A SUSSEX police initiative which informs employers of traffic offences committed by their company drivers is gaining widespread interest from other forces. Since October 1 last year, Sussex Police has been carrying out a pilot scheme known as COSTS - Commercial Operators Safer Transport Scheme - aimed at encouraging fleet operators to take greater responsibility for the management of drivers and vehicles on the road.

Since its launch, 753 letters have been sent by the police - more than 100 a month. The Association of Chief Police Officers has been monitoring the scheme and now other police forces have been in touch with COSTS' instigator Inspector Steve Long, of Sussex Police's traffic division. He said: 'A number of forces have looked at what we're doing and by far the most interested in establishing its own scheme is Lincolnshire.'

Long said: 'The reaction from companies receiving the letters has also been positive with many requests for information on local authority driver services, and contacts at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Institute of Advanced Motorists.' The letters sent by Sussex Police identify the time, date and nature of the offence, the most common being speeding.