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NPORS All Terrain Vehicle Multi Drive Training (N608C)
Multi drive machines go where nothing else will: six and eight wheel drive carriers, soft track and tracked all terrain vehicles working peat, moorland, marsh, forestry and flooded ground. They steer by skid rather than by wheel, they behave nothing like a quad or a side by side, and that is exactly why NPORS card them separately. Run on request, on your own machines and your own terrain.
Why candidates choose Acadame
What makes our N608C ATV Multi Drive different
About this course
The NPORS N608C category covers multi drive all terrain vehicles: six and eight wheel drive amphibious and semi amphibious carriers, soft track machines and tracked all terrain vehicles of the sort used where wheels alone will not do. They work upland and peat ground, moorland and marsh, forestry and woodland, conservation and habitat work, utilities and pipeline access, survey and environmental monitoring, search and rescue, and construction and civils sites with ground too soft or broken for a conventional vehicle.
The operating technique is genuinely different. Most of these machines steer by skid, driving one side faster than the other rather than turning wheels, which changes how they behave on a slope, in deep mud, on a side hill and when a track or a wheel loses grip. Low ground pressure is the point of the machine, so the operator has to understand what the tyres or tracks are doing to the ground beneath as well as what the ground is doing to the machine. Amphibious or part amphibious machines add water entry and exit, which is a planned operation rather than a spur of the moment crossing.
Then the environment they are used in. These machines take people a long way from a road, often alone, into ground where recovery is difficult and mobile signal is unreliable. The course covers route planning and assessing terrain honestly, gradients and side slopes, ruts, bog, watercourses and ice, loads on the bed and the effect on stability, towing and mounted equipment, ground damage and environmental protection on sensitive sites, and what to do when the machine stops a long way from anywhere. Pre use checks, defect reporting and leaving the machine safe sit around all of it.
- The machine: multi wheel drive or tracked running gear, skid steering, transmission and drive controls, load bed, tow hitch, and what low ground pressure actually means
- Skid steering technique: turning, controlling the machine on a side slope, and what happens when one side loses grip
- Severe terrain: peat and bog, moorland, marsh, forestry brash, ruts, watercourses, ice and snow, and reading ground that will not take the machine
- Water and amphibious operation where the machine is capable of it, as a planned entry and exit rather than an improvised crossing
- Loads, towing and mounted equipment, load security, and the effect of weight on stability and on ground pressure
- Working remotely: route planning, lone working, communication, recovery when a machine is stuck, ground damage and environmental protection on sensitive sites, plus pre use checks, tyre or track condition, defect reporting and duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and PUWER 1998
How completing this course helps you
- The NPORS N608C All Terrain Vehicle Multi Drive category, registered with NPORS and recognised nationally
- An NPORS Red Trained Operator card, or a Blue Competent Operator card where you hold the relevant NVQ, carrying the CSCS logo while your CITB Health, Safety and Environment test is in date, or a traditional NPORS card for non construction work
- Operators who plan a route and turn back, rather than finding out the hard way how far the machine will go
- A record of training that satisfies an employer, an estate insurer or a client asking how your operators were trained
Who should attend?
Country estates and upland land management, forestry and woodland contractors, conservation, habitat and environmental teams, peatland restoration, utilities and pipeline access crews, survey, ecology and monitoring teams, shooting and sporting estates, search and rescue and emergency response, and construction and civils sites needing access across very soft or broken ground. If the machine is a sit astride quad, the N608A category covers it, and side by side and cabbed sit in vehicles are N608B.
Entry requirements. You should be at least eighteen, fit enough to work outdoors in remote ground and to handle loads and recovery equipment, and able to follow spoken and written English well enough for the theory test, though we can arrange an interpreter or a reader on request. Providers of this sub category commonly expect candidates to have completed a basic all terrain vehicle course or to have practical all terrain vehicle experience before taking the experienced worker route, and we will check that honestly at enquiry. NPORS set no licence requirement for the category itself; use on a public road is a separate matter governed by registration and licence rules. For the version of the card that carries the CSCS logo you need a CITB Health, Safety and Environment test pass at Operatives level taken within the last two years, which we book for you.
