Clients consider whether saving 86s is worth the risk.

6.3 Information about others’ approval

76 Clients are asked what they think of drivers who tailgate and therefore recognise that others do not approve of them tailgating.

13.2 Framing / Reframing 77-80 Clients consider following distances from the perspectives of the leading and following drivers.

4.3 Re-attribution 77-80 Clients review why they might tailgate and conclude that it might be because they don’t realise they are doing it.


81-82 Summarise or explain the two-second rule.

13.3 Incompatible beliefs 83-84 Clients conclude that drivers can't rely on their feelings/instincts about what's safe and still be considerate drivers.


85 The video explains how to apply the two-second rule.

6.1 Demonstration of the behaviour

85 The video demonstrates how to apply the two-second rule.

5.5 Anticipated regret 87 The video elicits anticipated regret: if clients don’t have a safety bubble they could crash.

1.2 Problem solving 87 The video highlights that other drivers could move into your safety bubble and gives advice about what you can do about it.

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Module 6

Slide 59

Slide 61

Slide 60

State that you are now moving on to the second topic: managing speed and space This topic starts with a quick quiz. Check clients are ready to make a note of their answers to the three questions that follow.

State that the first question is presented as an animation.

Click to play the animation.

Check that clients have understood the question and written down an answer before moving on to the next slide.

State that the second question is presented as an animation..



This slide contains a short animation. Question 1 is shown on the final screen of the animation. Click to play.

This slide contains a short animation. Question 2 is shown on the final screen of the animation. Click to play.

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Slide 62

Slide 67

Slides 63-66

State that, for the final question, three pictures are going to appear on screen, labelled A, B and C. Each picture will be shown for a few seconds, and then all three pictures will be shown side-by-side at the end. Ask clients to think about the question on screen as they are looking at the pictures. Read out the question.

Check that clients have understood the task before moving forwards.


State that you will go through the answers to the questions after the break. Remind clients of the return time and the ground rule in relation to timekeeping. Send clients to a break. Leave this slide displayed.

After the break, welcome clients back. Remind clients about the restrictions on phone use and recording, and that these are strict police requirements.

State that the second question is presented as an animation..



Slides 63-66 are linked by automatic transitions, which will run as soon as you move to Slide 63. Each image will be shown in turn for a few seconds, and then the sequence will halt on Slide 66 which shows all three images and repeats Question 3.

Do NOT click to move the slides forwards. Let the sequence run to the final slide, which repeats Question 3.

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Slide 68

Ask: What did you put as your answer to Question 1? Collect some responses from clients.

Do NOT give the correct answer or comment on answers at this point.

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Slide 69

State that you are going to watch a short video which will give the correct answer.

Click to play the video

Allow a few seconds of silence at the end of the film.

Ask: What stood out for you? Facilitate a discussion. Encourage clients to share what stood out for them – building on each other’s ideas as appropriate. Make sure you allow time and space for people to reflect and think.

Check that the key message has been heard (if not already raised by clients): small differences in speed become much bigger differences in the speed at which you hit something.

Ask: What do these differences in speed mean in practice? Collect some responses from clients before moving on.

This slide will initially appear blank. It contains a video that will play on a click. The video concludes with a screen reading: ‘What stood out for you?’

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Module 6

Slide 70

State that this graph looks at one consequence of these differences in speed: the possible impact on you as a driver. State that, while this information is very important to mention, you would like everyone to discuss it respectfully, as it is quite possible people in the group have been affected by these consequences.

Explain to clients how to read the graph. The graph shows what can happen to a car driver wearing their seatbelt when the front of their car hits something. It shows how the risk of three levels of injury – slight, serious and fatal - increases with speed State that serious injuries typically involve a person having to spend time in hospital as an in-patient. Slight injuries include things like sprains and whiplash. Explain that the numbers across the bottom of the graph show the speed of impact, and the numbers up the side show the risk of injury. Not surprisingly, the risk of different types of injury increases as the speed of the impact increases.

Ask clients to consider the example that came up in Question 1 of the quiz: an impact speed of 17mph – as a result of going just 2mph over the national speed limit.• The risk of a fatal injury at this speed is still quite low – less than 10% – but remember, if

you’d been going at 70 instead of 72, you’d have been going at 0mph by this point.• The risk of a serious injury is around 20%: that means you have a 1 in 5 chance of a

serious injury. • The risk of a slight injury is very high. You would be lucky not to be hurt at all.

Ask: What questions do you have about what this graph is showing?Check that everyone understands how to read the graph.

Ask: What stands out for you when you look at this graph?

Facilitate a brief discussion. Allow time for clients to think before they respond, as there is a lot of information for them to take in. Be comfortable with silence.

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Slide 70 (Cont’d)

Do NOT give graphic descriptions of injuries or how they happen, or seek to increase the emotional impact of the graph by providing details of what happens in a crash.

Do NOT joke about the slide, e.g. by stating that no Powerpoint is complete without a graph.

Do NOT get drawn into discussion about safety features. If clients state that their cars have more safety features, accept that these should help, and state that speed will still make things worse. Point out that choosing not to driver faster and choosing to buy a car with more safety features are both choices that reduce the risks of injury.

DO keep your presentation of this slide focused on the simple facts that it shows.

State the key message (if not already raised by clients): Even quite small differences in the speed at which you hit something can greatly increase the risk of injury.

Ask: So why do we sometimes go faster than we should? Collect some responses from clients. When you have heard a few responses, pick up on any that relate to impatience or wanting to get to your destination faster to link to the next slide.

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Slide 71

Remind clients of Question 2, and link this to any points just made by clients about impatience or wanting to get to your destination faster. You’ve looked at the risks of going a little faster, but what does a driver gain?

Ask: What did you put as your answer to Question 2? Collect some responses from clients.

Do NOT give the correct answer or comment on answers at this point.

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Slide 72-73

Ask: Is it worth it? Pause: allow but don’t force responses.


Check for any questions about managing speed.

ActionPlan

Slides 72 and 73 are linked by an automatic transition. The presentation will move automatically to the next slide after about four seconds.

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Slide 74

State that you now want to move on to the topic of managing space. State that this is Picture A from Question 3. You will give the answer to Question 3 shortly. But before you do so, you want to ask some other questions about the three photos that were shown.

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Slide 75

Ask: Do you see people driving too close to each other on the motorways? Check that clients do see this.

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Slide 76

Ask: How does it make you feel? Collect some responses. Ask: What would you like to say to someone following you too closely? Collect some responses.

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You will refer back to these responses on Slide 80.

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Slide 77

State that the speed you’re travelling at obviously makes a difference to how you feel. This distance might feel fine in slow moving traffic, but not at higher speeds. Check that clients agree with you on this.

Ask clients to imagine that they are being followed by this car. Ask: At what speed would this feel ok? Ask clients to write down a number on a piece of paper.

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Slide 78

Ask clients now to imagine they are following someone. Ask: At what speed would this feel ok? Ask clients to write down another number on their piece of paper.

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Slide 79

Ask clients to look at the numbers they’ve just written down, and get a show of hands from all clients for the following three options:• Same speed for both A and B• Lower speed for B• Higher speed for BMake a note of how many people put their hands up for each option.

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Module 6

Slide 80

State that these are the pictures from Question 3. State: The distance is, in fact, the same in all three pictures. Ask who got the answer right.

Remind clients how many of them put down different speeds at which they thought A and B would feel ok. State that this is not a trick question. Perspective really does change how the distance looks and feels to most people.

Ask: What does this tell us about why people follow too closely? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. State (if not suggested by a client): Many of us feel comfortable following at a distance that would make us uncomfortable if we were the one being followed. It’s possible that many of us are close following other people without meaning to and without realising we are doing so, because the distance feels larger from our perspective.

Remind clients of the things they would like to say to people following them too closely – referring back to their responses on Slide 76. Ask: How often are others saying this to us without us even realising it? Pause: allow but don’t force responses.

Some clients will probably guess that the images in Question 3 all show the same distance. This really doesn’t matter: just acknowledge that people sometimes guess, and move on.

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Slide 81

State: Whether we feel comfortable or not is not really the issue. The issue is how safe the distance is. Remind clients of the graph of injuries. No-one wants to go into the back of the car in front at any speed.

Ask: What is a safe distance? Pause: allow but don’t force responses. Allow clients to share anything they do know about safe distances.

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Slide 82

Ask if clients have heard of the two-second rule – or, if a client has already mentioned this, link back to their suggestion. State that two seconds is a minimum safe distance. This works at any speed: if you’re travelling faster, you go further in two seconds, so you have to leave more space. Ask: When would you want to leave a larger gap? Check that clients understand they need to leave a larger gap when it is wet or icy. Very briefly summarise what the Highway Code says about this.

Do NOT explain how to measure a two-second gap at this point. On this slide, you are just making the point that two seconds is a safe distance (in good conditions). If a client explains how to measure a two-second gap as part of their response, say you will come back to this in a moment

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Slide 83

State that, while the two-second rule works at any speed, it can be hard to estimate by eye whether you are leaving a two-second gap.

