Frightening Video: This Is Why We Offer Van Driving Training

A frightening video has emerged online showing the terrifying moment when a van driver inadvertently hits a pedestrian who steps out into traffic. The pedestrian was not seriously injured in the accident, but what makes the video so frightening is the reality that what happened could happen to any of us. It provides an excellent illustration of why we offer van driving training to professionals.

The video in question was recorded by a dash cam mounted in a van. As the van makes its way down the road, there seems to be no indication that anything could potentially be wrong. Then, without warning, a pedestrian steps out from behind another van parked at the side of the street and into the path of the oncoming vehicle. The impact is so severe that pedestrian cracks the van’s windscreen.

If you have seen the video, you know that it all happened so quickly that there was absolutely no way for the van driver to avoid the collision. The video also clearly demonstrates why pedestrians should never step into the street between parked cars.

Again, the pedestrian was not seriously injured in this accident. But it could have been worse. Had the van driver been going just a bit faster, the news reports could have been drastically different. This incident was fortunately concluded with just a broken windscreen and a few bumps and bruises.

Van Driving Training Important

So, what does all this have to do with van driving training? A lot, actually. We tend not to think about the challenges of driving a van professionally in light of the fact that articulated lorries and other HGVs appear to be much harder to drive. They are. But therein lies the biggest challenge of driving a van. Drivers can get careless because they quickly discover that vans are not that much more difficult to control than passenger cars. Drivers can sometimes falsely believe that they do not need the same level of concentration required of an HGV or PCV driver.

Our van driving training programme addresses this by instructing students on their need always to remain vigilant. We like to refer to the hazard perception portion of the theory test to drive home this point. The theory test presents 19 videos with 20 developing hazards that drivers are expected to recognise and point out in a reasonable amount of time. The exercise is one that all professional drivers should pay attention to throughout their careers.

The van driver in the video had no way of seeing the pedestrian standing behind a parked van before darting into traffic. But there are other times when these kinds of accidents are completely preventable simply by observing one’s surroundings. Our van driving training deals with that concept. Drivers need to pay very careful attention.

For more information about our van driving training programme, feel free to contact the HGV Training Centre. We are always looking to enrol new students.