EFA Charter for High Quality Road Safety Education for the Safety of All

At the recent CNPA Congress held in Lyon, France I was very pleased to sign a new EFA Charter for Road Safety Education. The idea for this charter was first raised at the EFA delegates meeting in October 2016 – held in Copenhagen, Denmark by Patrice Bessone, Président, CNPA – Éducation Routière (France). His ideas were welcomed by delegates and the final charter was agreed at the EFA meeting held in Prague, Czech Republic in April 2017. Patrice kindly invited me to come to Lyon to formally sign the charter.

The CNPA Congress is a large event with around a thousand delegates attending. I last attended THE CNPA event at Reims in 2015.

Also at the event was EFA vice president Manuel Picardi from Italy and Enrique Lorca representing CNAE the Spanish association.

Alongside the congress, which was held in the Auditorium Lumiere, CNPA hosted a large exhibition that involved many different driving school related businesses, including software designers, car manufacturers and suppliers of dual controls.

 

My thanks to both  Anne-Marie Santos from the CNPA office and Catherine Brazier a French driver trainer who helped out with the translation on the morning of the event and made us feel most welcome.

 

 

EFA Charter for High Quality Road Safety Education for the Safety of All

 Preamble:

Road safety is everyone’s business. That is why the proper training of new drivers is in the public interest. It is not just about moving a vehicle it is about driving safely on the road.

We believe that only good quality professional driver training can ensure safety on the roads.

EFA representing professional European driving school organisations, declares that:

Every citizen is entitled to high-quality road safety training. Road safety education of a high standard must be available to all the citizens of Europe.

The driving license is not a commercial product that can be simply purchased. A full driving license should only be awarded after rigorous training and testing.

It is the responsibility of governments and the public authorities, to rigorously regulate the quality and training of driving schools and driving teachers.

All new drivers should receive training from properly licensed and approved driving schools and driving teachers.

Where allowed private practice must be provided without any payment of money or monies worth.

High quality driver training is delivered by properly trained and qualified professional driving teachers.

All driver training should follow an approved syllabus based on modern European requirements and which ensures the delivery of a minimum standard of knowledge and skills to students.