Ask clients to look at this photo again and estimate the answer to the question: At what speed is this a two-second gap? Collect a few responses.

Click to reveal the answer.

Check that clients agree that it is hard to estimate by eye whether you are leaving a two-second gap. If you rely on what looks right, you may end up driving too close without intending to.

This slide is animated. The correct answer appears on a click.

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Slide 84

Ask clients now to look at this photo and again estimate the answer to the question: At what speed is this a two-second gap? Collect a few responses.

Click to reveal the answer.

Repeat the point that it is hard to estimate by eye whether you are leaving a two-second gap. If you rely on what looks right, you may end up driving too close without intending to. State that this is why chevrons are sometimes marked on the road. But they only help in the places where they are marked, and only at the specific speed they are designed for.

This slide is animated. The correct answer appears on a click.

Some clients may estimate a lower speed than the correct answer, especially on the second slide. This really does not matter. The point remains the same: that it is hard to estimate by eye.

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Slide 85

Ask: How can you make sure you’re leaving a two-second gap? Collect a few responses. Check that clients understand the technique of using a fixed point and a standard phrase – ‘Only a fool breaks the two-second rule’ – to measure the time.

Click to play the video – demonstrating the technique for clients as the video plays.

Check that clients agree that this technique will work at any speed. Ask: What would you do if it were wet or icy? Check that clients understand how to adapt the technique.

This slide contains a short animated video. Click to play the video.

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Slide 86

State that this is what a two-second gap looks like at 60mph. Ask: What happens if you leave a gap like this between you and the car in front? Collect a few responses.

Ask: What can you do if others pull into the space in front of you? Collect a few responses.

DO NOT introduce your own ideas at this point.

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Slide 87

State that you are going to watch a short film which has some suggestions for how to respond to other drivers who don’t respect the space around you.


Facilitate a brief discussion of the pros and cons of leaving more space. If clients are concerned about the impact on their journey time if they fall back when people cut in, ask them to think how much time they will actually add to their journey. Make links back to Question 2 of the quiz. Remind clients of the risks of impact even at relatively low speeds, making links back the graph on Slide 70.


Check for any questions about managing space.


This slide contains a short animated video. Click to play the video.

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ActionPlan

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Module 7: Check driver and vehicleSlides88 – 102

Duration25 minutes – including 2 minutes of video content

Lead trainerTrainer 2 leads slides 88 – 99Trainer 1 leads slides 100 – 102

Module objectives• Increase clients’ awareness of the importance of staying ‘in the zone’ (good concentration,

observation and anticipation) while driving on motorways• Encourage clients to reflect on their own personal vulnerability to ‘drifting off’ and/or ‘overload’• Help clients identify practical ways to keep themselves ‘in the zone’• Remind clients of the importance of vehicle maintenance, and give them information about

what to do if they do experience a vehicle failure

DesignThis module is built around a simple analogy: we need to maintain ourselves and keep ourselves roadworthy in the same way that we need to maintain our vehicles and keep them roadworthy.

With regard to ourselves as drivers, we know that motorway driving creates a number of potential challenges. On the one hand, under-stimulation and habituation can lead to a lack of adequate focus on the driving task. On the other hand, cognitive demands and emotional pressures – arising from the driving task itself or from the broader social context in which it takes place (e.g. pressure to arrive on time) – can overwhelm us.

To counteract this, the module uses a simple framework (drifting off – in the zone – overload) to engage clients in identifying and addressing the risks they personally face.

It’s worth noting that this framework has been developed to be practical and easy for most clients to use: it’s informed by theory, but simplifies some points. If any clients challenge you about this, accept that the framework deliberately simplifies things to make it easier to use: invite them to adapt it for their own use in whatever way they personally find most useful. You should not feel under any obligation to defend the framework.

The last part of the module returns to the need to maintain vehicles and keep them roadworthy. Clients are reminded of the importance of vehicle checks, provided with links if they are not sure how to do them, and encouraged to set a realistic target for how often they will make them.

Information is provided about what to do if you do experience a vehicle failure. The module concludes with a reminder that, if this happens, you are relying on others to do as they are asked, creating a link back to the points about shared responsibility with which the course began.

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How to use the slides to deliver the objectives• Use Slide 88 to make the transition to a new topic. This is a signposting slide.• Use Slide 89 to introduce the analogy between maintaining a vehicle and maintaining yourself

as a driver – and the reason why the latter is so important.• Use the short activities on Slides 90 – 91 to make the point that the kinds of mistake we’re

likely to make depend on the kind of driver we are and the kind of driving we do. These activities will also furnish you with examples which you can use to introduce the framework on Slide 92.

• Use Slide 92 to introduce the simple framework which clients can use to identify and address the risks they personally face.

• Use Slides 93 – 99 to take clients through the process of identifying the risks they personally face, reflecting on the potential consequences of these risks, and identifying actions they can take to reduce their risks.

• Use Slide 100 to remind clients of the importance of vehicle checks, signpost them towards resources if they don’t know how to make these, and encourage them to set a realistic target for how often they will make them.

• Use Slides 101 – 102 to talk through what to do in the event that you have to stop in an emergency.


BCT Slides Notes5.1 Information about

consequences89 Clients learn that driver error is the main cause of

collisions.4.2 Information about

antecedents (triggers)90-91 Clients identify what causes the drivers in the

scenarios to make errors. 1.1 Goal setting (behaviour) 92 Encourage clients to aim to always drive in the zone.4.2 Information about

antecedents (triggers)93-97 Clients identify what causes drifting off/overload.


93-97 Clients learn that drifting off/overload means they miss crucial information.

1.2 Problem solving 98 Clients identify what they can do to stay in the zone.1.4 Action planning 99 Prompt the client to make a plan for what they are

going to do when drifting off or overloaded.1.9 Commitment 99 Ask clients to commit to staying in the zone.1.6 Discrepancy between

current behaviour and goal

100 The video highlights that a driver who wants to get there safely would make safety checks, and therefore they are being irresponsible if they don’t’ make safety checks.


101-102 Explain to clients what they should to do if they break down.

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Slide 88

State that you are now moving on to the third and final topic: checking the driver and the vehicle.

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Module 7

Slide 89

State that we are all familiar with the idea that our vehicles are complicated machines that need to be kept roadworthy. But every time you drive, there are, in fact, two complicated machines involved: the vehicle, and you, the driver Ask: Which of these two machines do you think is more likely to go wrong? Pause: allow but don’t force responses.

Click to reveal the statistic.

State that research has shown that we, the drivers, are much more likely to be the cause of problems. Just as a vehicle needs regular maintenance, so too it’s a good idea to check ourselves for recurring faults that need fixing. By doing this regular maintenance on ourselves, we can avoid many of the potential problems we face on the road.

This slide is animated. The statistic and source appear on a click.

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Slide 90

State: The kinds of mistake we make depend on the kind of driver we are and the kind of driving we do.

Ask clients to consider the scenario shown on the slide. In this scenario, someone has been on holiday with the family, and now they are driving home from the airport. Ask: Why do you think a driver/rider might make mistakes on this journey? What sorts of things could go wrong?

Online Offline

Ask clients to write down answers to the question.

Ask clients to discuss the question at their tables.

Collect a few responses from clients. You do not need to hear everything clients have written down or discussed. Get enough responses to allow a good contrast with the second scenario.

Online Offline




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Module 7

Slide 91

Ask clients now to consider a different scenario, shown on the slide. In this scenario, someone is doing a regular morning journey – for example, a commute to work. Ask: Why do you think a driver/rider might make mistakes on this journey? What sorts of things could go wrong?

Online Offline

Ask clients to write down answers to the question.

Ask clients to discuss the question at their tables.

Collect a few responses from clients. You do not need to hear everything clients have written down or discussed. Get enough responses to allow a good contrast with the first scenario.

Online Offline



Repeat the key message: The kinds of mistake we make depend on the kind of driver we are and the kind of driving we do.

State that when we take a car in for a service, we expect the mechanics to look closely at what’s going on under the bonnet and fix the specific problems they find there. It’s the same if we want to keep ourselves roadworthy: we have to take a close look at what’s going on under our bonnet, and fix the specific issues we find there.


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Slide 92

State that many of the problems we face when driving on a motorway come down to the need to keep ourselves appropriately focused on the task of driving. State that, on the one hand, there is a risk that we drift off. Refer back to some of the mistakes identified by clients in relation to the two scenarios (Slides 90 and 91) as examples of drifting off.

Click to reveal the red head.

State that, on the other hand, there is a risk that the demands on us are too high, and we get ‘overloaded’. Refer back to some of the mistakes identified by clients in relation to the two scenarios (Slides 90 and 91) as examples of overload.

Click to reveal the green head.

State that the challenge is to stay ‘in the zone’ – between these two unhelpful extremes.

Ask: Does this fit with your experiences driving on motorways? Check that the ideas make sense to clients and fit with their experiences.