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Course content
What you will cover
Classroom on the machine, skid steering, terrain and the duties, then the rest of the time on the machine across real ground, on gradients and with loads and trailed equipment, with theory and practical testing at the end.
The machine, the ground and the route
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and PUWER 1998 as they apply to all terrain vehicle use at work
- The manufacturer's handbook, rated load and towing limits, stated gradient capability and any water capability
- Major components: multi wheel drive or tracked running gear, skid steering, transmission and drive controls, load bed, tow hitch, tyres or tracks
- Skid steering explained, and how the machine behaves on side slopes and when grip is lost on one side
- Terrain assessment: peat and bog, moorland, marsh, forestry brash, ruts, watercourses, ice and ground to refuse
- Water entry and exit where the machine is capable of it, planned as an operation with a route in and out
- Loads, towing and mounted equipment, load security, stability and ground pressure
- Route planning, lone working and communication, recovery, ground damage and environmental protection, pre use checks and defect reporting
On the machine
- Pre use checks of the machine, running gear, tyres or tracks, brakes, controls, load bed and hitch, and reporting a defect
- Getting on and starting, using restraints where fitted, and moving off under control
- Skid steering on the level: turning, line and control of speed for the ground
- Climbing, descending and traversing gradients and side slopes under control
- Crossing severe ground: ruts, soft ground, brash and obstacles, choosing a line and recognising ground to turn back from
- Water entry and exit where the machine and the site allow, as a planned operation
- Carrying a load and towing or working mounted equipment where that is part of your job
- Parking, securing the machine and leaving it safe
Method of assessment
How the N608C all terrain vehicle multi drive test works
NPORS assess the category by theory test and practical test. Training and assessment run together, on your own machines and, wherever possible, on the ground your operators actually cross.
1. Enquiry and group
Tell us how many operators, where, what machines you run, what ground they cross and what you carry or tow. Three sit the novice course with one instructor and one machine, six can sit the experienced worker test. We quote per group.
2. Pre course check
We work out who is a genuine novice, who is an experienced worker and who is due a refresher, check what prior all terrain vehicle experience people have, establish whether you need the CSCS logo version of the card or the traditional NPORS card, and take the details NPORS need.
3. Training
Classroom on the machine, skid steering and terrain, then the rest of the time on the machine. On your own estate, forestry block or site we use the ground your operators actually cross, which is the whole point of the machine.
4. Theory test
The NPORS theory test, open questions and multiple choice, covering legislation, machine components, skid steering, terrain assessment, loads and towing, and working remotely.
5. Practical test
You carry out pre use checks, operate the machine on the level and on gradients, cross severe ground under control and handle a load or trailed equipment, assessed against the NPORS test specification.
6. Registration and card
We register the pass with NPORS and apply for your card. With a valid CITB Health, Safety and Environment test it carries the CSCS logo, as a Red Trained Operator card or a Blue Competent Operator card if you hold the relevant NVQ. For estate and forestry work a traditional NPORS card is often the better fit.
After the course
The plan for when it stops
A multi drive carrier is bought precisely so that somebody can get to places other vehicles cannot, which means that when one breaks down or gets stuck it does so a long way from a road, often with one person on board and often with no reliable signal. The course covers route planning, lone working and recovery, but the parts that have to be fixed at organisation level are the ones worth acting on afterwards: does anyone know where the machine is going, is there a check in arrangement, and is there a realistic plan for recovering it rather than a hope that somebody with a winch will be nearby.
The second point is the ground itself. Low ground pressure machines are used on peat, moor and sensitive habitat precisely because they do less damage, but repeated passes on the same line still cut in, and on a designated site that can be a serious matter for the landowner and the client. Planning routes to spread passes, and knowing what the consent for the work actually permits, is worth setting out before the machine goes out rather than explaining afterwards.
