March 2006 - "Taxi Driver Held At Knifepoint"; "Roadrage Vet Wielded a Brolly"; "Man Dragged To Death Under Thieves' Car". These are just some of the latest headlines in the newspapers which highlight a growing problem in today's culture: that of vehicle-related violence.

Around 85% of motorists in the UK have been involved in or witnesses to an incident of road rage in the past 12 months, while 10,000 car-jackings happen each year. Around a fifth of drivers feel so unsafe they carry some form of self-defence in their car.

In response to this, fleet driver training company AcciDON'T has teamed up with Krav Maga Scotland, a specialised martial arts organisation teaching techniques used by the Israeli army, to come up with the first driving course to focus on self-defence, avoidance tactics and driver awareness. The two-day course consists of classroom-based activities, road driving with an instructor and self-defence techniques.

During the seminar one of the first things we are told is that "95% of all collisions are caused by human error". Another is that while travelling by plane carries a one in a million chance of risk of dying, driving 12,000 miles a year has an 8000-to-one risk. If you are a professional driver, that goes down to 250 to one. 34% of all occupational deaths are vehicle-related.

What the course teaches us is how to ensure we don't become part of these statistics. If 95% of all collisions are human error, then surely they can be avoided. AcciDON'T stresses the three As - Awareness, Anticipation and Avoidance, factors that are constantly pushed when I am out with driving coach Callum Black.

The reasons for road rage are also discussed. A psychologist explains that "violence is seen by the perpetrator as a necessary and justified response to a perceived injustice", such as being cut up while on the road, or a small collision. We are given lots of tips to try defusing any situation, such as putting our pride aside, apologising and getting out of the situation as soon as possible. Pride, we are told, is worth having only if you are willing to live or die for it.

There will always be situations that are out of control; either because they are so unexpected or because an aggressor does not want to give way, for whatever purpose - they want to rob you, rape you or kill you - and we are given some advice on how to avoid those situations. The most simple, and effective, tip is something I had never thought of, which is always to lock your car door when driving under 20mph. AcciDON'T estimates that more than 90% of car-jackings and smash-and-grabs can be avoided in this way.

For those situations we can't avoid, we spend some time with Krav Maga expert Simon Leila, who shows us some basic self-defence moves, some against knives and baseball bats. Simon has plenty of fascinating stories about his expertise that are tagged with the sentence: "But you can't publish that".

He stresses that our actions have consequences, whether they be injury to ourselves or our attacker, or possible criminal convictions, and therefore our main objective is to get out of a situation as quickly as possible. This is no "How To Beat Someone Up" course.

Simon Johnston, a director of AcciDON'T, admits that the course may face criticisms of preying on people's fears, but believes that there is a market for this kind of training based on feedback from companies sending employees on previous workshops.

He is expecting business to come mainly from similar companies sending workers who do a lot of driving in order to protect them from car-jackings and muggings. He cites the recent kidnapping of the Securitas manager who was targeted because of his job.

The course costs £499 plus VAT per person and can be tailored to customers' needs. AcciDON'T will also travel to different parts of the UK and abroad depending on demand. When asked if many individuals would sign up for the course, Simon replied he thought mainly the well-off with expensive cars to protect, or "footballers' wives".

For further details, contact Simon Johnston of AcciDON'T on 01436 678018, or through www.accidont.co.uk For more on Krav Maga, visit www.kravmagascotland.co.uk.

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