Remind clients that the task is to use these ideas to look closely at their own driving and fix any issues – in the same way a mechanic would test and fix a car. You are going to do this together.

This slide is animated. The three heads/concepts appear in order on clicking: drifting off (visible from start), overload, and (lastly) in the zone.

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Module 7

Slide 93

Ask: So, let’s start with drifting off. When do you drift off?

Ask clients to write down answers to the question. Encourage clients to think about their own driving, and answer the question for themselves.

Online Offline


Check everyone has written something down.

Ask a few clients to share what they have written down.

Make a note of examples you can use to prompt discussion of possible solutions on Slide 98.

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Slide 94

State that these are some reasons for drifting off that we often hear. Briefly compare with responses given by clients. Note any examples they have identified which are not on screen. Ask: What are the consequences of drifting off? Collect a few responses.

Click to remove the clouds.

Ask: What important information was missing from the picture beforehand? Collect a few responses. State that this is one of the consequences of drifting off: we miss important information.

State, if not already noted by the clients, that the information we were missing includes a variable speed limit. State that there is research which suggests that if you repeatedly drive the same route you may be less likely to notice when the speed limits have been changed.

This slide is animated. The clouds clear on a click to reveal the road scene.

Do NOT feel you need to identify all of the things that become visible on removing the clouds.

Do NOT introduce the possibility that the motorcyclist ‘weaves’ between you and the lorry; and do NOT dwell on this possibility if a client introduces it.

DO highlight the risk that, if you fail to notice the motorcycle, you may pull out into their path – especially if the car in the left-hand lane pulls out into your path. Emphasise how easy it is not to notice motorcyclists.

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Module 7

Slide 95

Ask: So, now let’s look at the other end of the scale: overload. When do you feel overloaded?

Ask clients to write down answers to the question. Encourage clients to think about their own driving, and answer the question for themselves.

Online Offline



Ask a few clients to share what they have written down.

Make a note of examples you can use to prompt discussion of possible solutions on Slide 98.

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State that these are some reasons for feeling overloaded that we often hear. Briefly compare with responses given by clients. Note any examples they have identified which are not on screen. Ask: What are the consequences of overload? Collect a few responses.

Click to remove the stress points and clear the scene.

Ask: What important information was missing this time? Collect a few responses. State that this is also one of the consequences of overload: we miss important information.

Remind clients that, as indicated in the first picture with stress points, one of the things that makes many of us feel overloaded is people driving too close to us. State, however, that there is also research which suggests that, if you are feeling stressed, that will make you more likely to follow the car in front of you too closely. So being overloaded makes us more likely to stress other people as well. It’s a vicious circle.

Slide 96-97

Slide 96 is animated and linked by an automatic transition to Slide 96. The stress points clear and the fog lifts on a click.

Do NOT feel you need to identify all of the things that become visible on removing the stress points.

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Slide 98

Remind clients that they have now thought about when they personally are at risk of drifting off or overload, and what the potential consequences of these issues are. Now, like the mechanic, they need to fix any issues they’ve identified.

Select a specific client example of personal risk of drifting off or overload from the notes you made on Slides 93 and 95. Ask the other clients: What could [named client] do to stay in the zone? What practical suggestions do you have? Collect a few responses.

Ask clients to think now about the risks they have written down for themselves, and to consider the question on screen: What can you do to stay in the zone? Ask clients to write down at least one idea for something they can do to fix at least one of the issues they’ve identified.

Online Offline

Ask clients to hold up what they have written to the camera.


Ask a few clients to share their ideas. Ask if anyone is struggling to think of something they could do. If there is anyone, ask them to share their issue and seek suggestions from the rest of the group.

Remind clients that they may want to come back to these ideas when they create an action plan. Allow time for clients to make any notes.

This slide has animations which occur automatically when you click to it. There is no further animation.

ActionPlan

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Module 7Module 7

Slide 99

State that you would like to share some practical suggestions that have been suggested by psychologists, and that may help. Encourage clients to make a note of any that are useful as you present them.

State that you’d like to start with suggestions for if you’re drifting off.

Click to reveal the possible solutions to drifting off.

Very briefly explain what the four suggested solutions mean in practice.• Say what you see – Describe out loud what’s going on around you• Play an anticipation game – For example, who is most likely to cut in or cause a

hazard?• Schedule distractions for later – Set distracting thoughts aside by saying out loud ‘I’ll

think about [X] after I stop driving’.• Challenge yourself to drive better – For example, can you maintain enough space that

you don’t have to brake?Check for any questions or comments.

Click to reveal the message: ‘If you’re feeling overloaded…’

State that you there are also suggestions for if you’re feeling overloaded.

Click to reveal the possible solutions to overload

Very briefly explain what the four suggested solutions mean in practice.• Breathe – A few deep breaths can help you stay calm• Name what you’re feeling – Saying what you feel helps control your emotions• Swap speed for space – So you can relax and broaden your attention• Ditch the ego – Don’t focus your attention on a single wayward driverCheck for any questions or comments.

This slide is animated. At first, just the message ‘If you’re drifting off…’ appears.On the first click, this is replaced by possible solutions.On the next click, the message ‘If you’re feeling overloaded…’ appears.On a third click, this is replaced by possible solutions.

Continued on next page

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Module 7

Slide 99 (Cont’d)

Clients may already have suggested some of the ideas introduced on this slide. If so, use this opportunity to endorse their suggestions.

State that if all else fails, you should stop at a service station or pull off at the next exit: take a break, walk around, have a coffee, etc.

State that there are also things you can do BEFORE you set out on a journey to help yourself stay in the zone. If clients have already suggested things they can do before they set out, highlight these. If none have been suggested, ask clients to suggest some.

Encourage clients to make a note of any suggestions they may find useful for their action plan. Allow time for clients to make any notes.

Check for any questions about the staying ‘in the zone’. Ask clients to indicate whether they will try to stay ‘in the zone’ in future, for example by giving you a thumbs-up.


ActionPlan

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Module 7Module 7

Slide 100

Remind clients that while most collisions (93%) are a result of driver error, vehicles can also cause problems. Ask: Whose responsibility is it to keep your vehicle roadworthy? Pause: allow but don’t force responses.


State that clients can find more information about how to make these checks – including short demonstration videos – in the NMAC Useful Information and Links. Ask: How often do you think you should make checks like these? Collect a few responses. Ask clients to identify a realistic personal target for how often they will check their vehicle. Ask a few clients to share their target.

State that vehicle checks are another thing they may wish to think about in their action plan. Allow time for clients to make any notes.

This slide contains a video. It will play on a click. The final screen summarises the key checks suggested in the video and provides a weblink.

DO NOT insist that the checks must be made on every journey, as this may lead to clients dismissing the advice as unrealistic. Describe ‘every journey’ as an ideal, and encourage clients to set a realistic personal target.

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ActionPlan

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Module 7

Slide 101

State that making these checks and keeping yourself in the zone will help you avoid the majority of problems. But of course, it’s always possible something could still go wrong.

Ask: What advice would you give to someone on the motorway experiencing some kind of vehicle problem? Collect some responses.

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Make a note of clients’ responses on your client sheet.

Record client responses on flipchart.

Do NOT start giving answers to questions or guidance at this point. You will do this after watching the video on Slide 102.

DO remind clients of any questions about what to do in an emergency that were raised and deferred in Module 5.

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Module 7Module 7Slide 102

Ask clients if any of them have seen the advertising campaign on this topic. Pause: allow but don’t force responses.


Ask clients: Was there any advice in the video that wasn’t on your list?Collect a few responses. Check that clients understand any advice that was missing from their list, and that any outstanding questions from clients (including questions you deferred from Module 5) have been addressed.

Ask clients: Is there anything about this advice you think you’d find difficult in practice? Facilitate a brief discussion looking at practical solutions to any concerns clients have.

Refer clients to the NMAC Useful Information and Links for more information on what to do if they need to stop on a motorway.

Remind clients that they can also rely on everyone who has been on this course to help keep them safe by: i) reducing their speed when a variable speed limit is set and ii) staying out of lanes close with a Red X. Confirm that this is true for everyone attending this course.

Check for questions about keeping your vehicle roadworthy, or what to do in case of an emergency.

Check for questions about keeping your vehicle roadworthy, or what to do in case of an emergency.


This slide contains a video. It will play on a click. The final screen summarises the advice for what to do if you have a breakdown on the motorway.

DO make sure that any questions about what to do in an emergency that were raised and deferred in Module 5 are fully answered as part of the discussion on this slide.

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Clients may raise concerns about All Lanes Running motorways at this point, and you will need to handle these sensitively. Read the guidance on Handling concerns about ALR Motorways.

3m

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103

Module 8: Action planningSlides103 – 111

Duration20 minutes


Module objectives• Coach clients to produce an action plan, to increase intentions and overcome barriers to

staying safe and legal on motorways

DesignThis module coaches clients through an action plan, based on four questions which guide them to:

1. identify a situation in which they are most likely to drive in a way that is unsafe or illegal2. decide what they will do differently so that they drive safely and legally3. anticipate what will make it more difficult to put this into practice4. identify what they will do to overcome this barrier.

