Insurance Company Launch New Scheme to Save Money and Cut CO2 Emissions

An insurance scheme has been launched designed to help public sector fleets cut CO2 emissions and save money.  The policy from Brian Johnson & Co could potentially cut premiums by 20% when combined with driver training. 

Fleets that commit to driver training should see immediate savings of between 10 and 15% by switching to the policy, which uses a car's CO2 emissions to determine its annual premium.

The policy also sets an annual mileage limit and offers a pence-per-mile refund for vehicles below mileage at the end of each year.  If the annual mileage limit is exceeded - typically 15,000 - they are penalised at the rate.

The insurance provider currently insurers almost half of the NHS's 50,000 vehicles and has put some 5,000 NHS employees through driver training, which is provided by Peak Performance.

The insurer is now looking to attract non-NHS public sector fleets with the new green policy.

Article from Fleet News 5th May 2010

Fleet News Roundtable: Driver Training Schemes Offer Multitude of Benefits

Driver training can improve safety and cut accidents, but fleets have also found it useful in cutting costs during the recession.  Where budgetary constraints have put the brakes on changing fleet vehicles for newer, more efficient models, driver training has helped bring down fuel bills.  Many companies represented at the Fleet News Round Table had witnessed cuts in fuel bills as well as reduced accident rates and improved safety.

Maurice Elford, group fleet manager at RBS, says: "Peak Performance provides our fleet risk management.  "All drivers go through an on-line risk assessment every three years, with medium-risk drivers attending a half-day driver safety workshop and high-risk drivers undergoing an individually tailored half-day in-car training session.  "It has been six months since we introduced the programme and to date we've successfully put 5,500 people through the process."

Article from Fleet News 13th April 2010

Fleet Focus: Peak Performance

Duty of care isn't the argument driver training company Peak Performance uses to attract fleet managers.  At least, not these days.  "One of the things businesses like ours lost sight of a few years ago was talking about the training," says Managing Director James Sutherland.  "We all got caught up in risk management and duty of care.  It's relevant and it's important for managers to have policies and procedures in place but, ultimately, somebody gets in a vehicle and they have to have the motivation to drive in a certain way."  Peak Performance, which was named Fleet Supplier of the Year at the 2008 Fleet News Awards, prides itself in getting drivers to actually enjoy being on the road and to be better, safer drivers.  "Our banner is ‘better driving'," adds Richard Hill, Director of Sales.  "We make people feel better about driving, and I think that's where we differ.  We're not trying to beat people into submission.  And by having better driving you're reducing the risk of accidents.  Almost by default you're ticking the duty of care and corporate social responsibility boxes."

Driving in mind

Peak Performance was established in 1989, but it wasn't until four years ago that it carved out a niche by taking a psychological approach to training, teaming up with Cranfield University.  "Dr Lisa Dorn and her team at Cranfield wanted to take their research on the psychology of driving and the impact of negative driver behaviours and bring it to the commercial marketplace," explains Richard.  "We formed an exclusive partnership with Cranfield and created Driver Metrics."  The programme includes a psychometric test - the Fleet Driver Risk Index (FDRI).   It was initially met with scepticism by some in the fleet industry, but now big players such as Lex, Masterlease and Alphabet use it.  "It's a real differentiator.  It enables us to stand out from the traditional method of assessing drivers, which is based on a combination of their general knowledge of driving and their ability to pick out hazards," Richard says.  "With the FDRI there is no right or wrong answer.  It's a statement from the driver of how they feel about driving and how they react to certain situations.  It's truly innovative."

James adds: "Psychometric assessments aren't necessarily for everybody.  But we feel that the way you think about driving, and the way you respond to situations on the road, is actually what makes you more likely to have a crash."   The FDRI identifies which drivers are at greatest risk.  Drivers can then undertake coaching with Peak Performance, which is tailored to their specific personality type.

Satisfied customers

Peak Performance has a high customer retention record (about 96%).  Some clients, such as HSBC, have been with Peak for more than a decade.

In recent years it has attracted new clients such as the BBC and Royal & SunAlliance.  Richard puts this down to working closely with firms and really understanding their needs, rather than offering an ‘off-the-shelf solution' that addresses some drivers but not others.  "Not all drivers are the same," James adds.  "Some are driving cars, some are driving vans. Some are doing 20,000 miles a year, some are doing only 10,000.  Some are just driving up and down motorways. It's not a black and white thing."  Part of the reason Peak Performance has developed long-term relationships is that it has a low turnover of staff.  For instance, Training Co-ordination team leader Alison Jones has been with the company for 15 years.   "We engage everybody with clients," Richard says.  "Each client has a dedicated Training Co-ordinator as well as an account manager.  If it's a new client the Project Manager and the Director of Training will be involved too."  The Training Co-ordination team looks after the day-to-day running of the training programme, saving Fleet Managers time.

The company invested a large sum in a new training booking system in 2007 to improve service delivery.  Money was also spent on internal and external training courses for staff, including stress management and image coaching.

Realistic goals

Richard points out that Peak sets realistic goals for clients.  "Some companies claim to reduce accident rates by 50% or even 70%, but that's not a realistic expectation.  "And if you don't deliver on that, then clients will go elsewhere.  We say that you should expect to see a reduction of between 15% and 25%."

In fact, one client, Océ, has cut accident rates by 30%.  Groupama Insurances conducted a study of the 952 fleets it had referred to Peak and found overall frequency of claims had fallen by 25% and the average cost per claim reduced by 23%.  And Peak scores well for driver satisfaction (90% of drivers felt their driving had improved after the session and 96% would recommend it).  So there are plenty of ‘better' drivers in the fleet industry.

