DriveTech, part of the AA, has launched Driver’s Mate, a new way of communicating safety with professional drivers. Designed to remind drivers of their moral and legal obligations just before getting behind the wheel, the innovative series of 90-second videos champions and reinforces on-road safety practices.
With hundreds of videos already available, Driver’s Mate is intended to encourage better behaviours and is designed to refresh a driver’s awareness to ensure a change in attitude so learnings are applied in practice. The 90-second clips share messages about compliance, driver behaviour and cost savings portrayed through short stories, ideal for viewing on mobile devices.
David Wales, one of DriveTech’s product solutions specialists, led the development of the suite of Driver’s Mate videos. The series was founded on insight from his years of driver training experience, specifically within the commercial/professional vehicle sector. David was inspired to provide an additional training solution for professional drivers which would offer quick ‘nudges’ to promote best practice that would work around their busy daily lives.
Specifically targeted at commercial vehicle drivers, the team at DriveTech works with fleet managers to evaluate driver needs and provide a suite of videos that suit the exact requirements of the business in simple digestible parts. This ensures drivers have a series of key learning outcomes that will benefit their safety and encourage them to become better drivers over time.
Leo Taylor, Head of Product Solutions at DriveTech, commented: “After spending time evaluating training programmes with our customers, it became clear that there is a role for us to support businesses in communicating safety practices on a more ongoing ‘little and often’ basis. We know that reinforcing and reminding of policies and procedures works but this needs to be in an engaging and manageable way for the business and drivers. This led us to create ‘Driver’s Mate’, which is an informal, effective way of keeping fleets up-to-date with their training in just 90 seconds.
“With DriveTech’s depth of driver risk and driver training experience, we have developed hundreds of episodes, meaning that drivers could be prompted with nudge reminders almost daily.”