Clients then record their plan, which covers:• The situation in which they might drive unsafely or illegally (the answer to Q1)• The action they will take to make sure they drive safely and legally (the answer to Q2)• The solution they will put into place to make it easier to do their action (the answer to Q4)

Trainers coach clients through this process to make sure that everybody has a workable plan.

How to use the slides to deliver the objectives• Use Slide 103 to introduce the topic of action planning. This is a signposting slide.• Use Slide 104 to remind clients of the main topics covered in the course. This is an important

step, which will ensure clients understand that the action plan relates to the whole course and help them recall important insights from earlier parts of the course.Don’t re-teach any of the content or introduce new points, but offer a brief narrative of what has been covered, e.g. ‘We started by listing what you like and don’t like about motorways. Then we discussed how motorways are managed to deliver that. We watched a video about…’

• Use Slide 105 to highlight to clients that they have a choice when they leave the course: they could continue to drive in the same way as before, and therefore put themselves and others at risk, and also potentially cause phantom traffic jams and delay others; or they could put the things they have found out about into practice by always trying to drive safely and legally. The slide aims to encourage clients to make a commitment to safe and legal driving but without appearing to do so, so it’s important to stress that the client has a choice.

• Use Slide 106 to make sure clients are ready to work though the action planning process.

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• Use Slide 107 to coach clients to think about their own risks of doing something wrong on the motorway. This is their situation. Encourage clients to think about the situations in which they are at risk, and what happens in those situations. They need to answer three questions: When, Where, and Why it happens. Good coaching questions to ask at this stage help clients understand situations that put them at risk. They include: ‘What happens?’ ‘What’s the purpose of the journey?’ ‘Does it always happen?’ and ‘When does it NOT happen – what’s different about that situation?’

• Use Slide 108 to coach clients to identify what they will do differently in the future to reduce the risk they do something wrong in the situations they’ve identified. This is their action. Help clients make their intended behaviours SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound). Good coaching questions to ask at this stage include: ‘How might that help?’, ‘How will you do that?’ and ‘What would someone in the passenger seat see you doing differently?’

• Use Slide 109 to coach clients to think about the barriers to their intended change. Help clients be realistic about human behaviour, and the limited extent to which intentions alone can change it. A good coaching approach at this stage is to encourage clients to imagine they are actually in their risky situation and consider all the things that would get in the way of their intended behaviour. Good questions include: ‘What else is going on?’ and ‘How are you feeling? What are you thinking? What are you doing?’Of course, if a client’s intended behaviour is something that needs to happen earlier – e.g. planning a route before they start driving – then ask you would ask themselves to imagine they are actually in that earlier moment. For example, if a client’s intended behaviour is planning a route before they start driving, then ask them to imagine they are getting into their car before a journey.

• Use Slide 110 to coach clients to identify one or more strategies to overcome the barriers to making a change. This is their solution. Encourage clients to think about the things they can put in place to support their intention to change. Good coaching questions at this stage include: ‘Who can help?’ ‘Who can you tell or talk to about this?’ ‘How could you prompt yourself?’ and ‘How can you make that a habit?’

• Use Slide 111 to show clients how their answers fit together to make a simple plan, and to help them capture their thinking in a simple, easily remembered format: situation – action – solution.


BCT Slides Notes1.9 Commitment 105 Clients are encouraged to make a commitment to

safe legal driving.5.5 Anticipated regret 105 Clients are reminded that if they don’t change their

driving they put themselves and others at risk of danger and delay.

4.2 Information about antecedents

107 Encourage clients to reflect on what situation could trigger them to drive in an unsafe or illegal way.

1.2 Problem solving 108-111 Help clients to produce their action plan by identifying what action they will take, what barriers they face and what facilitators they can put in place.

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Module 8

Slide 103

Remind clients that these courses are designed to help people stay safe and legal, and avoid repeating whatever they did that got them a fixed penalty notice. State that you hope the course has been useful, and that everyone has identified something they can use in practice. This part of the course is designed to help them do that.

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Module 8

Slide 104

Remind clients of the topics you have covered. Remind them that these are the things we can do to help keep the motorways running safely and efficiently, so that everyone gets more of what they like and less of what they don’t like. Refer back to their own lists of likes and dislikes (from Slides 5 and 6). State that different people will have found different parts of the course useful. Encourage clients to think which part of the course is most personally relevant to them. Encourage clients to review the notes they have taken through the course and think what has been most personally relevant to them.

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Module 8 Module 8

Slide 105

State: We’ve given you information and tips to help you keep safe and legal on the motorways. It’s now your choice whether you choose to act on any of that. You can help the motorways work for everyone, or you can risk the negative consequences we’ve talked about. It’s up to you. State: The problem is, even when you’re full of good intentions to change something, it can be hard to make a change. Have you ever had a good intention you’ve not carried through on? Something like getting more exercise, or sticking to a diet? What happens? We have good intentions, and we try our best, but it’s hard to make a change in behaviour stick. State: So, we’re going to finish by doing something that has been shown to increase the chances of your making a positive change. It’s called action planning, and it’s very simple. It’s all about picking a single goal and coming up with a realistic plan to make it happen.

Ask: Does anyone have any experience of action planning – from their work for instance? Pause: allow but don’t force responses.

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Module 8

Slide 106

Ask clients to get ready to write some things down. Remind them that they don’t have to write a lot – and that they can write in any language, or draw pictures, or whatever will work best for them.

Online Offline

Check that clients have pen and paper ready. If clients have downloaded or been sent an action planning template, check that they have it to hand.

Direct clients to the correct part of the logbook.

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Module 8 Module 8

Slide 107

State: The first step is to think about the times and places where you’re most likely to do something wrong. What kinds of journey is this likely to happen on? When and where does this happen? What’s going on? Why are you likely to do something wrong as a result? Encourage clients to look back through any notes they’ve made earlier in the course.

Ask clients to write something down.

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Check that everyone has written something down.

Ask some clients to read out what they have written. Offer coaching, if appropriate, to help them improve their answers.

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Module 8

Slide 108

State: So, you’ve thought about when, where and why you might do something wrong on the motorway. The next step is to think what you will do differently to avoid this. A good tip here is to try to think of something really specific, something you could ask someone else to check you’re doing. For example, just saying you’ll ‘try harder’ or ‘concentrate’ is not actually going to help you that much. Encourage clients to look back through any notes they’ve made earlier in the course.

Use one of the answers just given by clients to the first question as an example. Ask the client: What could you do about this?Listen to their ideas for what they could do. Highlight what is good about their ideas, or how they could be made even better. Ask the other clients: What other suggestions do you have for [named client]?Collect some responses.Highlight what is good about these ideas, or how they could me made even better.

Ask clients to go back to their own answers to the first question and write down an answer to this second question.

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Ask some clients (who have not yet spoken) to read out answers to the first two questions. Offer coaching, if appropriate, to help them improve their answers.

If delivering in the classroom, you could get clients to work in pairs to answer the question.

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Module 8 Module 8

Slide 109

State: So, you’ve identified what you WANT to do. But remember what I said earlier. We often want to change our behaviour but, for all sorts of reasons, don’t manage to do it.

Use one of the answers just given by clients to the first two questions as an example. Ask the client: What do you think might stop you making this change?Listen to their ideas for what they think might stop them.

Ask the other clients: What other things might stop someone making this change?Collect some responses.

Ask clients to go back to their own answers to the first two questions and write down their answers to this third question.

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Ask some clients (who have not yet spoken) to read out answers to the first three questions. Offer coaching, if appropriate, to help them improve their answers.


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Module 8

Slide 110

State: So, you’ve thought about what could get in the way. What are you going to do about that? How are you going to make sure you make the change you want to make?

Use one of the answers just given by clients to the first three questions as an example. Ask the client: What could you do to make sure you make the change you want to make?Listen to their ideas for what they could do. Highlight what is good about their ideas, or how they could be made even better.

Ask the other clients: What other suggestions do you have for [named client]?Collect some responses.Highlight what is good about these ideas, or how they could me made even better.

Ask clients to go back to their own answers to the first three questions and write down their answers to this fourth question.

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Ask some clients (who have not yet spoken) to read out answers to all four questions. Offer coaching, if appropriate, to help them improve their answers.


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Module 8 Module 8

Slide 111

State: So, now you have all the ingredients of your action plan. All you need to do is put them together.

Use one of the answers just given by clients to all four questions to demonstrate how this can be turned into an action plan.

Ask clients to create their own action plans, based on what they have written already.

Ask some clients (prioritising anyone who has not yet spoken) to read out their action plans.

Ask clients to confirm that they going to put their action plans into practice, for example by giving you a thumbs-up.



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Module 2

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Module 9: Summary and closeSlides112 – 114

Duration10 minutes


Module objectives• Encourage clients to reflect on what they will take from the course• Close the course

DesignThis module is designed to allow time for clients to make the link between everything they have covered in the course – including their action plan – and their everyday lives.

