Driving course on the motorway, i.e. practical driving lessons under the supervision of experienced instructors, increases its range. From May this year, students from the following provinces can also participate in the program: Pomorskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Śląskie and Małopolskie. This is possible thanks to the cooperation established by Autostrada Wielkopolska with Gdańsk Transport Company, the manager of the concession section of the A1 motorway and Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska, the manager of the concession section of the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway. Through the development of the program, even more future drivers in Poland will have the opportunity to acquire practical skills before their first independent journey on a motorway or expressway.
Driving on sections of motorways and expressways, although different from driving on ordinary roads, is currently not a mandatory part of the driving course. Many drivers face this challenge on their first solo car trip. To meet them, in 2021 Autostrada Wielkopolska initiated a social and educational program, which is the Motorway Driving Course. Thanks to it, future drivers, even before receiving the right to drive vehicles, have the chance to gain new skills while driving on the motorway and learn how to confidently and safely drive on this type of roads.
– The Motorway Driving Course program is one of the most important projects we undertake in the field of driver education. We constantly care about their safety by investing in motorway infrastructure. Along with the extension of the scope of the Motorway Driving Course, we want to increase the awareness and skills of drivers in the field of safe driving on motorways and we believe that together with new partners whom we have invited to participate in this initiative, we will achieve this goal – says Krzysztof Andrzejewski, Member of the Management Board of Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A.
More than 30 Driver Training Centres from the Wielkopolskie and Lubuskie provinces and several hundred students have already been involved in the program. The ambassador of the Motorway Driving Course is Tomasz Czopik – a well-known Polish rally driver and promoter of road safety.
Nationwide coverage
In the spring of 2023, Gdańsk Transport Company, the manager of the A1 Gdańsk – Toruń AmberOne Motorway, and Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska, the manager of the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway, joined the Motorway Driving Course. The greater scope of the program will enable future drivers to train in towns located close to concession sections of motorways in Poland. Classes are conducted by experienced instructors who have not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical experience in driving vehicles on Polish motorways.
– AmberOne Motorway A1 is fully involved in the Motorway Driving Course programme. In our 10-year-old educational campaign Safety, my middle name, we prioritize especially the practical aspects of improving travel safety. We are convinced that training makes perfect, also a master of the steering wheel, which is why we hope for a wide response of the initiative in the Pomeranian and Kujawsko-Pomorskie OSK – explains Wojciech Mąkinia, Vice President of the Management Board of Gdańsk Transport Company S.A.
The implementation of the program in cooperation with the best driver training centres (OSK) allows students to take practical driving on the motorway already at the stage of the driving test preparation course. Such a course provides for four hours of training driving outside built-up areas. Driving schools cooperating with motorways use part of this time for practical classes on the motorway. Importantly, the implementation of such rides as part of the driving test preparation course is free of charge for the student – concessionaires exempt vehicles cooperating with OSK from tolls. Thanks to this, the trainee gains additional training and improves their skills, and OSK expands the training offer.
– For years, we have been organizing and supporting educational activities related to safe driving. Recently, we have carried out a social campaign Driving without reading, drawing attention to the problem of drivers using mobile phones while driving. In the Motorway Driving Course program, we see an opportunity to increase the safety of travellers, which is particularly important for our region. In Silesia and Małopolska, as in no other area of the country, expressways lead through a large number of towns with a high degree of population density and intersect with numerous other roads. Lack of skills or bravado behind the wheel can have very severe consequences for life and health, which is why it is so important to build awareness and improve students’ skills – says Andrzej Kaczmarek, President of the Management Board of Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A.
How to use
To become a participant of the program, it is enough to choose the center closest to your place of residence from the list of driver training centres on the website www.kursjazdynaautostradzie.pl and take a course there. The date of commencement of motorway driving will depend on the training program implemented by the driver training center. The motorway driving course is carried out by the managers of concession sections of Polish motorways, i.e. Autostrada Wielkopolska (A2, Świecko-Konin), Gdańsk Transport Company (A1, Rusocin – Nowa Wieś) and Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska (A4, Katowice-Kraków).
On the online platform www.kursjazdynaautostradzie.pl students, instructors and owners of driver training centres, but also drivers who want to get to know the motorway environment even better and improve their skills on expressways, will find all the necessary knowledge. Participants of the program were provided with theoretical and practical information on how to behave on the motorway, instructional videos showing the rules of driving on the motorway and didactic materials necessary in the education process carried out by driver training centres.
The program has also gained great recognition among drivers who already have a driving license, but for various reasons do not feel confident moving on motorways or expressways. Currently, refresher drives for drivers are continued in cooperation with driving technique improvement centers from cities located near the Wielkopolska Motorway, i.e. between Świecko and Konin.
The motorway driving course is carried out in close cooperation with the Provincial Road Traffic Centres in Poznań, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zielona Góra and Toruń. The honorary patronage over the program was taken by: the National Road Safety Council, the Marshal of the Wielkopolska Region, the Marshal of the Lubuskie Voivodeship, the Marshal of the Malopolska Region, the President of the City of Poznań, the President of the City of Katowice, the Provincial Police Headquarters in Poznań, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Gdańsk and Bydgoszcz.
More information about the program can be found at: https://kursjazdynaautostradzie.pl/
