Lisa Dorn

“Psychometrics is the science of measuring human qualities reliably and validly”

There are a number of on-line risk assessment packages currently available on the market, but there are few with an academic research base. And there are fewer still that are specifically developed to identify those company car and van drivers most likely to be at risk through their attitudes towards driving and the hazards they face.

This was one of the reasons, but by no means the only one, that prompted some of the research carried out at Cranfield University over the last five years, and which has led to the development of the Fleet Driver Risk Index – the first driver risk assessment specifically designed for fleet car and van drivers using psychometric principles.

The FDRI, which was launched last autumn through DriverMetrics, a subsidiary company set up specifically at Cranfield for the purpose, is a psychometric driver risk assessment that incorporates several scales to measure both behavioural factors and situational factors that are known to increase risk of collision involvement. As many will know, psychometrics is the science of measuring human qualities reliably and validly, based on proven psychological principles, and many companies already use them in other aspects of their businesses – the area of staff recruitment, for example.

But psychometrics can also play a key role in identifying those company car drivers who are more likely than others to be involved in accidents or risky situations, based on their acceptance of risk in their everyday lives. Driver responses to questions posed within the FDRI reveal their attitudes and behaviours towards driving risk. This results in a score that provides feedback about their level of risk compared with that of the population.

The way in which a driver scores on the characteristics within the FDRI determines his or her level of risk of being involved in a collision. Once a driver has completed the assessment – which takes approximately 30 minutes – an individualised report is generated, identifying not only which drivers are most at risk of being involved in a collision, but importantly, why drivers are at a high risk and identifying the specific behaviours that contribute to that risk.

Some of the core behavioural factors that apply to all drivers include thrill seeking, aggression, enjoyment of driving, hazard monitoring and fatigue resistance. Emotional and behavioural reactions to driving can reduce the driver’s ability to select an appropriate coping strategy to meet the demands of the driving situation, and this in itself can lead to increased risk of being involved in a collision. The FDRI scales are predictive of driver behaviour, driver error and collision involvement.

However, any risk assessment is only as good as the training that is put in place to mitigate the risks identified. That is why we have partnered with Peak Performance to offer new training techniques practices to meet the needs of company drivers and managers. And Peak has developed specific workshops to train those who have been identified as being in need of extra tuition due to their risk profiles.

We are now starting to see fleets of substantial size in both the public and private sectors, as well as within the emergency services, employing the psychometric principles within the FDRI, and seeing the benefits that that can bring starting to coming through. We firmly believe that psychometric testing has a real and valid role to play in identifying and managing fleet driving risk, and would recommend all managers who have responsibility for company car and van drivers to consider its use.

For more information, visit: www.drivermetrics.com