It’s unlikely that any individual client will remember and act on every single thing you have told them. What matters is that they remember and act on the things that will really make a difference to them personally, and help them stay safe and legal on motorways in the future.

How to use the slides to deliver the objectives• Slide 112 is a signposting slide.• Use Slide 113 to facilitate a client-led review of the course. Make sure you allow clients time and

space to reflect on each question as you reveal it, rather than immediately asking for volunteers to share. The course provides clients with a lot of information, and many clients will value time for reflection at this point. One answer from clients to the second question on Slide 113 – ‘What are you going to do about it?’ – should, of course, be to implement their action plans. There’s a good opportunity here to ask some clients to commit to doing this. Clients may also want to identify other things they plan to do, like looking for more information.The third question asks what clients will tell other people about the course, which might be that they are going to share new knowledge or useful tips about the course.

• Use Slide 114 to provide a formal close to the course.


BCT Slides Notes1.9 Commitment 113 Clients state what they are going

to do as a result of attending the course.

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Module 9

Slide 112

State that this final part of the course summarises the things you have covered.

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Module 9Module 9

Slide 113

Ask: What has stood out for you? Collect some responses.

Click to reveal the second question.

Ask: What are you going to do about it? Collect some responses.

Click to reveal the third question.

Ask: What will you tell other people? Collect some responses.

This slide builds. The first question will be visible at the start. Click to reveal the second question. Click again to reveal the third question.

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Module 9

Slide 114

Thank the clients for participating and ask if they have any final questions or comments. Explain to clients that it is now up to them whether or not they make changes and avoid getting caught again. Remind them that, in the next three years, they will not get the option of coming on this course again.State that if they provided an e-mail address when they booked their course they will be sent an email to confirm it has been completed.State that if they opened an account, and agreed to be part of the research panel, they may occasionally be invited to complete a survey, which helps to improve the courses in the future – and we really appreciate their help.Wish clients good luck with putting their action plans into practice.

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Encourage clients to keep their notes and share their ideas and insights with other people.

Encourage clients to take their logbooks with them and share their ideas and insights with other people. Point out that, if there is an administrative error which means they are contacted again, the logbook is their proof of attendance.

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Module 9

Handling concerns about All Lane Running (ALR) motorwaysNMAC clients often raise concerns and ask questions about All Lane Running (ALR) motorways (and, while they still exist, dynamic hard shoulders when they are being used as live lanes). With the issue attracting a lot of political and media attention, these questions are likely to continue.

The issue can come up at many different points in the course. Likely ones are:

• Module 3 – as one of the things clients don’t like about motorways• Module 4 – in discussion of the way motorways are managed, including in the benefits section• Module 5 – in the section on where you should go in an emergency• Module 7 – in the discussion of what to do in an emergency

So, how should you respond when the issue is raised on a course you are leading?

Manage your own response

Clients may ask about ALR motorways for many different reasons, and in many different ways.

• Some clients are genuinely worried about what they would do if they experienced a vehicle failure on a motorway without a hard shoulder. That concern may be expressed in different ways – including, for some clients, as anger.

• Others have seen the issue discussed in the papers and are interested to hear your views or the views of others.

• It’s also true that clients sometimes use the issue as a way of expressing other things, such as their annoyance at having been given a fixed penalty notice. On occasions, this may be done aggressively.

It’s entirely understandable if, as a trainer, you sometimes feel a little attacked – including at times when that’s not the client’s intent. If you’re tired, or have just come from another difficult course, the risk of this happening will be greater.

As you know, however, these feelings become a problem if we allow them to ‘leak out’ in our behaviour. Professionally, we have to find a way to avoid any kind of defensiveness in our reactions. Clients, by contrast, are not on the course in a professional capacity. Through no fault of their own, they may not be skilled at managing and expressing their views and feelings.

And don’t forget that we explicitly invite clients to ask questions and participate at the beginning of the course.

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Do NOT assume clients are raising the issue to be difficult.

DO assume clients are genuinely concerned or interested.

DO remember that anger is often an expression of fear.

DO focus on what is being said or asked, not how it is being said or asked.

Do NOT reach too quickly for the ‘respect’ ground-rule in relation to what clients say to you: save that to manage how clients speak to each other – or for clients who continue to behave badly.

Don’t express a view on the decision to convert hard shoulders to live lanes

It is NOT your role as a UKROEd trainer to express a view on the decision to convert hard shoulders to live lanes. You should avoid doing or saying anything that could be seen as your defending or criticising that decision.

Why is this important? First, clients’ views on this matter are irrelevant to the course objectives.

• In this respect, it’s useful to contrast variable speed limits and Red Xs. In both these cases, you (and the course materials) invest a lot of energy in trying to persuade clients that these are justified interventions. That’s because the evidence suggests that this will, in turn, make clients more likely to comply with variable speed limits and Red Xs. There is a direct link to desired behavioural outcomes.

• This is not the case for the decision to convert hard shoulders to live lanes. There is no connection between this and desired behavioural outcomes, because there is nothing for clients to comply with. What matters is that clients know what to do if they experience a vehicle failure on an ALR motorway – whether or not they think such motorways should exist.

It’s worth noting that the course has been deliberately designed to make this possible. For example, that’s why you don’t talk about Smart Motorways at any point, since this term serves no purpose in delivering course objectives and has become widely associated with the controversy around ALRs.

Second, expressing a view on this topic could do actual harm if it creates an unnecessary tension and leads one or more clients to disengage from the course. This will mean they do not benefit from the rest of the course as they might. Avoiding defending or criticising the decision to convert hard shoulders to live lanes is a key part of what you do to overcome the potential barriers to clients engaging with this course.

Third, it would be unreasonable to require trainers to express a view on a topic which is irrelevant to the course objectives and on which they may have their own strongly held personal views. By the same token, if you were to express your own personal views, this would undermine the consistency of the course for all clients.

Avoiding doing or saying anything that could be seen as your defending or criticising ALRs obviously means you should not say things ‘ALRs are a good idea’ or ‘ALRs are a bad idea’. But it’s important to think about more subtle ways in which you may be seen as defending or criticising them.

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For example, suppose a client expresses their vehement opposition to ALRs, and you respond: “Thank you for that view. DfT research found that: ‘In 2018, serious casualty rates were slightly lower on ALR and DHS motorways than on the motorway network as a whole.’1” You could argue you’re just presenting evidence here: but most people would interpret the choice to present that particular piece of evidence straight after a client has argued for the opposite conclusion as ‘arguing’. The client may well react accordingly. If you’re very unlucky they may quote another report back at you: ‘So you don’t accept that “the ALR motorway has the lowest level of intrinsic safety of any form of motorway”?2’ And all of this on a point that is irrelevant to the course objectives.

Do NOT do or say anything that could be seen as your defending or criticising ALRs. Do NOT cite research about the safety of ALRs in contexts which mean doing so is likely to be seen as defending or criticising them – and in particular, in response to clients defending or criticising them.

Prepare neutral responses

There are plenty of things you can say that will help you move the conversation on while acknowledging that the issue is important and completely reasonable for clients to have raised.

Here are some examples:

• ‘This is an issue that is often raised on these courses.’• ‘Many people feel strongly about this issue.’• ‘This issue is a controversial one, with strong views on both sides.’• ‘We’re not going to talk about the rights and wrongs of turning the hard shoulder into a live

lane today. It’s a very important question, but not something we can change today. What we may be able to change today is your ability to keep yourself safe if you find yourself in trouble on a motorway without a hard shoulder – which is important whatever you think of them.’

• ‘We are very definitely going to talk today about what you should do to keep yourself safe if you break down on a motorway without a hard shoulder. We’ve a section dedicated to that at the end of the course.’

• ‘I’m not going to express a view on this one. My job today is to help you stay safe and legal when you’re driving on motorways. My personal views on hard shoulders aren’t going to help you do that.’

DO prepare and use neutral responses that help to move the conversation on while acknowledging that the issue is important and completely reasonable for clients to have raised.

1 Department for Transport (2020), Smart Motorway Safety: Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan. 2 Royal Haskoning DHV (2021), Independent Review of All Lane Running Motorways in England.

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Build clients’ confidence that they can keep themselves safe on ALRs

As noted above, clients’ views on the decision to convert hard shoulders to live lanes are irrelevant to the course objectives.

By stark contrast, clients’ views on whether they personally can keep themselves safe on an ALR motorway are very relevant. If clients feel anxious or panic on an ALR motorway – especially during a vehicle failure – this could have serious safety consequences. We want to do everything we can to help clients keep calm and do the right thing.

These issues are explicitly covered in the last part of Module 7, which not only covers the guidance on what do in the event of a vehicle failure, but also includes a discussion of things that might get in the way of following that guidance in practice. This is the perfect opportunity to discuss how emotions can get in the way, and to explore with clients practical ways to keep themselves calm.

