Implementing GPS fleet tracking in your fleet and introducing appropriate policies and procedures has been shown to improve driver behaviour. This is reflected in the reduction in speeding, harsh cornering, and braking, and acceleration across fleets.
Influencing driver behaviour using a ‘stick’ approach only works if there are consequences for drivers. Without appropriate repercussions, some drivers simply won’t care and will continue to drive the way they always have. This approach also carries privacy concerns that can limit its effectiveness as a behaviour modifier.
An example of this was a customer (who we’ll call XYZ to protect their privacy) who published driver scores in the lunchroom and created a competitive environment among some of the drivers, dramatically improving their fleet’s overall driver behaviour. However, there were still some drivers who remained unmotivated to change.
The system evolved to publish only the scores of the teams. The result was that team members encouraged the worst offenders in their team to improve their behaviour to boost the overall team score.
Using a scoring system where every driver started each day with 100 points and had 1 point deducted for each speeding or harsh driving event, XYZ Company found that the overall average scores developed as follows:
The team approach has the advantage of being self-policing, which saves on administration and awkward conversations during one-on-ones with offending drivers. It can also be used to address some privacy concerns by driver scores only being visible to their team. Using this system, individual speeding events do not need to be visible.
This approach is most effective in the context of a health and safety culture rather than as a stand-alone initiative. This gives drivers a greater incentive to improve their behaviour and helps align driver values with business culture.
If you want to know more about driver-based reporting for your fleet, contact a Smartrak expert.
