Driver

Drivers who provide transportation for the community are held to a higher standard than any other driver on the road. Ride Connection requires specific training programs for all drivers operating vehicles or providing transportation services as part of the Ride Connection network.

The following trainings are required for drivers, including those who drive agency vehicles, shared vehicle relationships and those driving their own personal vehicles.

Program Orientation
Vehicle Orientation with Wheelchair Securement and Road Experience
The Best Ride: A Passenger Care and Assistance Workshop
Defensive Driving (Safe At Any Age)
FTA and FHWA Drug and Alcohol Training (as required)

In addition to the required trainings, Ride Connection recommends the following:

Customer Service Training

Required Trainings

Program Orientation

This training covers all aspects regarding the provider agency's policies (i.e. mission, values, job description, donation policy, code of conduct, etc.).

Vehicle Orientation, Wheelchair Securement and Road Experience

This behind-the-wheel training must be completed prior to transporting customers. Ride Connection trains program respresentatives to perform this training and testing. Ride Connection is also available to perform driver training/testing.

The Best Ride: A Passenger Care and Assistance Program

The Best Ride: A Passenger Care and Assistance Workshop is a four-hour course for those involved in community transportation. The course is designed to provide drivers and concierges with a basic understanding of some of the physical and psychological differences that may affect their riders and offer tips to assure a positive experience for all involved. To meet training requirements this class must be repeated every three years for all Ride Connection approved drivers.

Safe at Any Age Defensive Driving Training

A six-hour defensive driving course offered by Ride Connection as part of the training program for drivers who provide community transportation. This course is designed as a two-part program for safe drivers who have years of driving experience. It provides a review of defensive driving techniques and Oregon driving laws as well as presenting information about the effects of aging as it relates to driving. This course is certified with Oregon's Department of Motor Vehicles as an insurance discounted course.

Part I: Safe Driving Practices and the Aging Process, describes the physical factors that may affect driving ability and how we can compensate for the normal effects of aging.

Part II: Putting on My Other Hat, is a review of the basic defensive driving skills used to avoid collisions and maintain excellent safety.

Note: This course can be taken as a four-hour defensive driving class only.

To meet Ride Connection training requirements, this class, (or a state-certified equivalent such as the AARP's driver program), must be repeated every three years for drivers under 70, or every two years for drivers 70+.

Drug and Alcohol for Safety Sensitive Personnel

This 60-minute session is designed to meet the requirements mandated by the Department of Transportation for safety sensitive personnel. The goals of this class are to educate the employee of effects and consequences of prohibited drug use on personal health, safety and the work environment, and on the sign and symptoms, which may indicate, prohibited drug use. Additional information is distributed on community service help lines for employee assistance.

Drug and Alcohol Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors

This two-hour session is designed to meet the requirements mandated by the Department Transportation for supervisor training. The goals of this class are to educate the supervisor in the understanding of drug and alcohol regulations that apply to reasonable suspicion testing, to know the physical, behavioral, speech and performance indicators of substance abuse, to be able to approach an employee with your concerns in a professional and rational manner, to complete documentation and initiate reasonable suspicion testing and follow up.

Other Available Trainings

Customer Service Training

This course assists participants in learning specific skills needed to build and improve customer service. Information presented covers respectful language, listening skills, and helpful techniques to use during challenging customer service interactions.