Clients who are worried about what they would do if they experienced a vehicle failure on an ALR may well ask questions about this earlier in the course. For example, questions like this may come up in the section on where to go in an emergency in Module 5. As with other topics, you should ask if you can defer these questions until the correct part of the course. Make a note of their question, to show them that you take it seriously. Most clients will be content with this approach. If you believe that a client is so worried that they will have difficulty engaging with other topics unless their question is addressed, give a short answer and ask if you can go into more detail later.

DO give clients evidence about the risk of collision if they break down that will help them to manage anxiety and avoid panicking.

DO defer discussion of what to do in an emergency until the relevant section of Module 7, in a way that keeps clients fully engaged.

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Reference material

The answer to Q1 of the quiz is given as 17mph. How are this number, and other similar numbers given in the video, calculated?

The calculation assumes that the vehicle slows (decelerates) at exactly the same rate in each case. For example, suppose the car doing 70mph slows to 65mph after 1 second. We’re assuming that the car doing 72mph will have slowed by the same amount in the same time – i.e to 67mph after 1 second.

So why do the differences in speed arise? The maths is a little complicated, but the key point is a simple one: we’re looking here at what happens to speed not over the same amount of time, but over the same distance.

For example, in that single second, the faster car will have covered a greater distance than the slower car. That’s what it means to go faster! It’s still only 2mph faster after one second, but it’s gone further in that time.

After one second...

If we ask (much as Question 1 does) what speed it is doing at the point where the slower car has slowed to 65mph – the faster car reaches this point in less than one second. So it’s slowed by less than 5mph. So the gap between the cars in terms of speed has increased to more than 2mph. By the time we get to the point where the slower car has stopped completely, this same process leads to an increase of nearly 17mph.

If you want to do the detailed maths, you need to start with the basic relationship between speed (or velocity – v), distance (d) and time (t). When the velocity is constant, d=vt. If the velocity is itself varying, however – as it does when you are accelerating or braking, then you have to use calculus to express the relationship: d = ∫vdt. For a car that brakes from a velocity v0 at a steady rate of a, the velocity it is doing at any given time after it starts braking is v = v0 – at. Integration of this formula allows you to establish the relationship between distance covered (d) and current velocity (v1) for a braking car: d = (v0

2 - v12)/2

You can now use this formula to arrive at a general formula for answering questions like Question 1. For the first car, v0 = Xmph and v1 = 0mph. For the second car v0 = Ymph, where Y is greater than X. What value of v1 gives the same value of d? (Which is the mathematical way of asking what speed the second car is doing at the point where the first car comes to a halt). Do the maths, and the answer is √(Y2 – X2).

Put Y = 72mph and X = 70mph into that formula and you get 16.85mph – or, to the nearest whole number, 17mph.

Slides 68 – 69

The faster car is doing MORE than 67mph at this point

70mph 65mph

72mph 67mph

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The graph on this slide shows data from an analysis of two real-life collision investigations in the UK.

1. The On The Spot study ran between 2000 and 2010. Expert investigators attended the scenes of collisions, usually within 15 minutes of an accident occurring. The teams made in-depth investigations of about 500 collisions per year, and recorded over 3,000 pieces of information about each collision. This information includes the speeds of the vehicles involved, based on evidence at the scene, witness statements and the expert judgement of experienced accident investigators. Information on vehicle occupant injury was gathered both at the time and from questionnaires sent to survivors.

2. The Co-operative Crash Injury Study collected of road traffic accident injury data from around 1,500 vehicles and their occupants each year. The study started in 1983 and finished in 2010. An analysis of vehicle damage was carried out, questionnaires were sent to the individuals involved in the accident and injury details were obtained.

The graph shown is a version of Figure 3.1, adapted for communication purposes (the lines have been ‘smoothed’ as the original form was found to be potentially confusing for clients).

The numbers at the bottom of the graph show relative impact velocity (delta v) – that is, how much velocity the vehicle lost at the moment of impact. This takes into account that a collision in a head-on crash causes more damage than one vehicle crashing into a stationary one. We’ve used the term ‘impact speed’ for communication purposes. Strictly, if the thing you crash into is moving towards you, the relative impact velocity will in fact be higher than the absolute impact speed of your vehicle.

Richards, D.C. (2010), Relationship between Speed and Risk of Fatal Injury: Pedestrians and Car Occupants. Road Safety Web Publication No. 16, Department for Transport, London

Slide 70

The calculation to arrive at 86 seconds is straightforward.

At 70mph it will take you 1/7 of an hour, or 8 minutes and 34 seconds, to cover 10 miles.

At 60mph it will take you 1/6 of an hour, or 10 minutes.

The difference is 1 minute and 26 seconds, or 86 seconds.

Slide 72

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The 93% statistic comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report in 2008, which was a very rigorous crash investigation project of 5,471 crashes in America between 2005 and 2007. 93% of crashes were due to the driver – recognition errors, decision errors or performance errors – rather than other causes, such as tyre or brake failure and weather incidents.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2008), National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey. Table 9.1 on p25

The ‘drifting off – in the zone – overload’ scale draws on research into cognitive underload and overload.

Research on cognitive overload and underload whilst driving has shown that both can have negative impacts on driving. Underload often occurs on undemanding roadways and can lead to mind-wandering. For instance, a New Zealand researcher1 travelled with drivers on a set route and periodically asked what they were thinking about. Drivers reported non-driving related thoughts during more boring stretches of road. Just driving the same route repeatedly (such as your daily commute) can lead to the mind, and the eyes, wandering away from the road. One study asked a Driving Instructor to drive the same route every day for three weeks while their eye movements were recorded with special glasses. The researchers found that the instructor was more likely to look at off-scenery towards the end of the three weeks, as if they had become bored with the route.2 Such instances of mind-wandering can be deadly if the situation unexpectedly turns hazardous. Simulator studies have shown that mind-wandering can lead to reduced headway, higher speeds and slower responses to sudden hazards.3

Cognitive overload however can be induced by an increase in the demands of the road (e.g. busy urban environment, driving through fog) which interact with the characteristics of the driver (e.g. if the driver is fatigued or inexperienced). Researchers in the Netherlands4 found that changing just one element in a picture of a road to increase the complexity of the scene was enough to make many drivers suggest that they would adopt a lower speed, even though they did not realise that the pictures had changed. Unfortunately, several unsafe drivers (28% of the sample – many of them novice drivers) failed to adapt their speed, suggesting that they are more susceptible to overload due to complex situations. If drivers feel particularly stressed, such cognitive overload can reduce the breadth of their visual search. For instance, novice drivers on a busy road, where many lanes of a dual carriageway converged and diverged, were found to focus directly ahead, and did not check their mirrors, or the adjacent lanes, as much as more experienced drivers.5 This makes overloaded drivers especially vulnerable to hazards.

Slide 89

Slides 92 – 99

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Another source of overload can come from driver emotions in reaction to the behaviour of other road users. Anger can focus attention on the perceived culprit, reducing situation awareness and removing inhibitions to risk-taking behaviour.6

Several theories have suggested that many drivers might increase their risk-taking (e.g. speeding) in situations of cognitive underload, as this refocuses attention on the driving task. In conditions of overload however, many drivers are likely to de-risk their driving (e.g. by slowing down in fog) to ensure they have the capability to deal with the situation. Studies in simulators and on real roads have confirmed that higher roadway demands increase perceptions of risk and change driver behaviour (e.g. slowing down on narrower lanes).7

Our challenge is to ensure that when clients feel underloaded, they engage in safety-relevant engaging tasks (e.g. predicting what other drivers are going to do next) rather than increasing their risk-taking. Equally, when our clients are overloaded, we need to help them recognise this and choose appropriate strategies to bring the level of cognitive demand down to a manageable level

1. Burdett, B. R. D., Charlton, S. G., and Starkey, N.J. (2019), Mind wandering during everyday driving: An on-road study. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 122, 76-84

2. Young, A., Mackenzie, A., Davies, R., and Crundall, D. (2018), Familiarity breeds contempt for the road ahead: The real-world effects of route repetition on visual attention in an expert driver. Transportation Research Part F, 57, 4-9

3. Yanko, M. R., and Spalek, T. M. (2014), Driving with the wandering mind: The effect that mind-wandering has on driving performance. Human Factors, 56, 260-269

4. De Craan, S., Twisk, D. A. M. Hagenzieker, M. P., Elffers, H., and Brookhuis, K. A. (2008), The development of a method to measure speed adaptation to traffic complexity: Identifying novice, unsafe and overconfident drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 40, 1524-1530

5. Crundall, D. E. and Underwood, G. (1998), The effects of experience and processing demands on visual information acquisition in drivers. Ergonomics, 41, 4, 448-458.

6. Jeon, M., Walker, B. N., and Gable, T. M. (2015), The effects of social interactions with in-vehicle agents on a driver’s anger level, driving performance, situation awareness and perceived workload. Applied Ergonomics, 50, 185-199

7. Charlton, S. G., and Starkey, N. J. (2016), Risk in our midst: centrelines, perceived risk, and speed choice. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 95, 192-201

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On this slide you mention research which suggests that if you repeatedly drive the same route you may be less likely to notice when the speed limits have been changed.

