Technology has an important part to play in improving the safety of fleets and it’s pleasing to note that our Golf GTD has a raft of safety technology fitted as standard.

This includes Front Assist (which uses radar sensors to measure the distance and relative speed of other vehicles ahead and warns you if you get too close) and City Emergency Braking (which can automatically brake the vehicle at speeds of up to 19mph to prevent a collision).

I have been guilty of triggering an advanced warning - an angry red car appears in the instrument cluster, accompanied by a loud high pitched beep - and it has caused me to pay closer attention to stopping distances in traffic.

Other standard features, which, fortunately, I have not put to the test, include a Driver Alert System  (which senses when you become drowsy and need to take a break), a Pre-Crash system (which closes the electric windows and tensions the front seats belts if it identifies the car is about to crash) and an Automatic Post-Collision Braking system (which, following a collision, automatically brakes the car for as long as necessary to reduce its speed to 6mph and help prevent or minimise the severity of subsequent collisions).

There are seven airbags as standard, including one for the driver's knees.

Adaptive cruise control, which works in conjunction with the Front Assist traffic monitoring system, is also standard fitment.

Our Golf is fitted with the optional Park Assist for £150 (parking sensors are standard) and High Beam Assist (£140). Other optional equipment includes Lane Assist and a rear view camera.