New competition launched to find Europe’s safest business driver

May 03, 2017 • Fleet Technology • News • Taco van der Leij • TomTom Telematics

TomTom Telematics has launched the inaugural Driver of the Year Awards to help promote safer and more responsible driving standards among European business fleets.

The competition will rank the performance of participants based on driving behaviour scores to find the safest, most efficient driver across 14 countries. Scores will be calculated from incidents of harsh braking and steering per km/mile by the TomTom WEBFLEET fleet management solution.

Ten finalists will then compete for the grand title of European Driver of the Year at the Circuit de Catalunya race track in Barcelona on October 21.

“This competition has been launched in a bid to make driver safety a higher priority with European businesses and to encourage more cost-efficient fleet motoring,” said Taco van der Leij, VP Marketing at TomTom Telematics.

This competition has been launched in a bid to make driver safety a higher priority with European businesses and to encourage more cost-efficient fleet motoring - Taco van der Leij, TomTom

“Road traffic collisions are estimated to contribute to more than a quarter of all work-related deaths across the EU1. Mobile workers however can be empowered to drive more safely – and in turn more fuel efficiently and environmentally responsible – with the appropriate guidance, technological support and training. Our OptiDrive 360 technology can help businesses address these needs and provide valuable insights on driver behaviour across Europe.”

Drivers can compete in one of the contest’s two categories – ‘Vans (Light Commercial Vehicles) and cars’ or ‘Trucks (Heavy Goods Vehicles)’. The top scoring driver in each category from each of five regions will progress to the final. These regions are Benelux (Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands), France, Mediterranean (Italy, Portugal, and Spain), Central Europe and Nordics (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland) and UKI (United Kingdom and Ireland).

Companies can register to participate at http://telematics.tomtom.com/driveroftheyear, where the competition’s full terms and conditions and regional rankings are available.