The perfectly behaved, incident-free driver is the stuff of dreams for most fleet managers.

However, one company has been leading the way in changing the behaviour of its drivers for the better and has started to see significant results.

Global telecommunications provider T-Mobile currently has 7,100 employees working in the UK.

Its domestic fleet of more than 800 vehicles is made up of 343 benefit cars, 259 sales and business use cars and 205 operational vehicles.

All the company’s drivers, including its engineers, have personal use of their work vehicles, adding an extra layer of risk to the company’s fleet management.

Various safety initiatives have been implemented by T-Mobile since 2004 and have seen fleet vehicle collision rates fall steadily.

However, the firm believed even more could be done to reduce accident numbers.

Towards the end of 2006 the company set out to further reduce driver risk and improve safety, fulfilling its duty-of-care responsibilities along the way.

T-Mobile wanted to implement a new scheme that would accurately identify risky drivers and then promote a sustainable change in their performance.

For the past 15 months every one of T-Mobile’s operational drivers has travelled with a black box in their vehicle, monitoring their every gear shift, harsh braking actions and hard cornering.

The devices, provided by risk management specialists Green Road Technologies, record all aspects of a car’s movement, from accelerating and braking to cornering and adherence to speed limits.

Data is then uploaded to each driver’s personal profile, which can be viewed online or via text.

When drivers view their journey summary they get details of their speeds and manoeuvres and are given a safety level for each journey.

Trips with 0-20 harsh manoeuvres are labelled as green for “safe”, 20-50 amber for “adequate” and 50+ as red for “cause for concern”.

Drivers can also view their overall safety level and driving trends over the past weeks and months and see whether or not their performance is improving.

The system is live and non-stop, so driver performance is assessed, and checked, round the clock.

It also means that drivers can rack up safety stars, awarded when they execute manoeuvres competently, complete journeys “in the green” etc, along with “red” branded trips, in their leisure time.

Since the implementation of the scheme T-Mobile’s drivers have been monitored in groups, based around their normal regional team structures, and are able to see the overall results for their group.

Driver profiles remain anonymous, both from team-mates and managers.

This means that drivers with a frequent “red” score do not face any harsh rebukes from colleagues or bosses.

The decision to drive more sensibly is down to the individual.

 

Frank Arthur, human resources supply manager at T-Mobile, said the monitoring was initially met with resistance from drivers.

However, this was overcome once drivers learned they would not be punished for bad driving and managers raised the prospect of rewards for good driving.

“We grouped drivers into teams and talked about possible rewards and driver thoughts on the project. We have now begun to see positive competition within and between teams.

“There are no punitive measures taken against drivers. Instead we have a system of reward and recognition that works,” he says.

Avoiding punishment for bad driving, employees are encouraged to improve their performance behind the wheel with tempting incentives.

Drivers are rewarded with shopping vouchers worth between £10 and £100 when they accumulate a certain quota of safety stars.

There is no limit to the number of vouchers an employee can accrue.

“The vouchers have been a real incentive and drivers have really engaged in the safer driving scheme,” says Mr Arthur.

Along with rolling incentives, T-Mobile has tried to cement good driving habits in the minds of its drivers by running speed awareness events and driver training workshops.

Just six weeks after monitoring began in September 2006 dangerous driver behaviour had been reduced by 50%.

Since the scheme started T-Mobile’s insurance claims have dropped by 18%, which equates to a 23% reduction in costs.

Comparing the fuel consumption between “red” and “green” drivers the company has seen a further 7% drop in expenses.

“The system has made a real difference to our costs,” says Mr Arthur.

“We’re not telling people what they should be doing. Instead we’re respecting our drivers and providing them with a tool to help them decide to change their driving habits.

“The behavioural changes we’ve seen are all the result of opening up the process to the drivers and getting them involved.”