Use Road Safety Week to Improve Industry Driver Behaviour, WJ Says

WJ is encouraging other organisations to use Road Safety Week to implement internal changes to improve driver behaviour, after it successfully introduced a scheme that reduced road incidents by 40%.

Launched by Brake, this year’s theme for Road Safety Week is ‘Safe Roads for All’, encouraging schools, communities and organisations to think about how roads can be used safely. WJ is hoping that its innovative ‘driver behaviour’ scheme will help encourage other organisations to implement their own safety initiatives.

The driver behaviour scheme sees WJ use its vehicle telematics system to accurately review each driver’s performance to encourage consistent high standards. All of WJ’s drivers participate in the scheme, which enables the company to analyse acceleration, speed, braking, driving style and fuel consumption.

The safest and most improved drivers are rewarded, and those that need support are given additional training, helping to enhance driver behaviour across the business. Since the programme was introduced, average performance increased from 87.58% to 95.17%. Additionally, WJ recorded 40% fewer road incidents and a 7.75% reduction in emissions.

The initiative has also allowed WJ to save money, with the company reporting a 68% decrease in maintenance spend on tyres, brakes, clutches and driveline.

WJ Group Transport Manager Scott Logan commented “Safety is one of our core values and we have to ensure our drivers are responsible on the road. Working in the highway industry, we recognised that driving is one of the primary risks to our workforce, as well as to our colleagues and other road users, so we recognised that if we could improve driver behaviour we would improve safety. Since its introduction, not only has the scheme delivered significant benefits for the business, but it has given all our drivers something to strive towards.”

The scheme was recognised by Brake at the 2022 Fleet Champion Awards, winning the Fleet Safety Innovation Award for WJ’s pioneering approach. WJ is now actively presenting its findings and learnings across the industry. For more information, please visit www.wj.uk.