Companies have been honoured for working hard to reduce incidents involving at-work drivers and vehicles during the sixth annual Australasian Fleet Champions Awards.
The awards are run by road safety charity Brake and sponsored by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
They recognise companies and individuals who have implemented successful initiatives, products or services to tackle fleet safety.
This year’s winners were announced at a virtual awards ceremony on November 19 sponsored by Bridgestone, SurePlan and Suzuki.
The awards are held annually and are part of Brake’s Global Fleet Champions initiative, a global partnership campaign to prevent crashes and reduce pollution by vehicles used for work purposes.
As well as categories for organisations, two individual awards were presented to fleet professionals: the Road Risk Manager Award went to Colin Blakemore from NZ Defence Force; and the prestigious Outstanding Commitment to Road Safety Award was awarded to Dr Bryan Pidwerbesky from Fulton Hogan.
Brake NZ director Caroline Perry says the awards celebrate the achievements of companies and individuals “who are striving to make a real difference in the world of fleet safety”.
“It is always great to see the work that organisations are putting in to help ensure their staff and other road users get home safe every day, and this year that has included measures organisations have put in place in response to COVID-19.
“Congratulations to all the award winners and highly commended entrants for their work reducing incidents involving at-work drivers and vehicles. We hope it inspires other companies to implement measures to address risk, and to gain recognition for their work too,” Perry says.
NZ Transport Agency safety, health and environment general manager Greg Lazzaro says many New Zealanders spend a significant amount of time driving for work, “and tragically road crashes are a leading cause of work-related deaths, both here and overseas”.
“So we applaud these companies for the important work they are doing to reduce incidents and improve their fleet safety.”
The winners of the 2020 Australasian Fleet Champions Awards include:
Company Driver Safety Award sponsored by SurePlan
Winner – TIL Logistics Ltd
Fleet Safety Product Award
Winner – Fleetcoach
Highly commended – AutoSense, MiX Telematics and Mader Group
Safe Vehicles Award sponsored by Bridgestone
Winner – Fulton Hogan
Highly commended – EnviroWaste
Road Risk Manager of the Year Award sponsored by Suzuki
Winner – Colin Blakemore, NZ Defence Force
Highly commended – Jason Karauti, LIC
Outstanding Commitment to Road Safety Award sponsored by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency
Winner – Dr Bryan Pidwerbesky, Fulton Hogan