This was a simulator study carried out in the Netherlands. Participants completed the same route twenty times over five days, with four successive overhead variable speed limit signs changing from 80km/h to 100km/h on the nineteenth drive only. More than half (58.3%) of the participants failed to notice the change: ‘Instead, they saw what they expected to see: a speed limit of 80 km/h. If the speed change had been vice versa, in other words from 100 km/h to 80 km/h, this would immediately result in speed offences, though not deliberately at all.’

Harms, I.M and Brookhuis, K.A. (2016), Dynamic traffic management on a familiar road: failing to detect changes in variable speed limits. Transportation Research Part F, 38, 37-46

On this slide you mention research that suggests that if you are stressed you may be more likely to follow the car in front too closely.

The research in question used a simulator study to explore the effects of ‘stressors’ (such as time pressures, aggressive behaviour in other drivers or congestion) on stress levels (measured using physiological markers such as heart rate) and driving behaviour, and found that: ‘car-following behaviour is significantly influenced by stress alongside speed, headway and drivers’ characteristics’.

Paschalidis, E., Choudhury, C.F., and Hess, S. (2019), Combining driving simulator and physiological sensor data in a latent variable model to incorporate the effect of stress in car-following behaviour. Analytic Methods in Accident Research, 22, 100089

Slide 94

Slide 97

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Transcripts

KB Dropping the speed. And now they decide that we don’t need this lane!VO The UK has over 2,000 miles of motorway. Around 400 miles of that, the busiest sections, have variable speed limits and lanes can be closed with a Red X – and often no obvious reason why.KB Is someone just doing this to wind us all up? Argh! Now if a journey like that frustrates me, imagine how someone with less patience is going to feel. I think it’s about time we held someone to account for the way our motorways are run.VO And that’s why I’ve come to a Motorway Control Centre to meet the people who make these decisions and find out what’s going on behind the scenes. Operations Manager Melanie Beaumont has offered to show me around.KB So this is it, the Control Centre, the nerve centre. So this is where you guys get to put on your signs and close your lanes and the rest of the motorway gets more and more stressed because they’re going to be late again.MB I’m sorry you feel that way, Katy. We don’t mean to frustrate you. We’re not here to close lanes. We don’t want to be doing that, that’s the last thing we want to do. We want to keep the traffic flowing. But our main priority on here is to keep the public safe and unfortunately sometimes we have to close lanes in order to get you to the end of your journey safely.KB What manner of incident would actually make you close a lane?MB We close lanes for all sorts of incidents. Predominantly it’s road traffic accidents which are obviously very serious. On top of that there’s debris, a whole host of different things from mattresses to tarpaulins or shed loads that can cause lanes to be closed, animals on the network, people on the network is very common, believe it or not.KB So you see all these things on your cameras, yes?MB Not necessarily. we have thousands of cameras across the network but not enough to cover every single part of it. We’ll check the cameras as far as we can but if there is a blind spot we will send somebody out to investigate. We can only work with the information that we’re given at the time and that’s what we’re feeding back to the driver as effectively as possible.VO Just as Mel and I are speaking, an unlikely incident is called in on the busy M6.MB So there’s been a vehicle travelling on one side of the carriageway, it’s lost its wheel, it’s bounced across to the opposite carriageway and it’s gone through the side curtain of an HGV and it’s hit a car causing them both to break down. A very unusual thing, I’ve never seen this in all of my time of work in the Control Room and it just goes to show the diversity of what we deal with every day.KB Scary stuff!

Slide 12 – ROC video

KB = Reporter, VO = Reporter voiceover, MB = Operations Manager, DC = Control Room Operator, KR = Traffic Officer


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VO The damaged vehicles are on the hard shoulder and the drivers are safely out of their vehicles and behind the barriers, but it turns out when sensors on the carriageway, marked as Ms here on the screen, detect a build-up of traffic, the speed limits quite some way away automatically drop.KB So if I’m on this motorway here, all I’m gonna know is that I’ve been told to slow down to 40 and that’s probably going to make me quite frustrated, isn’t it?MB Yeah, I understand that completely. Unfortunately, you can only see a very short distance ahead of you when you’re driving but here in the Control Room, with the CCTV cameras that we have, we can see the whole network. We can see right ahead of you. So the speeds are put in place to prevent vehicles speeding up to an incident which has a very good chance of causing an additional incident. So by slowing you down, we hope that by the time you reach the incident it will have gone and you can drive through uninterrupted.KB So by telling us all to slow down, what you’re ultimately doing is avoiding a much larger build-up or even something more dangerous.MB Absolutely. In addition to that, you may start to see on the network more signs similar to this one here that’s got ‘debris in road – slow’. KB Right yes.MB So the key thing is trying to inform the drivers of what’s happening. So they’re relatively new. We’ve had reports back that it calms people down because they know what’s occurring, they’re not blindsided of what’s going on. KB Yeah, it just makes them feel a little bit more informed. Yeah, of course.VO Rescue trucks are on their way. After they’ve dealt with the incident, lane one will be temporarily shut to allow them to rejoin the carriageway safely. Rush hour today in the West Midlands is relatively peaceful but on average, every four hours there are over 30 incidents. One’s just been spotted, again on the M6, but this time there’s no hard shoulder.KB So Darren, can you tell me exactly what’s going on here?DC Yeah, our Traffic Officer has come across a broken down vehicle which has actually run out of fuel in the dedicated lane to Junction 6, which is a live running lane. He’s called this in and what we’ve done is we’ve set signals in the live lane in order to protect the vehicle that we’ve got there. So, what the drivers will be seeing, as they approach the incident, is they will be seeing gantries which are telling them to divert their vehicle out of the live lane and then they will approach the mandatory Red Xs which tell them they can’t travel under there. You’re no longer legally allowed to travel in that lane under those signals. The reason we set this is to protect the vehicles that are in front and the people, so we’re basically putting up a barrier. That’s the actual first Red X of the two I’ve set, so as the traffic is approaching, that’s the first one they will see.KB So if I was coming down the inside lane to try and get ahead, I’m going to get into trouble there aren’t I and perhaps cause a much more serious incident?DC Yeah, absolutely. You go under a Red X, it literally is like you would be going through those cones so it’s very important that the drivers, though they don’t know what’s going on, which is frustrating, it’s important they do it because that is going to protect people.

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VO People in this case doesn’t just mean you and me who may occasionally break down but the Traffic Officers who are out there every day dealing with incidents at the sharp end. So I’m gonna go and have a chat with one.KB Kelly, thanks so much for coming to meet me today. Could you tell me a little bit about what it’s like out there on the road?KR Yes, it can be quite daunting. I have been doing the job for 12 years but that still doesn’t mean to say that the motorway is any less dangerous. I am as vulnerable as everybody else on the motorway.KB So what would your message be to the drivers out there? What do they need to do to help you?KR As drivers on the motorway, it’s vital that you take notice of the signs and signals that are set. They are there for a reason. Generally you might not see a Traffic Officer on scene but that doesn’t mean to say that there isn’t something going on or a Traffic Officer is making their way to the scene at the time. So we would be extremely grateful if drivers could pay attention to the signs and signals that are ahead of them.KB So, in your experience, do you find that people are doing what they’re supposed to do in these situations?KR Most people do as they’re asked. They do drop their speeds and they do keep out of the Red Xs, which is ideal for us. We do come across individuals that don’t think the motorway is unsafe, they can be pretty reckless. There’ve been many times that I’ve arrived on scene and I’ve actually had drivers say to me they’ve never been so scared. They can have vehicles swerving around them at fast speeds, they do sometimes have young children in the car.KB So what is your message to the people who are doing their bit to help?KR I would like to thank the drivers that do adhere to the signs and signals that are set and keeping myself and the people who I deal with safe, because at the end of the day we all want to get home safe and sound.KB Kelly, thank you so much for meeting with me today. I’ve learnt loads. Well, I have to say, I started off wanting to do battle with the Highways people. I suppose I always saw them as putting things in my way. Speed limits. Red Xs. That’s changed a little bit now I’ve seen what’s going on behind the scenes. They’re not putting things in my way. They’re asking me to help them deal with things that happen on the road every day. And if I don’t actually get to see those things myself? That’s because the system is working. Back in the Centre, I’ve seen on the cameras some of the crazy stuff that’s happening out there, stuff that’s being cleared before I even get anywhere near it. OK, it’s not a perfect system. They told me this much themselves. And I’m still going to get frustrated when things slow down, especially when I can’t see the reason for it. But I hope I’ll also remember what I’ve seen today and maybe tell myself that there’s someone a few miles down the road who’s asking me to help them by sticking to that speed limit and staying out of that Red X.

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Slide 14 – Phantom Traffic Jam video

Variable speed limits. Why do they insist on slowing us down?

Sometimes speeds are reduced because there’s an incident on the road ahead. But often it’s for another reason: to keep the traffic moving freely.

