It’s never too early — or too late — to learn to be a better driver

No one can deny the positive effects of enforcement on road safety, but there is a better path: education.

An engaged and skilled driver will always be safer on the road, but they will also find more satisfaction and pleasure in each trip, even on very busy routes and during routine journeys.

The vast majority of drivers have received no training since obtaining their license, and while each day behind the wheel brings a bit more experience, it also brings new bad habits. Whether you ride a motorcycle or drive a car, you know those little moments of inattention, those hesitations at a right-of-way, that speedometer creeping up a little too high without any real intention to go faster… You have also surely found yourself in a potentially dangerous situation with an unexpected obstacle on the road, a sudden change in grip, or a rapid deterioration in weather conditions. Each of these perilous situations can be handled calmly if you know the right actions and have at some point learned the best ways to deal with them. Like memory, driving needs maintenance, so why not give yourself a little refresher?

A road safety awareness course lets you discover another way of driving: calmer, safer, more respectful of others and of the environment. They also, of course, serve a road prevention purpose. Note, we are not talking about a points-recovery course, but rather a training course for better driving. The goal is to learn in real conditions how to keep control of your vehicle at any speed, anticipate road risks, and react correctly to danger to avoid finding yourself in a potentially dramatic situation.

These courses are particularly fun and interactive. Forget tedious slide sessions and multiple-choice tests; you spend most of the time behind the wheel or on the handlebars for a series of supervised practical workshops. During a motorcycle course, a few slalom runs will help you properly absorb leaning techniques and adjust your position to spare yourself some cramps. You will also learn to brake better both in normal situations and while cornering, as well as on degraded surfaces. Braking is also a priority in cars, where good technique can improve your safety and that of your passengers, but above all that of pedestrians and other cyclists you may encounter.

Finally, these courses teach you some essential vehicle maintenance gestures. Tyres, to name just one, are the only link between the vehicle and the road. Regularly checking their pressure and knowing how to adjust it if necessary for the weather conditions and the vehicle’s load takes only a few seconds and is the best way to improve their performance and extend their lifespan. With considerable savings to boot!

Insurers are aware that improving driver behaviour is the best way to reduce the number of accidents and road fatalities. Most offer these courses and some, such as Groupama, have even gone further by creating their own centres—Centaure in the case of the company beloved by Cerise. This allows the company to offer a preferential rate on the course price, or even full coverage. The icing on the cake, and we’ll stop there with the easy references to Groupama’s mascot Cerise, is that participation in these courses most often leads to a reduction in car insurance premiums.

A day of training costs on average around 200 euros and is enough to acquire a solid foundation for safer driving. They are aimed at all types of drivers, but are especially accessible and even recommended for young drivers, who will learn more in one day than in 40 hours of training for the exam. Fuel for life.

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