Sign up for a crash course

What does “defensive driver training” suggest to you? A martial arts course to protect you from fellow drivers? A reinforced bumper with bullbar to make sure that nobody messes with you? A ready scowl for any driver coming within crashing distance? Or a way of cutting the insurance premiums of your sales and marketing team?

The answer, in fact, is number four. To prove the point estate agent chain Hambro Countrywide has reduced its accident frequency from 95 to 52 per cent of its fleet by putting 2,000 drivers through a scheme designed to improve driving standards by a firm called Defensive Driver Training.

Hambro recognised the time pressures it places on its staff and the impact crashes were having on its bottom line. Other firms are now apparently following suit. Perhaps the roads will soon be a safer place for all drivers.