The AIRSO Blue Light Users Conference at Hinckley last week was, as usual, a very interesting and well put together event. AIRSO have a truly impressive nack of getting together a mix of speakers from different backgrounds to keep the conference entertained, and an ability to be innovative with format too. For me, it was really useful to engage with so many existing, and potentially new, customers but also highly reassurring to see again that there are so many people committed to the training and development of blue light drivers in all services.
The conference tends, inevitably I suppose, to be largely led by voices within the statutory blue light services, Police, Fire, Ambulance, but is also very well attended by representatives from the private and voluntary sector ambulance services. It struck me during the event that maybe a stronger voice from those areas might be a positive development for the future and, as someone who believes strongly in inclusivity, this is something I would like to try work towards. As ambulance and NHS Trusts move further towards privatisation of their patient transport function, the private and voluntary ambulance sector can only continue to grow and we are glad to be there to help with their driver training needs, as we have for so many years.
The eagerly anticipated speech at the conference, from the DfT's ACPO Liaison officer, in relation to future training requirements arising from the Road Safety Act 2006 was informative and interesting without being able to offer anything concrete by way of an implementation date for the new High Speed Driver Training course. With a new government looking to save money wherever possible, I would guess that it will some time yet before we see any progress on that front.
In the meantime, we continue to maintain our high standards and to develop our courses to meet current and future legislative requirements to the satisfaction of all of our customers.
