Calls for psychological testing welcomed

Calls for compulsory psychological testing for new motorists have been welcomed by a company that specialises in providing training for fleet drivers.

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), executive director, Robert Gifford, is reported as saying that the current driving test failed to root out drivers prone to breaking rules.

He said psychometric tests could help to identify people with the wrong attitude to the road. His call comes as the Driving Standards Agency carries out a review of how people learn to drive.

His views have been welcomed by driver safety specialists, Peak Performance, which has been working with Cranfield University on the development of psychological assessments to identify company car and van drivers most at risk of an accident.

Peak Performance managing director, James Sutherland, said that a driving based psychometric assessment can really get inside the mind of the driver and identify driving behaviours most likely to place him or her at risk.

Peak Performance’s work with Cranfield University has centred around the risk-profiling Fleet Driver Risk Index (FDRI) which identifies those drivers likely to be at the highest risk while driving on company business.

The FDRI is an online driving psychometric assessment designed to be taken by company employees who regularly drive for work. Once the employee has completed the assessment – which takes approximately 30 minutes – a report is generated for each driver.