VICTORIAN roads and road safety minister Jaala Pulford has launched a new recognition program for the transport sector acknowledging and rewarding heavy vehicle operators and drivers who demonstrate safety best-practice.

The program – to be known as VTA Driver Salute – is sponsored by Goodyear and Dunlop Tyres and is powered by DriveRisk, a driver behaviour management company that uses video technology to help operators and drivers change behaviour.

Victorian transport operators who deploy DriveRisk video technology and telematics in their fleets can submit in-cabin footage or profiles of drivers demonstrating sustained best-practice safety behaviour in the course of their duties.

Eligibility for the award extends to entrants who have been assessed by DriveRisk’s DriveCam solution as having the lowest risk score during the previous six to 12 months.

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VTA chief executive Peter Anderson said for every incident involving a truck there were dozens of examples of professional heavy vehicle drivers who live and breathe safety.

“These are the drivers and their stories that Driver Salute aims to unearth so that we can promote the safety culture that operators enshrine within their organisations every day,” Mr Anderson said.

Minister Pulford said “uneventful and totally professional approaches” to moving heavy loads at high speed was something to be saluted and celebrated.

“An initiative like Driver Salute, that simply recognises a deep and enduring commitment to being safe and aware 100% of the time to really high professional standards, is extremely worthwhile.” Drivers can be nominated by visiting: www.driverisk.com.au/driver-