The official Tracktime Driving Academy driver training program supports employers with their responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
On This Page
- Video: Tracktime Driving Academy
- Company Overview
- Our Aim
- Driver Training
- Benefits
- What Does The Course Include?
- Additional Training Courses
- What Our Participants Walk Away With
- Client Feedback
- Health & Safety
- Our Vehicle Fleet
- Venues
- Pricing, Dates & Bookings
- Learner Driver Course
Scroll down for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
Video: Tracktime Driving Academy
TrackTime Driving Academy – Advanced driver training programme | 1m 14s
Transcript:
I’ve been a racing driver for over 30 years and I’ve competed in events all around the world. But some of the most dangerous driving I’ve experienced is on highways and suburban streets right around New Zealand.
Each year 13,000 Kiwis are injured on New Zealand roads and over 350 people are killed.
That’s why I started Tracktime.
I’ve teamed up with Mazda New Zealand to deliver professional driver training programmes to New Zealanders.
Our courses are designed to give people a better chance to get home safely every day.
With Tracktime, you’ll enjoy both classroom coaching and practical time behind the wheel.
We can tailor make our instruction to suit your needs.
And you can drive your own vehicle or one of the Mazdas from our fleet.
For your safety, and safety of others on the road, please contact Tracktime.
Let me and my experienced team of trainers help you become a better driver.
Company Overview
Tracktime Driving Academy is a product of over 20 years of experience, with Mike Eady among other instructors.
At Tracktime we provide industry-leading and comprehensive driver training. Our instructors are fully qualified and we have an impressive and extensive record of credentials.
Mike Eady established the academy with his passion as well as both in-depth theoretical knowledge and practical driving experience. Click here to read about Mike’s instructor qualifications, gained in Munich in 2006.
For lucky Kiwi drivers, that means you receive driver training from one of the best in the business!
TrackTime Driving Academy is run by New Zealand’s most qualified driver training team, with chief instructor Mike Eady at the helm. The company has 20+ years’ experience and a rich history of involvement in driver education.
Tracktime runs the official Tracktime Driving Academy program to support employers with their responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
TrackTime Driving Academy aims to give participants an active and dynamic drive experience that provides driving education in a controlled and safe environment. Our courses teach you to appreciate and understand the limits of technology and driving skill.
At the same time, our training allows you to assess and overcome potential hazards, in particular by avoiding such risks from the start.
It is only with this basic knowledge of safety-related principles and the laws of driving dynamics that you can really understand and appreciate the actual situations you will experience on the road and in training.
Getting their driver’s licence is the last driver training most people do. However, many companies employing professional drivers, or with staff who drive as part of their jobs, know the huge value of ongoing driver training.
Increasing traffic volumes and long hours behind the wheel mean that accidents are inevitable for sales reps and company drivers. TrackTime’s job is to decrease the number and seriousness of those incidents.
Our own statistics show that those who have undergone our driver training courses not only have fewer accidents, but any that do occur are likely to be less severe. Non-trained drivers are not only involved in a greater number of collisions, but the damage to their vehicles is much more costly.
“Hampton Downs has had a commercial and professional relationship with Tracktime for many years. During this time we have found Tracktime to be consummate professionals whose focus towards Health & Safety is second to none.
“Due to the company’s professionalism we support Mike Eady in the driver education environment and actively promote his services. Hampton Downs highly recommends Mike Eady and Tracktime for driver education with fleet vehicles, staff, and any other corporate automotive needs.
“Please do not hesitate to contact me for a verbal reference or to discuss in more detail.”
Ben Blair, General Manager – Hampton Downs
Mobile: 027 405-1796
Email: gm@hamptondowns.com
Web: www.hamptondowns.com
Scroll down for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
Our Aim
Imagine a world with zero-harm on our roads and where vehicle accidents became a thing of the past!
Advanced safety technologies are helping us realise this vision with intelligent systems designed to reduce the risks of accidents by maximising the range of conditions on which a vehicle can be safely operated.
These technologies perform at their best when paired with safe driving practices and good decision-making to assist drivers in recognising potential hazards and minimising the severity of accidents when they are unavoidable.
