“In the 10 years I have been involved in running the fleet, our vehicles have covered 1.6 billion miles and I’m proud to say we have not had one driver fatality over that time.”

Limiters also have positive benefits for fuel consumption, crucial for such a high mileage fleet, although British Gas sets the top speed at 70mph which makes the savings harder to detect.

“Below 65mph is when you start seeing more meaningful fuel savings,” says Marriott. “Some fleets are even remapping engines to stop revving.

“It’s hard to put a finger on fuel savings because a lot of our mileage is on rural roads.

“We have seen other fleets adopt this technology and make big savings.”

The company hedges its fuel and uses two fuel card suppliers, purchasing 20 million litres of fuel a year.

Further action to reduce the fuel bill includes the telematics system fitted to 80% of the van fleet. It is used predominantly to reduce mileage through smarter deployment but also highlights vehicles and drivers that are achieving lower fuel economy.

Minimising downtime

Reducing downtime is important to improve fleet efficiencies. As the majority of drivers are home-based, maintenance and servicing is planned around their days off.

Garages are also encouraged to alert Marriott if vehicles are being abused and once a year British Gas carries out a health and safety audit which includes the fleet.

“All the time the vehicle is off the road it is unproductive,” says Marriott. “It’s all about minimising downtime while keeping the vehicle safe.”

Tyres are inspected every three months during team meetings and other events. The company has a set minimum tread limit of 2mm – slightly more than the legal 1.6mm limit.

Marriott believes all businesses have a duty of care to keep drivers as safe as possible, but ultimately motorists need to realise they also have a legal obligation to take measures to improve their own road safety.

“No matter how much effort businesses make, all motorists have a legal obligation to fulfil as a driver,” says Marriott.

“Our drivers are well informed on what they need to do; the business employs a fleet team to make sure that the running of that vehicle is as seamless as possible.”

Electric vehicles key to achieving carbon emissions target

Colin Marriott has been set some challenging targets by the British Gas board to reduce the fleet’s carbon emissions by 25% on 2007 levels by the end of 2015.

He has introduced a range of programmes and initiatives, including speed limiters, eco driver training and telematics, but electric vehicles will also have a key role to play.