Transport for London’s Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) has won an international road safety award for its success in improving fleet and freight safety across the UK.
The fleet safety scheme won the Prince Michael International Road Safety Fleet Award, sponsored by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), which recognises the best examples of road safety innovation from across the world.
Adrian Walsh, Director of The Prince Michael Awards, said, “One in three serious crashes involves a driver who is at work. FORS is a world-class example of how safety can be improved through engagement and leadership, and here in London we now have a proven programme which is ready to be rolled out across the country and indeed internationally.”
Leon Daniels, Managing Director for Surface Transport at TfL, said he was delighted to pick up the annual Fleet Award, adding that it showed TfL’s ‘determination’ to make London’s roads safer.
“FORS has helped transform how fleet and freight vehicles operate in London, encouraging greater compliance, better training, lower emissions and improved road safety,” he said.
The scheme, originally launched in 2008, is designed to help operators improve operational performance and safety in the London area. It has more than 2,200 accredited companies operating more than 180,000 vehicles, with a third operating in the construction or aggregates sector.
Two-thirds of companies given bronze, silver or gold FORS accreditation are based outside the M25, with many using the scheme as a national road safety and efficiency benchmark.
As a result of this uptake by operators outside of London, TfL has announced that it is expanding the FORS scheme more widely across the UK from January 2015, with the help of an external partner to be announced later this year.
