To qualify for a car, employees must have more than five years’ driving experience.

But even with this, if they are under the age of 25 they are restricted to vehicles with a lower insurance rating.

Volkswagen is the most popular brand on the fleet. The other car brands available are Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Ford, Nissan and Vauxhall are its three core van makes.

Restricting car choice to younger drivers also helps British Gas improve safety, which is a high priority for the company.

This will come under greater focus this year with the imminent launch of a new risk management system.

Developed over four years with the company’s fleet management provider Hitachi Capital, the new system pulls in data from all aspects of fleet operations using traffic light reporting.

This is distributed to line managers through a web-based portal. Any manager can log-in to understand which drivers need further training or guidance.

The system looks at a number of areas including licence checking, accident history, maintenance spend on the vehicle, fuel economy and tyre replacement.

British Gas directors write to drivers who consistently perform well to thank them for their contribution to road safety.

Marriott is also looking at introducing a driver of the year award and feels it is as important to recognise and reward good drivers as it is to help others to improve.

British Gas employs many young drivers and places a lot of emphasis on driver training and acquiring vehicles that are equipped with the latest safety technology.

New recruits go through a whole-day induction, which includes in-vehicle assessments and classroom-based learning.

“Watching videos from Brake, the road safety charity, of interviews with relatives who have suffered major loss as a result of dangerous driving makes drivers realise that getting behind the wheel of their vehicle is perhaps the most dangerous part of their job,” says Marriott.

Between 500 and 800 drivers undergo training throughout the year, whether they are new to the business or have been identified following an incident, through low fuel efficiency or due to points on their licence.

Benefits of speed limiters

In 2005, British Gas was one of the first companies to install speed limiters to its vehicles. The benefits to driver safety have been substantial.

“It took us a long time to risk assess if that was the right decision, but once we had all the benefits, it was embraced,” Marriott says.