Article from Fleet News 24th February 2010

Driver Training Makes a Real Difference

Account Manager Sarah Hayter found that her driving style improved dramatically after a day of one-to-one instruction with a qualified trainer from Peak Performance, Tusker's risk management partner.  Now she's a firm believer in the benefits of driver training for all high mileage company drivers like herself.

Sarah is based from home in Reading, but is likely to be travelling the length and breadth of the country in her job role, as she clocks up around 25,000 miles a year seeing Tusker customers around the UK.  Most of her driving is carried out on motorways or A-roads, usually at very busy times of the day, and she drives a variety of vehicles. The latest is a Honda Civic Type S 2.2i-CDTi and it was in this that she carried out her day's training.

Sarah said: "We started the day by going through my online risk assessment which I'd taken previously and which showed I was classed as a ‘medium risk' driver and was relatively risk averse.  "Then the trainer, Gary Joseph, sat quietly beside me while I took the car out for around an hour, travelling on a variety of different roads, mainly in the Watford, Rickmansworth and Hemel Hempstead areas.  "He then asked me to pull over and spent a further 30 minutes or so discussing my driving style, and suggesting ways in which I could drive more effectively, using less fuel and driving more economically, as well as highlighting some of the weaknesses in my style that he had observed.  "He highlighted that I was changing gear too frequently, especially when slowing down, and was driving too closely to the car in front. He also explained how the sensors worked on traffic lights and that by approaching lights steadily at around 15mph it was possible to get them to change in my favour.  "We then drove for a longer period - and the change was amazing! I felt more relaxed, more in control, far more observant and far less on auto-pilot. I also changed gear far less often, saving fuel in the process.  "Gary also discussed with me fluid level and tyre pressure checks, and showed me how to assess how my tyres were getting near to the limit of their legal tread depth.  "All in all, it was very impressive and made me really think about my driving.  I'm sure I'll be able to transfer the driving tips I picked up into my regular driving style," said Sarah. 

Following a risk assessment of drivers, any workshop instruction or in-car driver training that is identified as being necessary or appropriate will be provided by award-winning risk management and driver training experts, Peak Performance.

Article from Tusker News 1st Dec 2009

Groupama Insurances Enhances Fleet Policy

Groupama Insurances has enhanced its Fleet Policy so that owners of larger fleets can benefit from some of the cover previously only available to small and micro businesses.

Now available from commercial brokers with Groupama agencies, Groupama Fleet provides cover for fleets in excess of 15 vehicles.  And as a result of the changes, Groupama Fleet now includes enhanced overnight emergency accommodation or travel expenses and new personal accident benefits.

For larger fleets, Groupama also offers access to a range of risk management facilities via Peak Performance Management.

Article from Fleet News 16 November 2009

Analysis is best way to improve driving

Driving distraction remains biggest killer on roads, says expert

By Julian Kirk

Getting drivers to take more responsibility for their actions behind the wheel is the key to reducing a fleet's risk exposure.

According to Dr Lisa Dorn, of the Driving Research Group at Cranfield University, the traditional training approach which centres on vehicle handling skills does not generally work when it comes to reducing risk.

Analysing the driver and his or her approach to driving is the best way to reduce risk. Speaking at ACFO's London East meeting Dr Dorn said: "Poor vehicle handling skills are not responsible for most crashes - poor hazard awareness and driver behaviour is. Distraction is the biggest killer on the roads, so looking at behaviour which leads to distraction is the key.

When drivers are stressed, such as being under time pressure, they are not hazard aware and won't use their mirrors to look further ahead."

Dr Dorn is currently working on the EU's Hermes project, designed to develop more efficient coaching for driving instructors. As a result, the group will be putting together free modules for the industry to help instructors develop some of the skills they need to ensure drivers develop a better understanding of how their characteristics influence their risk.

She is also part of the team that put together Cranfield University's DriverMetrics scheme and its driver risk index - a psychometric risk assessment. DriverMetrics is operated in the UK by multi-Fleet News Award winning company Peak Performance.

Article from Fleet News June 4 2009

Are you ready for Driver CPC ?

Risk Management for Chauffeurs

One of the UK's largest chauffeur companies has turned to Tusker for help in assessing drivers' on-road capabilities in a bid to improve driving standards. Tristar offers chauffeur services to businesses and consumers from offices in West Drayton, Middlesex and Manchester.  The company called in Tusker to aid with its dual objectives of improving passenger safety by identifying potentially risky drivers so these could be turned down during the recruitment process, while assessing the driving capabilities of its current chauffeurs and providing training where appropriate.

Tusker's FleetProtectPlus product helps fleet operators identify, assess and manage the occupational road risk associated with running their fleet. It includes a 20-point fleet health check, a licence checking service and an online risk assessment for all company drivers. As a consequence of the health check and risk assessment, any workshop or in-car driver training that is identified as being necessary or appropriate is provided by award-winning risk management and driver training experts, Peak Performance.

Tristar has now completed an initial three-month pilot scheme with 50 drivers who had just joined the company, plus those who it identified as high risk from the number of accidents and incidents they had been involved in. The company now plans to roll the programme out to the remainder of its 500 chauffeurs across the fleet.

Tristar fleet manager Janusz Kozlowki commented: 'The first set of results have proved very accurate in identifying those drivers in need of further training, and it is for this reason that we have now decided to roll out the online risk assessments and driver training to the whole of our fleet.'

Article from Fleet World 11th September 2008