The Tracktime Driving Academy is a practical and engaging learning program designed to enhance driver confidence and capability through high quality instruction and the opportunity to experience leading-edge vehicle technologies in a safe controlled environment.
KEY POINTS
- Drive your own car and understand its capabilities, or drive one of our new-generation Mazdas (selected venues).
- Easy on cars.
- Develop your car control.
- Be safer in slippery conditions.
- Learn skid recovery.
- Better understanding of defensive driving principals.
CLIENT FEEDBACK
“I thought it was a great day. Mike, the instructor, was awesome – really relaxed but professional, and so much nicer as an instructor than a previous experience with [name of other company redacted] 😊. He made all the difference to the day. Plus the course at Hampton Downs was awesome.”
Fiona Nelson
Scroll down for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
Driver Training
Getting their driver’s licence is the last driver training most people do. However, many companies employing professional drivers, or with staff who drive as part of their jobs, know the huge value of ongoing driver training.
Increasing traffic volumes and long hours behind the wheel mean that accidents are inevitable for sales reps and company drivers. Tracktime’s job is to decrease the seriousness of those incidents.
Tracktime’s own statistics show that those who have undergone its driver training courses not only have fewer accidents, but any that do occur are likely to be little more than small reversing nudges which cost their companies virtually nothing. Non-trained drivers are not only involved in a greater number of collisions, but the damage to their vehicles is much more costly.
Analysis shows that untrained drivers cost twice as much!
An analysis of accident claims by employees of a large New Zealand corporation shows that repair bills for untrained drivers cost 108% more than drivers who have been through a 4-hour Tracktime training course.
The average accident claim for the company’s trained drivers was $831 with 89% being little more than small dings resulting in only minor scrapes and scratches for the vehicles involved.
The average accident claim for the company’s untrained drivers was $1,727 – a whopping 108% higher. That’s over double the cost! Even worse, 33% were serious accidents.
CONCLUSION: Trained drivers have fewer collisions, causing less damage and resulting in fewer insurance claims for their companies.
Driver training is also important because of the many recent advances in automotive technology. A car with ABS brakes, for instance, is driven in a completely different manner to one without this safety feature.
Scroll down for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
Benefits
- Health and safety obligations: Our courses help you cover your health and safety obligations. Vehicles are a place or work and as an employer you are required to identify and mitigate risks associated with this.
- Reset bad driving habits: Some bad driving habits have become normalised. Training reminds us that these habits increase risk, and helps us to break these habits.
- Maximise the benefits of safety technology: TrackTime training teaches how to maximise these safety features so that risk is reduced.
- Reduce vehicle downtime: Fewer accidents means that your vehicles are on the road more consistently.
- Lower vehicle maintenance costs: Safer, more economical driving means less wear and tear on your vehicles.
- Reduce lost opportunities: The impact of vehicle downtime can mean missing delivery deadlines or important meetings, costing your company money.
- Reduce fines: We forget important road rules from the Road Code over time and training refreshes those rules, helping us to avoid fines.
- Save fuel: Awareness of which driving habits cause excessive fuel use is the first step to reducing fuel use. Savings of up to 30% can be achieved by changing driving style.
- Explain and clarify your policies: Ensures all drivers know your expectations and policies around mobile phone use, drug and alcohol use and safe driving.
- Foster a sense of excellence in your team: Aiming to have a zero-accidents fleet gives your drivers a sense of pride and purpose.
- Happier drivers: Awareness of what makes a good driver (which includes the driver’s attitude), plus how to use the vehicle in the most ergonomic way to reduce fatigue and pain, results in happier drivers who are less likely to suffer stress and discomfort at the wheel.
What Does The Course Include?
While elements may be varied to suit an individual or organisation, the core program offers a comprehensive one-day training module.
STAGE 1
The day starts at 9:30 AM, with a mix of 20% theoretical instruction and 80% practical skills application across a wide curriculum from hazard recognition, defensive driving and accident avoidance to vehicle maintenance.
