The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) describes driving as "the most dangerous work activity that most people do." To highlight this, the organisation states approximately 150 individuals die or suffer serious personal injury every week in traffic accidents caused by motorists who were using the road as part of their employment.

Although RoSPA suggests several ways that employers may be able to prevent vehicle collisions from occurring, the society also believes managers could encourage better motoring behaviours by rewarding staff members who drive safely.

During periods of austerity or harsh economic times, managers may be disinclined to reward employees for positive behaviour. After all, the idea of parting with more funds might not appeal to someone trying to save money on their commercial van insurance.

However, if an incentive scheme encourages safer driving, and prevents staff members from being involved in traffic accidents, their employer could receive a cheaper van insurance quote at renewal.

How to implement a driver incentive scheme

Implementing an effective driver incentive scheme may carry a number of benefits, as well as persuading staff to continue working for a company, improving their productivity, and building teamwork skills, it can also encourage better motoring behaviours.

To put an incentive scheme into practice, employers should first establish which rewards are suitable by consulting staff members or trade union representatives. Although some prizes could involve money, others could be non-financial and include gifts such as bonus breaks or extra holiday time.

In addition, employers may wish to:

• Determine the scheme's objectives. Although the incentive scheme's primary aim should be to encourage better motoring behaviours, other planned outcomes could include developing economic driving skills or improving customer satisfaction.
• Consider tax, budgets, and funding methods. Some policies may prove costly or could be taxed separately. These factors should be considered before carrying out the reward scheme.
• Decide on how to evaluate performance. A staff member's driving abilities can be assessed in a number of ways, such as using telematics devices or seeking customer feedback.
• Run a pilot scheme first. Implementing an incentive scheme can involve a lot of trial and error, it is best to run the policy for a few months and then determine if it was effective.
• Review the policy. Employers should regularly consult staff members or trade union representatives to ensure the scheme is still producing results.
  
  

Alternatively, if an employer does not have time to implement their own incentive scheme, they may be able to promote safe driving through a third party, such as RoSPA.

RoSPA's National Safe Driving Award Scheme

In 1999, RoSPA re-launched the National Safe Driving Award Scheme (NSDA) to encourage and reward staff members who build up a history of no-claims. When a company signs up to the policy, RoSPA keeps and updates details relating to their drivers.

Providing a staff member manages to complete a year without causing or being involved in traffic accidents, the organisation will reward them with "attractive" prizes.

The organisation clams the NSDA scheme is an extremely effective way to reward individuals who manage to stay safe on the roads. In addition, if schemes such as this help to reduce the number of work-related traffic accidents, employers could find it easier to receive cheaper van insurance at renewal.

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