He’s not averse to giving drivers a helping nudge, however.

Allied Bakeries has introduced speed limiters preventing drivers from exceeding 52mph. It has cut fuel use by around 3% across the fleet.

“If you explain to drivers upfront the rationale, demonstrate that it makes little difference to the A to B timings and show them the potential savings, they will accept it,” Hannant adds.

“They understand the need to conserve fuel.”

In-house driving assessors are responsible for CPC, accident investigations and proactive work on issues raised by DAVE, such as low-speed manoeuvring and reversing incidents.

One solution created by the trainers is to simulate an obstacle course to assess drivers’ reactions.

This has encouraged drivers to stop and think to size up the situation before undertaking a manoeuvre; it’s changing the culture.

“We have to bring the obvious to their attention in a non-threatening manner,” says Hannant.

“If you want to improve performance then you have to understand where that is best going to happen. Getting assessors with good interpersonal skills so they can determine what works for each individual is crucial.

“It is also important to put yourself in the place of the driver and tailor solutions from that perspective. And you have to look for the tangible evidence that what you have done is working.”

This non-threatening approach has been used to good effect when tackling clipped wing mirrors which weren’t being reported.

Allied Bakeries had an amnesty to get the issue out into the open in order to put in place initiatives.

Consequently, these types of incidents have fallen, saving the company money. But there’s also a safety consideration.

As Hannant puts it, “we say to drivers that it’s only good luck that they clipped their wing mirror on a tree instead of a pedestrian’s head and seriously injuring them.

"Clipped wing mirrors may only seem a small thing, but we take all damage very seriously”.

Complementing Allied Bakeries’ safety strategy are DVDs of accident case studies from within the business in which drivers talk about crashes they have been involved in and offer advice.

“Having colleagues saying what shouldn’t happen is powerful stuff – more powerful than having your manager preaching to you,” says Hannant.

He believes the key to a long-term safety strategy is accepting that “there are no step changes; it’s about shaving bits off here and there with new tweaks”.

“It’s like a 100-metre sprint. You’re not going to knock three seconds off in one go; it’s about the tenths or hundredths of seconds.”