Network Advanced Driving Courses for the Cyprus Police.
When asked to write Roadcraft the Police Drivers Manual in the late 1930s, the Earl of Cottenham would have had little idea that his System of Car Control,that was to cut police vehicle accidents from one per 20,000 miles to one per 80,000 miles, would spread worldwide.
At that time in the UK fatal road accidents had reached a peak of 6,500 a year, a figure that was only exceeded during the blackout of the Second World War. It was envisaged that Roadcraft would alsoprovide a basis on which the police officer could give safe driving advice to members of the public.
Cyprus roads are amongst the three most dangerous in Europe. With a population of around 750,000 supplemented by about 2.5 million tourists per year, the rate of fatal accidents is quite unacceptable.
When George Georgiou formed the Road Safety and Advanced Driving Society in Cyprus in the year 2000, he was hoping to significantly change this level of death on the roads to something more acceptable to a European country.
Soon he was joined by Mike Moorby a retired Thames Valley Police Sergeant who had served much of his time on the forces Traffic Division.
Things moved very slowly, with most of the interest coming from the expat community.
However a number of Cypriot's also joined the group, a Department of Road Transport driving examiner and driving instructors being among their number.
Then Barry Faulkner joined the group. He had finally retired here after serving 16 years in Hertfordshire Police Driving School and 11 years running his own company giving safe driver training to company car drivers in the UK.
In 2001, The Superintendent of Police in Paphos and fifteen local officers attended a course entitled "An introduction to advanced driving".
From this small beginning, introductions were made with the Director of the Traffic Police in Nicosia and a meeting set up to discuss training for six officers who would be responsible for bringing advanced driving to the whole 4,100 strong Cyprus Police Force through their driving school.
It was agreed that we would train the force driving school instructors and a number of selected traffic officers in advanced driving techniques.
The Cyprus Advanced Driving and Road Safety Network has continued this training, with a change of emphasis towards training official bodies, in particular the Police.
This training has been expanded over recent years to include advanced motorcycle training.
All new police officers attending the driving school to obtain their police car permit are given a weeks driving course based on the Police Advanced Driving Manual "Roadcraft".
Officers who are destined to ride motorcycles receive a three week course based on Motorcycle Roadcraft.
The trainers have changed over the years but the commitment to improve the skills of Police drivers and riders has not.
