FLEETS have been urged by bosses of one of Britain's leading high street stores to adopt driver training as it embarks on an even more ambitious scheme to have 'professional people in a professional industry'.

Last year the Comet fleet increased 49% to 1,400 vehicles following the company's takeover of Norweb's electrical arm and during the year insurance claims per vehicle dropped 2% year-on-year and there was a 5% rise in 'positive' telephone calls from the public to the How's My Driving? campaign to which Comet subscribed. At the end of last year Comet underlined its commitment to driver training with the introduction of a Safe Driving Award scheme which sees company vehicle drivers rewarded with bronze, silver and gold awards over one-year, three-year and five-year periods for claims-free driving experience.

Comet transport and distribution services controller Ian Markham said: