London, 24 October 2017
Fife Council employee Keith Smith has been crowned the UK’s best light commercial vehicle and car driver in the inaugural TomTom Telematics Driver of the Year Awards.
In the heavy goods vehicle category, the title was awarded to Mark Lowe from Peter Green Chilled. Both winners were announced at a dedicated ceremony at the Circuit de Barcelona race track in Spain.
TomTom Telematics took account of both driving performance and overall mileage throughout the competition. Driving behaviour scores were calculated by OptiDrive 360, a key component of the TomTom WEBFLEET fleet management solution.
Smith works for Fife Council’s Demand Responsive Transport service, which operates a fleet of 38 minibuses, used to transport elderly and disabled people within the local community.
Mike McQueen, Transportation Officer at Fife Council, said: ‘Our team provide essential transport for the elderly and disabled members of our community, so safe, smooth and comfortable driving is absolutely paramount. We encourage all our drivers to keep a clear focus on this, so Keith’s top score is no surprise to me. The TomTom system has proved very effective at motivating all our staff by providing objective monitoring and recognition of their high driving standards. The Driver of the Year award is another very welcome proof point.’
Meanwhile, Peter Green Chilled is a leading international chilled and frozen retail warehousing and transport company, operating a fleet of 50 HGVs.
Colin Davis, Transport Manager at Peter Green Chilled, added: ‘We’re delighted that Mark has won this prestigious title. We grade and incentivise all our drivers on their driving efficiency and safety and Mark has always been one of our star performers. Telematics has given us the firm foundations on which to build our efforts to encourage responsible driver behaviour across our fleet.’
‘We launched this competition to raise awareness about the importance of businesses aiming for ever greater standards of safety and sustainability on the roads,’ added Beverley Wise, Director UK & Ireland at TomTom Telematics. ‘The standard we have seen throughout the competition has been highly encouraging and outlines what can be achieved when managers give drivers the tools and support they need to improve performance.’
