Competence and confidence: why new drivers need better support
In exploring what’s been driving up SPADs, we uncovered a different challenge: the need to better support our train drivers from trainee to post-qualified and beyond.
Joe Wilson MCIROStrategy Implementation Manager – Train Operations, RSSB
Joe is the RSSB lead for the SPAD Risk Subgroup, which produces resources to help industry address SPAD risk and promote collaboration through sharing learning and resources. He is a former driver resource manager for GTR on the Great Northern/Thameslink route, where his role was to coordinate the route’s day-to-day running, including managing drivers and disruption.
As a former driver resource manager and having studied an MBA in Railway Operations, I can say with confidence that train drivers have one of the most complex roles in the industry. From maintaining focus during repetitive tasks to switching into a completely new mental mode when disruption occurs, they face intricacies that many of us don’t.
That’s just while they’re at work. Off duty, there are shift patterns to balance and a culture of working on rest days. Plus, many have significant support needs in the wake of tragic events, such as fatalities.
And for post-qualified drivers, those new to the role, there’s the need to maintain competence within this tricky mental landscape. Having graduated from their training, the onus is on them to stay up to date on their routes, a range of safety processes, and SPAD prevention. All that while getting used to driving alone.
SPADs have been a recent topic of investigation. We know they’re on the up again, but we’re not sure why. We also know that many newly qualified train drivers did most of their training during the COVID-19 pandemic, which of course introduced an element of disruption.
Could there be a link between these two facts?
Recent RSSB research sought to answer this question. We worked with five train operators and one freight operator to look at recent SPAD data and gather survey responses from their staff.
The bottom line is that SPAD numbers in the post-qualified group are proportionate, so there doesn’t seem to be a link. But the findings do raise some other interesting questions, including whether we’re doing enough as an industry to support drivers—first in their transition from trainee to post-qualified, then in the long term.
And now is truly the time for this conversation. With the government having announced a consultation to lower the minimum train driving age to 18, we need to prepare for the largest influx of post-qualified drivers we might ever see.
When we looked at the SPAD data, some intriguing patterns started to emerge. Notably, we found that SPADs are more likely to happen at signals passed before, pointing to route learning being a potential area for improvement.
We also found that the most common causes of SPADs among post-qualified drivers were ‘slips and lapses’. This is likely due to an element of fatigue, but it could also result from monotonous task patterns, unexpected and worrisome diversions, or overconfidence leading to unintended complacency.
While the overall increase in SPADs is unlikely to have just one root cause, it’s clear from the findings that we can do more to equip drivers with the skills they need to confidently transition from training to a post-qualified status.
Some of our survey respondents cited feeling isolated, having ‘too much’ classroom time and not enough driving time, and lacking adequate support as they transitioned out of their training.
So, let’s look at MTR’s approach. Their driver training involves augmented and virtual reality to give trainees exposure to routes and scenarios even when they’re unable to get out in a cab. This kind of solution provides a joined-up and continuous approach to training. It also supports the transition from trainee driver to post-qualified driver by offering a means to keep learning despite no longer having a human trainer by their side.
This may be something that other operators might find useful to implement down the line, resources permitting.
Other options to better support post-qualified drivers include:
better fatigue management by introducing a fair culture policy and that ensuring roster arrangements are reviewed against the ORR’s fatigue factors
improved contingency planning for unexpected events, like pandemics
access to mentors, even for post-qualified drivers.
Every train driver, experienced or not, deserves to feel competent and confident. And we must, as an industry, drive down SPADs.
Fostering a strong learning culture that balances fatigue, route knowledge, and human factors and that focuses on continuous improvement will be key.
Download the full report into post-qualified drivers and SPADs here.
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