Lack of adequate assessment of risk profiles is leaving the majority of fleet drivers vulnerable to being assessed on their perceived risk, rather than reality.

Andy Wheeler, training director at TTC

Driver training specialist TTC said that many drivers were being labelled as speeders or risk takers on the road without reliable data to back this up.

Andy Wheeler, training director at TTC, continued: “Conversely, there may be drivers on a fleet who are a high risk, but who are not picked up as such by management.”

While driver training can often be recommended retrospectively following an incident or a claim, Wheeler added that the best approach was to assess and improve driver behaviour from the outset, minimising the chances of such an incident occurring in the first place.

Real-time driver and fleet risk data allows for data-driven fleet and driver management decisions, rather than managers relying on driver reputation instead.

TTC’s digital risk assessments can help fleets significantly improve their risk profile, while keeping drivers and other road users safe. Priced from £11.50 per driver, they’re available as a bolt-on service for any driver registered for TTC’s online licence checking platform, Continuum.

The assessment can be completed online at a time convenient to the driver, before Continuum generates a bespoke report on the findings.

If there are any areas of concern or potential improvement, the driver will be recommended a series of e-learning modules.

Latest figures show road casualty rates have fallen slightly from pre-pandemic levels – but with nearly 30,000 killed or seriously injured on the UK’s roads in 2022, there is more to be done to reduce these figures

TTC added: “Mitigating driver risk has positive knock-on benefits not only for road safety in general but can also be beneficial in lowering insurance premiums for fleets if claim rates fall as a result.”