That’s right. You heard me. The system automatically slows us down so, on average, we all get there more quickly. Sensors track the speed of the traffic and the space between vehicles. A computer does the calculations and, if there’s too much traffic, travelling too fast and too close, it automatically reduces the speed limits on the gantries. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? There’s a computer automatically slowing us down when there’s too much traffic, travelling too fast and too close! How can going slower mean that, on average, we get there more quickly?

To understand why, we need to talk about something even more annoying than variable speed limits. Phantom traffic jams. You know the ones. For no obvious reason, everything comes to a halt. Then after a while you start moving again. You never see any reason for the jam. Yet, a little way down the road, it happens again. Everything comes to a halt. It’s so frustrating!The problem is that, when there’s too much traffic on the road, travelling too fast and too close together, phantom traffic jams are pretty much inevitable.

Let’s start by looking at a road where there isn’t too much traffic. The vehicles are doing 70 miles per hour, and have plenty of space between them. That space gives everyone the time they need to react. If a vehicle in front slows, or if another vehicle changes lane, no one has to brake sharply.

But now let’s double the number of vehicles on the road. They’re still all doing 70 miles per hour. And that means the space between them is much less. Now if everyone drove at exactly 70 miles per hour all the time – and I mean 70.000000, that exact – maybe the traffic would keep flowing. The reality is: that ain’t gonna happen. Speeds naturally go up and down a bit. People get distracted. Vehicles change lanes. Stuff happens. And now, there isn’t time to react. Instead we over-react.

Someone brakes just a little bit sharply. The driver behind does the same. Of course they do. Braking is the right thing to do. Only they brake just a little bit more. And the driver behind them brakes just a little bit more. The braking reaction spreads backwards like a wave and grows, as each person brakes just a little bit more. Until… at some point, the traffic comes completely to a halt. A phantom traffic jam.

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When there’s too much traffic on the road, travelling too fast and too close together, phantom traffic jams are inevitable. So what can we do? There’s too much traffic, but we can’t magic anyone away. It’s travelling too close, but we can’t stretch the road. It’s travelling too fast, but… wait, maybe we could do something about that.

If we reduce the speed of the traffic, then everyone has more time to react. There’s no wave of braking. No phantom traffic jam. Everyone is going slower, but – because it keeps flowing – the traffic moves more quickly.

That’s what that computer is doing. It’s calculating the risk of a phantom traffic jam. When it automatically drops the speed limit, it’s saying: ‘OK people, phantom traffic jams are now inevitable unless you lot drive a bit more slowly. Go slower and you’ll all get there more quickly.’The only question is: do we listen?

A car is driving along a motorway at 70 miles per hour. The driver sees a queue ahead and brakes sharply – here. This is where the car comes to a halt. But suppose that same driver was doing 72 miles per hour at the moment when they braked. What speed will the car be doing when it reaches the point it stopped when doing 70 miles per hour.

Every day you travel along the same 10 mile stretch of motorway. Normally you do it at 70 miles per hour. But today the variable speed limit signs are on. You’ll have to do 60 miles per hour the whole way. How much longer is the trip going to take you?

Slide 60 – Question 1

Slide 61 – Question 2

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The signs make the speed limit clear and the cameras catch us if we break that limit, but does it really make that much difference if we go just a little bit faster than we’re meant to? What difference do a few miles per hour make?

To find out, we’ve set up an experiment. We’ve come to a big former airfield that’s now a test track. We’ve brought Graham, a highly trained test driver, and given him the keys to a modern car with ABS and traction control that’s in top condition.

Test driver: This is a well maintained car. It’s got new tyres and brakes. I’ve checked the tyres this morning for the tread, the pressure, and any damage. We’re ready to go.

Keeping an eye on the action are some traffic police patrol officers, complete with precision kit for accurate speed measuring – because this experiment is all about speed.

Assistant: Go!

Let’s carry out the first trial. Graham is going to accelerate the car to 70 miles per hour. Then when he passes a fixed point he’s going to brake. Let’s see how far he travels before stopping.

Of course, in real life, you don’t know you’re going to need to stop. It takes time to recognise a hazard, plan a response and act on that plan. All of that adds to the distance you travel. But, to keep our experiment simple, Graham knows where he’s going to brake.

Assistant: Brake!

Here’s where Graham stops. Let’s put a marker there.

Assistant: Go!

And now let’s see what happens when he does exactly the same thing but this time travelling at 72 miles per hour.

Assistant: Brake!

Not surprisingly, the car travels further before it stops. That’s what we’d all expect. But what speed was the car doing when it reached the marker?

Remember, when it was traveling at 70 miles per hour, this was the point where it came to a stop. Traveling just two miles per hour faster to start with, the car is still doing 17 miles per hour when it reaches this point.

Many people think this must be some kind of trick, but it’s not. It’s the laws of physics, the kind of thing many of us learnt at school and forgot about very soon afterwards.

And remember, we’ve simplified our experiment and left out the time it takes to recognise and respond to a hazard. However fast your reaction times are, they’re going to push that 17 miles per hour in one direction – and that’s upwards.

Slide 69 – Stopping Speeds video

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Out on the road, these numbers make a big difference. Imagine you’re on a stretch of motorway, where the speed limit has been reduced to 40. There could be a report of debris on the road, a broken down car, an animal loose on the carriageway. You can’t see what’s going on ahead but you can see you’ve been asked to lower your speed.

Assistant: Go!

Let’s watch Graham to find out what happens if you need to stop. Remember, he’s a professional test driver. He knows he’s going to have to stop. There are no distractions. Visibility is good.

Assistant: Brake!

At the signal, Graham reacts, brakes and stops here. We’re going to find out how much difference 5 miles an hour will make.

Assistant: Go!

Graham is now doing 45 miles per hour.

Assistant: Brake!

We give him the same signal at exactly the same point but, because he’s going just 5 miles per hour faster, he’s actually still travelling at 20 miles per hour at the point where he stopped when doing only 40.

None of us would consciously choose to drive into an animal at 20 miles per hour, or a piece of debris or a broken down car. Yet that’s exactly what those few miles per hour over the limit mean in practice.

Let’s run the experiment one more time. This time, imagine there’s an incident on the road ahead. Emergency services are in attendance. The Control Centre team are monitoring what’s happened and have set a 50 mile per hour speed limit to slow traffic down in good time. Of course you can’t see what the Control Centre is seeing but you do see the signs and drop your speed to 50.

Let’s watch Graham to find out what happens when you see a queue of stationary traffic ahead. Here’s where he comes to a halt. He’s avoiding running into the back of the queue.

But now let’s see what happens if Graham ignores the variable speed limit. The signs say 50 but he’s still doing 70. He spots the queue and brakes at the same point but, because he’s going 20 miles per hour faster, he’s still travelling at 49 miles per hour at the point where he previously managed to stop.

In the real world, that would mean that, instead of coming to a halt in time, he’d have piled into the back of the queue at nearly 50 miles per hour.

That’s the difference it makes if we go even a little bit faster than the speed limit. Remember, it’s not about reaction times: Graham knew when he’d have to brake. It’s not about your skills as a driver or the features on your car. It’s about the laws of physics.

Small differences in speed at the moment you brake become much bigger differences at the moment of impact. Going even a little bit faster than we’re meant to really does make a difference.

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Many problems on the road could be avoided if we just left a bit more space.Driving with a safe space around your vehicle makes it less likely you’ll cause or be involved in a collision.

If the vehicle in front of you stops or slows suddenly, you’ll have more time to react – so you won’t go into the back of them. The Highway Code says you should leave at least a two-second gap between you and the vehicle in front – but leave at least twice as much on wet roads, and even more on icy roads.

Of course, the space behind you is just as important. If you have to stop or slow suddenly, then the driver behind you will have more time too.

The space around you is like a safety bubble. It protects you from what’s going on outside. So what do you do if other drivers invade your safety bubble? This can happen in two ways.

First, other drivers sometimes pull into the space you’ve carefully left between you and the car in front. It’s inconsiderate, it’s unsafe, and it can be very annoying – but getting angry will only make things worse.

Ease back to open up a space again, and reclaim your safety bubble.

The other thing that can happen is that the driver behind gets too close. Again, it’s inconsiderate, it’s unsafe, and it’s annoying.

It can also be quite stressful. Many of us instinctively try to get away from the danger by speeding up a bit ourselves. But look what happens… All we succeed in doing is squeezing the space in front of us as well as the space behind – and putting pressure on the driver in front as well.

So what should you do? The best response is again to ease back, and to open up an even larger space in front. That way you get your safety bubble back. If the car in front stops suddenly, you can brake more slowly – reducing the risk that the car behind you runs into the back of you.

Sometimes easing back will also send a signal to the tailgater behind you. They may ease off if they realise you’re not willing to be pressurised. Or they may overtake you. It’s their choice. Either way, you reclaim your safety bubble.

Remember, it’s the space that protects you, and gives you time to react. You can’t control what other drivers do, but you can maintain your safety bubble.

Slide 87 – Safety Bubble video

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