Call them what you will. Fleet scheme. Operator accreditation. Compliance plus.
These days, the road transport sector is awash with programmes designed to raise operational standards for various purposes. Some have proven more successful than others but regardless, they all have one thing in common. They require proactive intervention from fleet companies.
Fundamentally, these schemes should be applauded. Yes, some have been viewed with a cynical eye and plenty of people fling around various accusations, but at the end of the day they all serve the same purpose; to raise standards to offset the negative effects of daily transport activity as much as possible.
These days the hot topics seem to be road safety and the environment. Reducing injuries and fatalities and dealing with the effects of pollution are rightly prioritised, but at what cost?
And when I say cost, I mean financial cost.
Most of these schemes require investment to operate, therefore they need to recover costs or secure grants in order to continue with their objectives. When cost recovery masquerades as a membership fee, subscription or audit some users become wary, even suspicious.
If a scheme administrator or owner fails to demonstrate reinvestment in the right way or is seen to be somehow profiteering, then it doesn’t take long for tongues to wag and for the programme or scheme to be tarnished. Negative perceptions are difficult to reverse.
That’s why I think Driving for Better Business is a different kettle of fish. It’s a government-backed National Highways programme to help UK employers reduce work-related road risk, control the associated costs and improve compliance with current legislation and guidance.
Importantly it’s free to join, offers free resources and has no political agenda, and because of that I think it stands to gain quite a lot of respect and admiration.
As someone who produces products to help raise and maintain standards you might think it's odd that I’d support something that offers free resources. After all, business is business.
But then some things are more important than business, and that’s why I’m proud to say that Transformotion has become a delivery partner of Driving for Better Business.
I’m looking forward to supporting a programme that seeks to deal with work-related road risk with the freedom to simply share knowledge and improve safety.
For more info, visit https://www.drivingforbetterbusiness.com
