Malta Red Cross volunteer is certified response driver

The Malta Red Cross recently celebrated another achievement in leading the way forward as an ambulance service. Volunteer driver Ben Glover, 33, living in St Julian’s, has just returned from the UK after completing a Low Response Course with Hampshire Constabulary.

Once a former volunteer with the Roads Policing Unit in Portsmouth, Glover is no stranger to response driving and with our ethos of safer driving for Malta he was only too happy to represent.

It wasn’t all easy. Glover had been studying the Roadcraft Police Driver’s Course Handbook since September 2012, ready to take on the two-week intensive course in January this year.

The first week resorted in heading back to the classroom with some theory work on how to use a ‘system’ – position, speed, gear, acceleration – along with driving in an unmarked vehicle to hone Glover’s skills and above all improve the ability to drive in rural and residential areas.

A test on the skid pan on the runway at HMS Daedalus, Gosport, showed what life could be like when under steer and over steer is applied as well as how to handle the vehicle in such a situation. Despite the heavy snow fall and ice in the UK, Glover passed his assessment in the first week ready for his response driving in a marked police car.

He said: “It was actually mentally draining. My instructor Paul – a traffic police officer of over 27 years – was brilliant and a total perfectionist. He really taught me to get the most out of a car and safely. The past 16 years of driving have just been thrown out of the window – it is awesome!”

The second week began with a short spell in the classroom before heading out on the road in a marked police vehicle to deal with emergency situations in the city and rural areas. With being taught how to handle a car safely at speed on the motorways as well as in a town centre, Glover really got to grips with the response driving.

“When the sirens and lights go on, you really get a buzz. Driving through road works, heavy traffic and rural areas really taught me a lot. Having passed week one, I was able to drive at 20mph over the speed limit enforced with my instructor. The biggest challenge was driving through a heavily congested city road in Portsmouth and having to deal with various hazards like crossing pedestrians, buses and cars,” Glover added

“It really isn’t about bullying your way through the traffic and trying to get there the quickest, it is all about using the ‘system’ to be in the best position, the right speed, having the right gear and the right amount of acceleration – it really does work.”

With driving on Maltese roads being highly “energetic” at times, Glover admited he would sometimes struggle with keeping his cool. “It wasn’t just about driving practically but about mental attitude too – I really have come away a much better person as well as driver.”

It was a proud moment for Glover and the Malta Red Cross when he collected his certificate at the end of the two-week course.

The Malta Red Cross now has the chance to add some more skills to its volunteers.

This makes it a first-class choice as an ambulance service.

For more information, call 7900 0112 or e-mail secretary@redcrossmalta.org.mt.