Directors' Message

This website has been developed to highlight our significant point of difference compared to traditional defensive driver training which by and large has not produced safer drivers.
Our programs are totally consistent with Road Safety Research. We are the only organisation in Australia possibly the world that confines the training to the research only. Our trainers work very hard at not using expressions like “I think” in other words we do not offer a series of opinions.

Research into road safety and driver training clearly has identified that if an organisation values safety in their work practices and it they have a zero tolerance to injuries and harm; road safety training is more successful. Therefore our courses seek to motivate people to protect themselves more than average drivers. Average driving behaviour is also inconsistent with the 'Zero Injury' safety vision of leading global companies. "Average behavior on the road, leads to average crash risk". Therefore, average driving behaviour is inconsistent with the aims of most companies

We do not simulate emergency responses, at venues intended for competition. All of our training takes place on road, it is behind the wheel, and is in actual driving conditions. Our trainer is inside the vehicle with your people at all times. The extensive practical training sessions are conducted on a 1 trainer to 4 participant ratio. It is very easy to teach a little road law, talk about driver attitudes and even show a graphic video or two. The reality is that these types of activities just don't produce safer drivers. Sure, most people will have learned a thing or two, but put a thousand people through this experience and there's just no evidence that people are more careful afterwards.
It's not easy to accept this fact, it's hard. It's so hard to accept that many people in the industry just ignore it as some kind of academic rhetoric.

Our core product is the Low Risk Driving Course; this course forms the bases of all our programs. These courses are designed to motivate people to take driver safety seriously. Your drivers are experienced driver and they already have skills, we would say competencies. Our courses are not designed for learner drivers, but instead for people that have been driving for many years. At CDTA we try to identify what barriers prevent people protecting themselves from the most dangerous daily activity of driving.

The vast majority of drivers believe they already are safer than “average drivers”... While such optimism can contribute to an increased feeling of well-being, it can also encourage risky decision making in activities such as driving."

Our courses are designed principally to demonstrate to people that their safety is in their own hands “My Safety My Choice” Our participants will discover that it is possible to protect themselves from most crash types principally by behaving differently. And not by swerving around road cones.

Thank you for considering our products, please contact me or our consultants anytime to discuss your road safety training needs.

John Ristell, Director