LANTRA, BORDA, RoSPA, NPTC & DSA Qualifications for Off Roaders and 4x4 Professionals

LANTRA, BORDA, NPTC, RoSPA & DSA 4×4 Off Road Qualifications

What do all the 4×4 accreditations mean, and who are the certificating bodies?

LANTRA Awards and BORDA are the two main bodies whose qualifications cover off-road driving in the UK. RoSPA also certificate a 4×4 training course as part of their driver training offering. The NPTC and City and Guilds provide certification for off-roading. The DSA are the government body who regulate car training – if your 4×4 is a car then your instructor must be DSA approved.

We provide on and off-road training certified by Lantra-Awards and through our RoSPA colleagues.

If you use (or provide for use) a 4×4 in the course of your business – you must ensure that all users are trained in their use under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER – H&S guide) 1998. Health and Safety regulations mean that the employer is now liable for misuse of the equipment they provide (or even equipment they don’t provide, as long as it is used for the purposes of the business). So the legal requirement is there.

On the plus side – having well trained operators can save you a fortune in mechanical repairs and costs – vehicle sympathy is a big element of the professional 4×4 courses, and simply by training your employees you could save more than the cost of the training in the first year alone.

Training costs range from around £250 for a 1 day refresher course per person, up to around £1400 to train 3 people over 2 days, depending on the provider.

LANTRA:

Are “The Sector Skills Council for land-based and environmental industries”, and oversee providers of a huge range of qualifications relevant to the countryside industries. The LANTRA-Awards professional qualification is recognised by the Health and Safety Executive. Lantra-Awards courses are also recognised by all major landowners, regional and national government. The Lantra-Awards 4×4, ATV and Quad Bike courses are recognised as the industry standard. Of these accrediting organisations, Lantra-Awards are the only one with HSE Accrediting Body status.

LANTRA-Awards qualifications are ideal for companies who need their drivers to drive off road, or use off road vehicles and ATVs.

We recommend professional users take the Professional Users Certificate – either as a 2 day course for those with a little experience, or as a 1 day refresher for those who have done the course previously, or can provide suitable certification from another source. The Winching courses are also essential for those who need to fulfil PUWER regs for winching apparatus, or for those users who need to recover vehicles using winching equipment.

LANTRA Awards instructors, their courses and the sites they work on are regularly assessed and re-appraised. The Lantra-Awards ATV courses fulfil HSAW, PUWER and LOLER regulations. When combined with on-road training, the 4×4 course is also fully compliant.

LANTRA Awards have been made aware of the legal problems regarding 4×4 driver training both on and off-road, regarding the requirement for trainers to be DSA ADIs, and are working to ensure that all of their instructors become ADIs so that they can continue to provide training legally.

LANTRA Homepage: With information and News from the whole of LANTRA

LANTRA Awards: Training, qualifications and providers

BORDA:

BORDA

Are the British Off Road Driving Association, who provide off road driver training and guidance for company and recreational 4×4 and ATV (quad bike etc) users.

BORDA Homepage: With an introduction to the organisation and links to providers.

BORDA have in recent years concentrated more on their professional qualifications and are applying the same rigor to these as they have historically brought to their events work. Like Lantra-Awards, they don’t currently insist that their instructors are DSA Approved Driving Instructors, so if you’re looking to source professional training, ensure that your training provider is acting legally by using only DSA ADIs for your training.

RoSPA

RoSPA 4x4 Training

RoSPA have been heavily involved in driver training for many years, and certificate advanced, fleet and 4×4 drivers, as well as ATV operators.

RoSPA: with information on all the courses they provide.

RoSPA’s driver training credentials are normally impeccable, though as far as we know the 4×4 work is not run in-house, unlike much of the standard fleet driver training work. Not all of their trainers are ADIs, though the ones we work with are.

NPTC City and Guilds

The NPTC are the National Proficiency Testing Council. NPTC assessments are available for 4×4 operators, and the level of competency expected is similar to that required by Lantra. Usually, the Lantra course, due to it’s integrated training and assessment will prove more cost efficient, though NPTC have recently started offering integrated courses for 4×4 operators, but these are less well recognised.

DSA:

DSA

This is the Driving Standards Agency – the people who regulate Driving Instructors.

Driving Instructors are the only people who can legally train anyone to drive a car or car based 4×4. When organising training for you or your company then decide whether you need any element of the training to be undertaken in a 4×4 vehicle under 3.5tonnes (any 4 wheel drive which is legally regarded as a category B vehicle). If it does – you should ensure that the training provider is a DSA Approved Driving Instructor. Any training provider who asks for payment for car driver training who isn’t a DSA ADI is breaking the letter of the law. (see our correspondence from the DSA outlining their position on off-road driver training.)

DSA ADIs can also be Fleet Registered, meaning they have had extra training in how to deal with full licence holders and company drivers – with expert knowledge of risk assessment and company law.

DSA Fleet training is essential so that companies conform to Health and Safety regulations while driving on road on work related business either in a personal or company car. Most Fleet Training providers have little or no experience of 4×4 vehicles, so can only provide limited driver training for 4×4 users.

Very few off-road trainers are also DSA registered.

At Beyond Driving we are both DSA ADI, Fleet and LANTRA Awards registered.

If you want any help working out what training is the most suitable for yourselves, or if you are looking for a 4×4 Instructor Course – feel free to contact us: