THE provision of driver training will soon be made a statutory duty for fleet managers, according to the boss of the company with possibly the cleanest accident record in the country. If ever a company was to make the headlines for demonstrating the clear benefits of driver training then Ampthill-based N.E.W.S. Transport is it.

Last week the firm's 15 drivers notched up six years and 11 million miles of accident-free motoring. N.E.W.S. Transport transport manager David Footitt says this exemplary record is all thanks to driver training. But he admits his example will not be enough to get fleet managers to follow his lead.

'Our record speaks for itself, but leading by example will not be enough. The Government will within the next five or 10 years make driver training mandatory as part of health and safety legislation. We can no longer train employees how to use a computer or a vacuum cleaner and then hand them the key to a £20,000 Mondeo without a second thought. It's outrageous that such a situation has been allowed to develop.'