BT's far-reaching approach to reducing accidents has cut its repair bill by millions of pounds in two years. The company implemented a Drivewise risk management programme in an effort to reduce a £27 million vehicle accident repair bill and the £100 million paid in indirect costs each year as a result of collisions among its 55,000 vehicle fleet.

The programme, supported by the BT board, saw the widespread introduction of teleworking from home, audio and video conferencing and the use of e-mail and shared working areas in offices, known as 'hot desks'.

This was backed by in-depth analysis of accident data which led to driver improvement and skills training targeted at the 20% of employees responsible for 80% of the 20,000 accidents each year. Employees have been kept informed of Drivewise through a website and award- winning video 'Kings of the Road'. The result has been an 8% reduction in accident costs since Drivewise was introduced.