Case study: BT

BT, which has a fleet of close to 33,000 vehicles (5,606 cars and 27,307 vans), has seen a steady decline in its accident rate as well as significant cost reductions over the past 10 years.

During the period 2001-11, claims reduced from 59 per 1,000 vehicles to 31 and annual costs fell by more than £12 million. The accident rate is currently around 26 per 1,000 vehicles.

There are differences in the car and van fleet with the cost per crash generally lower for the van fleet – mainly because vans are cheaper to repair.

Dave Wallington, group safety adviser at BT, says that the company has not set any goals apart from financial targets in the insurance area.

“It’s dangerous to set accident reduction targets,” he says.

“We are more interested in what’s happening over time. The long-term trend is the best indicator of progress.”

In Wallington’s experience, accidents are “fairly cyclical” and it is best not to do month-on-month comparisons as there are usually seasonal variations.

Traditionally, BT has seen higher accident rates in winter. The volume of work can also have an impact.

“As the volume of work goes up, our mileage goes up and our exposure goes up,” he says.

BT’s Motor Risk Management Forum meets on a quarterly basis to consider new road safety
interventions and opportunities. Telematics is the current area of interest.”

We want to look at how we can use telematics to improve driver training,” Wallington says.

“When we do on-the-road training we tend to send the drivers in fairly cold to the trainers, although the trainer might have some information on their accident history and their risk profile.

“Telematics could be used to inform the driver trainers before the training takes places and afterwards to make sure the training is embedded.”

Wallington’s advice to other fleet operators that are at an advanced stage with their risk management programme is to “keep at it”.

“As long as you’re happy with what you’re doing and you feel it’s working stick to it,” he says.

“Don’t jump to a new fad if what you’re doing works and is showing improvement.

“And don’t forget where you’ve come from.”