Participants receive interactive feedback throughout the session with a full competency assessment provided at the conclusion of the program with a certificate of completion at approximately 3:30 PM. Detailed reporting and evaluation is made available to employers, as required for their workplace safety governance.
STAGE 2
The Stage 2 course is designed for participants who have already completed the Stage 1 course.
The days starts at 9:00 AM with a refresher of subjects covered in Stage 1. The day then proceeds with a greater emphasis on practical skills including new exercises such as lapping with cornering lines, slalom and vehicle dynamics.
As with the Stage 1 course, participants receive interactive feedback throughout the session with a full competency assessment provided at the conclusion of the program with a certificate of completion at approximately 4:00 PM. Detailed reporting and evaluation is made available to employers, as required for their workplace safety governance.
Please note that all courses are only open to drivers with a valid full or restricted New Zealand Licence.
Scroll down for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
Additional Driver Training Courses Available By Request
- 4WD & off-road training (available at selected venues).
- Snow & ice training (available at selected venues).
- Wet weather/skid pan training (available at selected venues).
- Corporate training days and events (we can tailor courses to suit the specific needs of your company and the type of terrain your staff are required to drive on).
- Trailer reversing training.
Scroll down for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
What Our Participants Walk Away With
Participants receive a certificate of attendance, showing that they have completed our Stage 1 or Stage 2 driver training course.
Employers receive a feedback form showing the scores their employees have achieved based on eight main driving skills.
Tracktime Driving Academy teaches participants to appreciate and understand the limits of technology and defensive driving skills.
At the same time, it allows them to assess and overcome potential hazards, in particular by avoiding such risks from the start.
It is only with this basic knowledge of safety-related principles and the laws of driving dynamics that you can really understand and appreciate the actual situations you will experience on the road and in training.
Scroll down for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
Client Feedback
“Some of the guys thought the day would be a bit basic and they might not learn a lot. Instead they were blown away. It was brilliant and the instructors extremely good and entertaining. We all learned heaps of valuable techniques and had a ball doing it. We really enjoyed how hands on it was and the varied challenges. Couldn’t recommend it highly enough.”
– Robert Mannes, managing director, 22 Degrees Ltd
• • •
“Thank you so much. It was a brilliant day and we all got something out of it. We felt the Tracktime Driving Academy experience highly professional. Mike and Martin are approachable and work very in sync with each other. Their systems are seamless and operate a very safe environment to learn. Every one of us have been boasting about it since we left yesterday. See below for a cut and pasted comment from Paul Castle.”
– Evelien van Vliet
• • •
“A huge thank you for today at the track. It was an awesome taste of what goes on and a great learning experience in car handling and braking in particular. I really enjoyed myself immensely.”
– Paul Castle
• • •
“We’ve had some great feedback following the Ruapuna day. These are taken straight off our internal staff communication platform,” says Dom Kalasih, HSSE Business Partner, Z Energy…
“Driver training day, track day, hoon day, call it what you will, we turned up at Ruapuna raceway to pit man against machine and put rubber on the road. Turns out that this wasn’t quite how the day was going to play out, but this turned out to be a good thing. The team from Tracktime Driving Academy explained that the day was about getting familiar with the vehicles we drive each day for work, and understanding how the safety features, ABS, traction control, stability assist, air bags came into play to ensure we stay safe and get home safely each day.”
• • •
“For me I hope that this becomes part of the onboarding experience for all company drivers, at best before their first day on the job. With over 15 years of having a company vehicle, this course is probably one of the best I have been involved in with regards to familiarising a company driver with their work vehicle.”
• • •
“This course was about getting familiar with what we currently drive and the capabilities of our current vehicles, the safety features and how they work, as well as the basics like where the jack goes when changing a tyre, where the tow ring is attached, what to check and what not to check under the hood, etc.”
• • •
“There is still a need for some if not all company drivers to be up skilled in respect to the way we drive, as Mike Eady pointed out as drivers NZ’ers have some pretty shocking behaviours and attitudes to driving, also the type of driving that company drivers are exposed to which varies from one region to another, for example, there are company drivers that spend alot of time in rentals which can be different from one trip to the next, some are spending 80% of there time on motor ways versus small town and country driving, extreme weather conditions and for a couple of company drivers metal roads.”
