The Leicester City Council is to send 2,000 of its employees on driving lessons that cost £40 a pop in an attempt to teach them how to reduce fuel consumption and avoide expensive accidents.
The course will cost around £250 per person, resulting in a £500,000 bill. A team of three driving instructors has been working with the group since September, with the council now looking to offer the service to businesses, for a price.
Lyn Rowe, the council's road safety officer, commented "Harsh braking, harsh acceleration, and using gears to slow you down all make driving more expensive, unsafe and bad for the environment.
"About 150 staff have been on the course so far, and to begin with we're targeting who drive a lot for work.
"The most recent staff members who have taken the course have been from the parks department and workers from the housing department will follow shortly.
"When people first come along to the course, they think they know everything about driving, but they realise that they've got gaps in their knowledge and they can always improve how they drive."