IN THE DRIVING SEAT Steve Garrod


More carrots, fewer sticks


Why is there no way for the authorities to give us a hearty slap on the back and say “Well done” when we drive well?


sure that his employer would appreciate a positive call. Later that afternoon I rang the number, navigated the menu and eventually spoke to someone. “Hello” said the cheerful voice “what is the nature of your complaint?” “I don’t have one,” I replied “I want to compliment the driver of this vehicle” After a short silence the voice returned, “I’m sorry sir, we don’t have a department for that”. On reflection I shouldn’t have been surprised. It is clear that these numbers have been designed to act as a deterrent towards anti-social driving. They are there to encourage responsible driving but, in theory, I doubt many companies would be able to fund a call centre for happy callers. You could argue that no news is good news, and if there are no complaints the drivers must be doing ok. I have read that trucking companies


How’s my driving? That’s was the sign I was looking at while an articulated lorry reversed from a narrow high street into an even narrower goods yard entrance. With literally inches to spare on either side, the driver’s view was further hindered by the rain lashing down on a grey February morning. While impatient car drivers queued in heavy rush hour traffic and inconsiderate pedestrians dodged the moving trailer, the driver calmly carried out his task. Yet, as impressive as the demonstration was, I am sure this was the start of just another ordinary week for this skilful employee. While I waited, I decided to take down


the lorry’s details and made a note of the ‘how’s my driving’ telephone number. This was a fine display of vehicle control in demanding circumstances, and I felt


in the US subscribe to a similar ‘how’s my driving’ service. The calls are sent to a third party call centre and not the company that owns the vehicle. The operator takes the initial call, records the information and forwards it to the fleet manager of the driver’s company. If the call is a complaint, as most


appear to be, the driver can be reprimanded. If the call is praise, it also gets passed on, but the driver is issued with a safety certificate, pin badge or a safety bonus in their pay packet. Many of the companies who sign up to the campaign have quarterly, half-yearly or annual safety banquets where the drivers are presented with an award in recognition of their achievement. Many UK-based companies are now keeping data on the performance of their drivers, and promoting more fuel-efficient driving. Some even have league tables of how each driver is performing to encourage competition. This not only highlights the better drivers but also identifies those in most need of


refresher training. Interestingly, these companies consistently report a reduction in fuel consumption and lost hours due to crashes. I like this approach: everyone performs


better when they are praised, or at least acknowledged for a job well done. It must be in a company’s interest to promote safe driving, especially if the company name is on the vehicle. I think many companies underestimate the power of responsible driving by their staff: it can sometimes be the difference between clinching and losing a contract. A colleague once told me he was once conducting on-road fleet training with a company director when they were cut up by someone driving a potential contractor’s vehicle. Needless to say the contract was awarded elsewhere. A couple of years ago, I read an article


that said police would begin to stop drivers if they felt they were driving well. They would stop and compliment them and send them on their way. Whether this ever came in to force I don’t know, but it would be interesting to find out. Another interesting idea was suggested under an initiative supported by Volkswagen. In order to make driving within the speed limit fun, a safety camera site was set up that recorded the speed of every driver passing by. Those who exceeded the speed limit were fined, with the money going into a pot. The drivers who were within the speed limit were entered into a draw and they won a cash prize from the pot of fines. It would make a welcome change to encourage safer driving rather than threaten people with penalty points, endorsements and fines. Drivers are adults, after all, and most


of them do try to drive well, so it would be interesting to see if we can reduce accidents with a carrot rather than the traditional stick.


April / May 2011 | driving


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