Three new videos aimed at fleets are being shared by Arval UK as part of its sponsorship of this year’s Road Safety Week campaign.
Reviewed by its Arval Total Care team, the videos show real-world examples of poor on-road decision-making – ranging from the marginal to the dramatic – and are designed to prompt discussion about what could have been done differently.
Ian Pearson, road safety champion and head of insurance at Arval UK, said: “Each year, we try to do something special in support of the event and the videos are our latest initiative. They are mostly taken from dashcam footage and show incidents that are really happening to fleets. The footage quality isn’t high but that, we believe, adds to their effectiveness. These are things that could happen to any driver in certain circumstances.
“Our view is that sharing driver experiences in this way is one of the most effective ways of encouraging dialogue about fleet safety, and these videos are very much intended to be used in that vein.”
Road Safety Week’s theme for 2023 is ‘Let’s Talk About Speed’ and Pearson added that Arval had been highlighting the importance of discussing speed within its latest training activities.
“Within the Arval Total Care team, we talk a lot about making better driving decisions and speed is certainly an important element in this. Our view is that managing road risk should be broken down into three elements – guidance, information and education.
“Firstly for fleets, guidance is very much about telling drivers what is expected of them in terms of on-road behaviour, and this is usually codified in a fleet policy that should be issued to everyone who drives on company business.
“The second step is information, by which we mean gathering data about how employees are actually driving, using telematics data, reviewing the circumstances around accidents, examining dashcam footage and monitoring fines, as well as looking at elements such as speed of tyre wear that might indicate an aggressive driving style.
“Finally, having gathered this data in order to build a profile about each driver and the fleet as a whole, the next step is appropriate education, whether that is a companywide initiative to highlight a general issue or driver training targeted at an individual.”
Pearson explained that speed played an important part in each of these three steps.
“For example, your fleet policy probably makes it clear that drivers are expected to stick to the speed limit but, in our view, it should also aim to help them make independent, informed judgments. The speed limit is a maximum and employees should be taught to assess whether they should be travelling more slowly depending on the conditions and the location.
“The information phase is also crucial when it comes to speed. Persistent speeding is a good indicator of a driver who is likely to become involved in an accident in the future, as is someone whom telematics data indicates takes corners too quickly. Again, it is all about making better decisions.
“Finally, speed should be part of driver education, with drivers who persistently break the limit or drive too quickly for the conditions being taught about the implications of speed when it comes to avoiding accidents. Arriving late is always better than not arriving at all.”
The new Arval road safety videos are being shared via its LinkedIn profile Arval BNP Paribas Group. More information on Arval’s safety-related products is here.
