Licence Check – a driving licence checking company – has called for fleets to improve driver training.
This call for action comes after Department for Transport data showed a 3% rise in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents between June 2015 and June 2016.
According to DfT figures, 68% of all incidents were caused by driver error.
Richard Brown, managing director of Licence Check, said that employers should identify fleet drivers that pose more of a risk on the roads. Subsequently, Licence Check says the employer should build a profile of that driver, highlighting areas where they can improve and helping to remove bad driving habits.
Brown said the costs of running such a programme would be outweighed by the savings from accident reductions, and the associated operational inconveniences.
“All the evidence supports the conclusion that the main cause of road traffic accidents is driver behaviour. If this is correct, it follows that the most effective way to reduce the accident rate (and the associated costs to the employer) is to address the root cause of the problem through the better education and training of drivers,” Brown said.
“However, driver training is such a generic term and in the minds of fleet managers and those responsible for health and safety. They often see this as teaching their employees how to drive properly and remain safe. Albeit, this is true in part, the most vital part is to change behaviour, not to teach the rules of the road,” he added.