What is a Driver Scorecard? Why is it Important?

Explore what is a driver scorecard in fleet management solutions. Know how scoring drivers is the best way to improve driver performance and save on hefty maintenance costs.

Whether you are a small fleet owner or have thousands of fleets to manage, maintaining the safety of drivers and consignments must be your priority. Although safety depends on multiple factors, one of the most common factors is driving practices followed by the drivers. What if we tell you that there’s a way to detect and implement top-class driving practices during fleet trips? 

Keep reading to find out more! 

What are Driver Scoring and Scorecards?

Driver scoring and scorecards are most relevant in the field like transportation, logistics, and insurance. Together, these help evaluate and measure driver behavior and performance. 

What is Driver Scoring?

Driver scoring is a streamlined evaluation of a driver’s various aspects, like his behavior, skills, performance, or overall conduct on the road while driving. This assessment is typically done while factoring in different parameters, like

• Following traffic laws
• Speed limits
• Braking patterns
• Acceleration
• Adherence to assigned routes
• And overall driving habits

What is a Driver Scorecard?

Scorecards are visual representations or summarised reporting of the above-stated events.  The scorecards provide a comprehensive overview of a driver’s performance and assign them scores or ratings. Here are some of the following parameters that are taken into account.

1. Speeding	Assessing how frequently a driver exceeds speed limits.
2. Harsh braking and acceleration	Evaluating abrupt stops or rapid accelerations, which could indicate aggressive driving behavior.
3. Route adherence	Checking if drivers follow assigned routes or deviate from them.
4. Safety compliance	Ensuring drivers follow safety protocols and regulations.
5. Fuel efficiency	Measuring how efficiently drivers use fuel.

Advantages of Driver Scorecard (Top-tier Benefits Listed)

A driver scoreboard included in fleet management software serves with various benefits as following:

1. Insights into Driver Behaviour (Detailed Reports)

One of the biggest advantages of using a driver scorecard is how it provides intel to managers about their fleet drivers’ safe and risky driving patterns. With a scorecard, it gets easy for fleet managers to identify drivers with rash driving skills, who need proper training and education.

TrackoBit’s driver behaviour management and monitoring software allows you to design driver scorecard reports based on the following important metrics.

• Excessive idling (leaving engine turned on unnecessarily)
• Overspeeding
• Harsh Acceleration
• Sudden Braking
• Taking Sharp Turns

2. Optimised Fuel Consumption

Almost 80% of operational costs account for fuel costs. All the above-listed events including harsh acceleration, overspeeding, and excessive idling — all lead to heavy fuel consumption.Timely scoring drivers for driving events will help managers minimise fuel usage and economy.

Based on these scores, managers can work towards changing their driving habits and help save fuel consumption. 

3. Better Vehicle Health (No excessive maintenance costs)

Imagine having 1000s of vehicles, out of which almost 500 vehicles are always out for maintenance. Whose fault is it? Well, it could be the result of your driver’s careless and rash driving practices, causing a stalling engine.

Driver scores come in handy to prevent harsh driving practices, which reduces the chances of frequent visits to mechanics. 

4. Identify the Best Drivers in your Fleet 

There might be some drivers in your fleet who perform well, while there are some who don’t. Driver score helps timely call out inefficient drivers and also helps recognize good drivers to reward them for better motivation.

Benefits of Calculating Driver Scores – “The Ulterior Motive”

If we see from a broader perspective, driver scorecards are important for mainly following reasons:

1. Driver Training and Improvement – To set training programs wherein it’s easy to identify areas where drivers can improve their behavior and performance through training programs.
2. Risk Assessment – Assessing the risk associated with each driver to determine insurance premiums or safety issues within a fleet.
3. Performance Evaluation – Comparing and ranking drivers based on their performance to recognize and reward top performers or address underperforming drivers.

Overall, driver scoring and scorecards aim to promote safe driving practices, reduce risks, and enhance efficiency within transportation systems or fleets.

Key Criteria for Measuring Driver Performance

The criterias used for analyzing driver performance play a pivotal role in building safe and efficient driving habits. According to the long-term goal of your fleet business, there are several criteria that you can include in your Driver Scorecard. Some of these criteria are covered below:

Focus areas	Criterias
Driver Productivity	This can be measured using two major criteria; driving time and engine hours.
Safety	Use of seatbelts Overspeeding (above the set limit) Harsh braking and cornering  Excessive acceleration
Compliance	Adherence to Hours of service and traffic regulations.
Fleet Optimization	Fuel consumption and adherence to planned routes.

Some Proven Ways to Improve Driver Scorecard

Every fleet manager would want to maintain efficient drivers and score 5 on 5 or at least 4 on 5 on their driver scorecard. Here are some proven tips to ensure that:

Schedule Training Programs	Leverage video telematics system to gain video footage on driver’s in-cabin behaviour and on-road driving skills. Use the video data to implement regular training sessions focusing on: Safe driving practices. Defensive driving. Adherence to traffic rules.
Real-time Feedback	Make sure you give your drivers immediate feedback using a data-driven telematics system powered by popular dash cams for vehicles.
Reward for Safe Driving	Set up some incentives or rewards that you can offer to drivers who consistently maintain high driving scores. This will not just help encourage them but also encourage them to prioritize safe driving habits.
Choose Route Optimisation	Offer your driver route planning solutions wherein they can plan and optimise efficient routes. This will help prevent them from driving unnecessary miles and minimise cases of harsh or unresponsive driving.
Maintenance Checks	Make sure you take vehicles for timely maintenance checks. This will help keep assets protected from breakdowns or issues that could affect, likely to emerge, irresponsible driving events.
Encourage Rest Periods	Make sure you have a trip management system that makes it easy to assign trips to multiple drivers. That too while keeping in account periods of stoppages or rest in-between, without compromising with timely deliveries. This will help prevent fatigue-related incidents too.
Continuous Monitoring	Take time to frequently review and update the driver scoring criteria. Make sure to factor in variables like road conditions, new regulations, and the latest safety standards.

Gamify Driver Scoring with TrackoBit!

Motivate your drivers by gamifying their driver scoring process. Set up rules, rewards and incentives that will make drivers tempted to follow rules and complete deliveries with desired safety.

Get an analytical dashboard aka (leaderboard) where you can review the scores, performances of each driver. Credit positive scores for efficient driving. The motivation to earn scores and rewards and beat their colleague drivers will keep up with their adrenaline rush to do better..

It’s a win-win situation for all. While drivers enjoy incentives and recognition for completing their tasks safely, you, as a fleet manager, enjoy safe driver performance and reduced costs per trip.

Let’s connect to know how you can gamify your fleet management system!

Here’s Your Final Takeaway!

Driver scorecard is not just a buzzword but a vital tool for fleet managers and anyone concerned with road safety and efficiency. It is the best way to improve driver performance & productivity.

It empowers you to monitor and improve driving performance, reducing risks and cutting operational costs. Neglecting it could lead to dire consequences. By opting for a scaling fleet management software integrated with driver scorecard reports, you can promote a culture of safe and efficient driving. 

It’s time to embrace driver behaviour monitoring solutions integrated with data-driven insights to pave the way to safer and more sustainable transportation.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is a Driver Scorecard?

  Driver scorecard is a feature in fleet management software that helps assess driver’s performance based on their driving skills. It helps score drivers after evaluating their on-road behavior and efficiency.

• How is the driver scorecard report evaluated?

  Driver scorecard report card is evaluated based on factors like safe driving, compliance with traffic rules and overall driving behavior throughout the trip.