Online defensive driving course gets green light from government

Jacques Whitford has long been known as a world leader in environmental solutions. Now it is developing a reputation as a leader in e–Learning solutions with the launch of an online defensive driving course designed to help anyone become a safer, greener driver. 

Developed in partnership with the Canada Safety Council, Green Defensive Driving Course Online has proven to be quite a success across Canada.  More than 3,000 federal government and private sector employees have completed training since it was launched in May 2003. It has also received a significant endorsement from Natural Resources Canada; the department is covering the cost for any federal department or agency that wants to take the course.

Don Grant, Emerging Services Director for Learning Services with Jacques Whitford's Ottawa-based office, credits the popularity of the bilingual course in part to its unique mix of instructional design and flash animation that illustrate driving situations and techniques, not to mention its considerable convenience.

"Because it is delivered online, it allows people great flexibility in when and how they study, and it takes less time than classroom training, making it popular among employers and employees."

Grant says he and his colleagues started developing the course after learning that Industry Canada was looking for an online course for its employees that combined defensive driving techniques with training on how to reduce the environmental impacts of driving.   He approached the Canadian Safety Council about using their newly modified defensive driving course as the basis for an online learning experience, and a partnership was formed. 

The resulting course reflects the strengths of both organizations: the Council contributed more than 30 years of experience in safe driving and course evaluation, while Jacques Whitford contributed a 30-year legacy of 'green' transportation research and solutions, coupled with extensive e-Learning technical and instructional design skills.

"It really was a nice fit for Jacques Whitford because we were also able to bring our experience in health and safety solutions to the table," says Grant.  "Together, we've created an online learning experience that will help drivers reduce the risk of collision, and reduce their insurance costs, and that's a big motivator for many employers and individuals."

The course has been well received and Grant is hoping to do research that will measure its impact on driver safety, and fuel efficiency.  "The Council has an academic paper from Australia that demonstrates that when you drive defensively, you use less fuel, and drivers who are aware of the environmental impacts of driving are safer drivers."

Meanwhile, Grant and his colleagues are using the course as a template to develop other e-Learning solutions for Jacques Whitford's clients.

"We're developing a course on transporting dangerous goods using the same methodology and style of the defensive driving course," explains Grant.  "It's a ground-breaking course for us because it gives us a model to develop e-Learning solutions for our clients that achieve their goals while saving them time and money."

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