• • •
“Finally having a practical and theoretical driving experience that actually makes a difference is a great step in ensuring that our people who drive for work are safer on our roads, and confident that if anything doesn’t go to plan they have the tools and the skills to take action and give them a different outcome than they may have got prior to doing the Tracktime course.”
• • •
“There is still a need for company drivers to be upskilled in the way we drive. As Mike Eady pointed out, New Zealanders have some pretty shocking behaviours and attitudes to driving. Also the type of driving that company drivers are exposed to, which varies from one region to another, for example, there are company drivers that spend a lot of time in rentals which can be different from one trip to the next, some are spending 80% of their time on motorways versus small town and country driving, extreme weather conditions and for a couple of company drivers metal roads.”
Scroll down for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
Health & Safety
The Health and Safety of not our instructors and our course participants is of the utmost importance to us.
Tracktime has a comprehensive Health & Safety policy as outlined below:
- Course participants are briefed on safety issues and fully supervised by our instructors at all times.
- Course participants are thoroughly briefed on safe practices during the practical part of the day.
- Venues are fully inspected by Tracktime instructors on the day to ensure the safety and usability of the venue.
- First aid kits to minimum requirements are available at all times.
- Tracktime instructors all hold a current First Aid Certificate.
- Tracktime instructors are in radio contact with each other at all times.
Scroll down for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
Our Vehicle Fleet
Tracktime has committed to a dedicated fleet of new-generation Mazda vehicles. These vehicles are available for hire at Hampton Downs venue.
Tracktime Driving Academy operates throughout New Zealand with one-day training programs delivering high-quality instruction and maximum time spent applying practical skills.
Scroll down for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
Venues
- Whangarei – Semenoff Stadium
- Auckland – Pukekohe Park Raceway
- Auckland – Hampton Downs (main venue)
- Tauranga – Bay Park Speedway
- Taupo – Centennial Park Raceway
- Palmerston North / Fielding – Manfield Autocourse
- Christchurch – Ruapuna Park Raceway
- Timaru – Levels Raceway
- Invercargill – Teretonga Park Raceway
Other venues are available upon request.
See below for pricing, dates & bookings ▾
Pricing, Dates & Bookings
Stage 1 driver training…
August 2024 |
|
Auckland/Waikato – Hampton Downs
Book Now: drive@tracktime.co.nz |
September 2024 |
|
Auckland/Waikato – Hampton Downs
Book Now: drive@tracktime.co.nz |
October 2024 |
|
Auckland/Waikato – Hampton Downs
Christchurch – Ruapuna
Invercargill – Teretonga Park
Book Now: drive@tracktime.co.nz |
November 2024 |
|
Auckland/Waikato – Hampton Downs
Palmerston North – Manfeild
Book Now: drive@tracktime.co.nz |
December 2024 |
|
Auckland/Waikato – Hampton Downs
Book Now: drive@tracktime.co.nz |
Learner Driver Training Course
With the terrible road toll in holiday periods, school and uni breaks can be a worrying time for parents of recently qualified drivers and drivers on learner and restricted licences.
Mike Eady and the team at TrackTime are offering our full day learner driver training course for drivers 16 years or above, which is designed to improve driving skills and encourage good decision making.
Included are modules on…
- Braking
- Braking in an emergency
- Cornering
- Basic car maintenance
There will be some theory to support what is learnt in the practical session, but the emphasis is on practical driving skills rather than theory and Road Code.
The main aim of the course is to give our young people more tools to stay safe in the holiday period and beyond.
Drivers will receive a certificate on completion of the course and parents will receive a feedback form showing the scores achieved.
Venue: Hampton Downs Motorsport Park
Date: Wednesday 4th December 2024
Session times: 9:30 to 3:30pm
Cost: $390 plus GST
Book Now: drive@tracktime.co.nz
We encourage drivers to use the car they drive regularly, however there is the option of using a Tracktime vehicle free of charge if required (limited numbers).
