Driving for Better Business

This session was recorded at The Health & Safety Event 2021 and features Dr Julie Gandolfi - DriverMetrics

Meet the employers that are prepared to step forward to champion good practice in work related road safety, and who can demonstrate those business benefits by sharing their own stories. Take a look at the challenges they faced, how they met those challenges, and the benefits they’ve seen as a result – across all areas of their business, including collision reduction, lower fuel costs, lower insurance premiums and reduced maintenance costs.

Identify gaps in your current management practices and areas that could be improved.

When in comes to safe loading of vehicles and load security it might be easy to dismiss it as something that is simply a box that needs to be ticked as part of your other driving for work compliance duties. The real story is very different. There are a number of incidents that have happened over the years, many in recent memory, where innocent passers by have been killed or seriously injured because a load was not secure or a commercial vehicle was overloaded...

It’s very easy to assume that driver safety is the responsibility of the driver however, when it all goes wrong, investigators will look up and down the full transport chain. Nina will look at how that responsibility is shared throughout the transport chain from the driver right up to the top of the company, even looking at clients and suppliers where their actions could have impacted on how the risk was managed. This session was recorded at The Health & Safety Event 2022 and features Nina Day – Transport Sector Policy Advisor, HSE

• 13% reduction in incidents 2022, year on year
• Reduction in insurance premiums
• 90% recovery of uninsured loss

Both Aaron and Gareth have cameras in their own vehicles to promote driver buy in. Some drivers were initially worried at the thought of ‘being watched’ but once assured that the footage is only consulted in the event of an incident or third-party claim, they accepted them. In fact the camera footage has a strong record in defending the drivers against spurious or not-at-fault claims which in the past would have been settled 50-50 for lack of evidence. “We are mitigating risk but we are also protecting our drivers from unfounded accusations” says Gareth.  If a driver is involved in a collision which was not their fault, the company provides them, free of charge, with the footage for use in a personal injury claim against the other party. The company’s claims have dropped by 13%, but the nature of the incidents has also changed, with the vast majority now being low speed manoeuvring collisions. Hence, Speedy Services has invested in automated braking systems for reversing to complement the cameras in an attempt to eradicate these incidents. Drivers are rewarded for good performance. Every month the best driver by region receives £100 voucher, and the best driver of the year is awarded a prize and recognition at the company’s annual colleague awards ceremony.

Gareth says that when they started in the fleet business, the emphasis was on first notification of loss. Now it is all about first notification of risk. Essentially this switches the culture from being reactive – “how fast can we tell an insurer about the collision” – to proactive – “That’s a potential risk so let’s fix it before it causes a collision”.

The fleet telematics data was instrumental in allowing Speedy Services to know which vehicles were suitable for transitioning to electric. It has now invested in Fuso eCanters, Electra Econic 27t, and 3.5 tonne Ford eTransits and has 50 eTransit panel van and 100 eTransit chassis cabs on order. The HGV fleet is part-run on low carbon fuel HVO, of which it uses one million litres a year.  More unusually, it has replaced its tail-lifts and load beds with highly durable plastics made from recycled CD cases. This reduces the weight substantially, but also allows water to drain away, leaving a non-slip footing.

Speedy Services is whole-fleet accredited to FORS Gold for the 9th consecutive year, a CLOCS champion and has DVSA Earned Recognition. It also works closely with the City of London police and other constabularies, using its trucks for ‘exchanging places’ events with cyclists. Its training is all conducted in-house, by its own training team and using its own e-learning platform, which is fully equipped with all of the mandated FORS courses. It is very proud of its internal progression, which can take individuals from van to tanker driver, and it also runs its own apprenticeship schemes. Importantly managers all take the courses alongside the drivers.

Speedy Services invests extensively in safety kit for its commercial vehicles. Its vehicles are equipped with:

• Front and rear crash protection (autonomous emergency braking systems)
• HALO systems which project illuminated turning areas onto the road and also for the use of tail-lifts
• AI-enhanced Side Scan sensors which alert the driver to the presence of an object or person on the near-side
• LCVs have front, rear and driver-facing Vision Track cameras
• HGVs have front, rear, right and left-hand side, load and driving-facing cameras
• Masternaut telematics
• Safe access to tanker hatches with automatic fold out walkways and stairs which allow drivers to climb to the top of the vehicle in safety.
• Fatigue monitoring through the driver-facing cameras

Speedy Services takes an innovative approach to fleet equipment by collaborating with its suppliers. The company invited all suppliers to a forum day to explore how their offerings can be integrated or enhanced through partnership. As a result its Masternaut telematics and Vision Track cameras now work in sync, with exception footage arriving by email immediately after the telematics system alerts of an exceptional G-force event. It also has cameras and lighting on the ends of cranes so operators can clearly see the crane’s position, even in poor light. The camera footage is also helpful in monitoring health and safety compliance, particularly around load safety. Having a camera trained on the load allows managers to assess whether drivers are in fact adhering to protocol.

Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS) have been fitted as standard to most new HGVs sold in the UK since 2015. Drivers and operators of HGVs need to understand how it works, what it does and why it’s vital, according to Driving for Better Business, which has launched online guidance on the life-saving technology in collaboration with Thatcham Research.