- N608A and N608B All Terrain Vehicle categories for quads and side by sides on the same holding
- N609 Winching and Recovery where recovering stuck plant and vehicles is part of the job
- N601 Agricultural Tractor, the other machine on most estates and holdings
- CITB Health, Safety and Environment test booked with us where the work is on construction sites
Build your course
Who is coming, and how many
We do not run these to a timetable. The course is built around your people: how experienced they are and how many of them there are, which is what sets the length and the cost. Pick the mix and we will come back with a date and a price.
The course builder needs JavaScript. Without it, tell us how many people and what experience they have and we will price it up.
N608C ATV Multi Drive FAQs
Multi drive all terrain vehicles: six and eight wheel drive amphibious and semi amphibious carriers, soft track machines and tracked all terrain vehicles. They are the machines used where a quad or a side by side would bog down or be unable to cross. Sit astride quads are the N608A category and sit in side by sides are N608B.
Because they handle differently. Most steer by skid, driving one side faster than the other rather than turning wheels, which behaves nothing like a steering wheel on a side slope or in deep mud. They are also used on ground that no other vehicle would attempt, so the terrain judgement involved is a different skill from riding a quad across a field.
NPORS publish a two day novice duration for the all terrain vehicle category, with three candidates, one instructor and one machine. Someone already operating one at work usually takes the shorter experienced worker test, where NPORS allow six candidates in a session, and a refresher is around a day. We confirm the length when we quote.
For the experienced worker route, in practice yes. Providers of this sub category commonly expect candidates either to have completed a basic all terrain vehicle course or to have real practical experience on these machines, typically several months of it. We check honestly at enquiry, because putting someone on a test focused route with no relevant experience wastes the day.
Where the machine is genuinely capable of it and the site allows, yes, and it is treated as a planned operation with a route in and a route out rather than an improvised crossing. Amphibious capability is one of the reasons these machines are bought and one of the ways people get into trouble with them.
It is covered. Low ground pressure is the reason these machines are used on peat, moor and habitat sites, but repeated passes on the same line still cut in, and on a designated site that matters to the landowner and to the consent for the work. Route planning to spread passes is part of the training.
It depends where the machine works. For construction, civils and utilities, the CSCS logo version is what gets you through the gate and needs a CITB Health, Safety and Environment test pass within the last two years. For estate, forestry and conservation work the traditional NPORS card is usually the sensible choice. We will tell you which applies before you book.
Yes, and for this category it is much the better option. Operators train on your own machines and on your actual ground, which is the only place the terrain judgement can genuinely be taught. There are no scheduled dates: we run it when you can release people and machines.
NPORS courses are priced per course, not per person. What you are paying for is the instructor, the registered tester and the machine time, so the figure turns on four things: the category, which route your operators need (novice, experienced, conversion or refresher), how many people are coming, and whether we run it on your site or at one of ours. It is also why a squad works out considerably cheaper per head than sending operators out one at a time. Use the course builder on this page: tell it who is coming and it works out how many days the course takes and how many times it has to run, which is what the price is built from. Then ask us and you will get a figure for that exact group rather than a list price with conditions attached.
We run NPORS courses across the UK rather than out of one fixed centre, and for most categories the better answer is that we come to you: your operators are assessed on the machine they will be using anyway, nobody loses a day travelling, and for a group it costs less. If you would rather come to us, we have centres at Trent House in Stoke, Pride Park in Derby, Europa House in Manchester and Kingsway House in Liverpool. Tell us where the work is and we will say honestly which way round makes more sense.
There is no fixed timetable to wait for. NPORS courses here are run to order, which means the dates are built around your programme rather than ours, and a single operator or a full squad can normally be booked in within a couple of weeks. If you have a card about to expire or a start date to hit, say so when you enquire and we will work to it.
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