Testing conducted by telematics provider Lightfoot has revealed that untrained van drivers in the UK trigger an aggressive driving incident every three miles on average.
The findings, released in the run-up to the new financial year, were gathered during blind trials of Lightfoot’s in-cab driver coaching system. The data showed that over a typical 100-mile journey, the average van driver would accelerate too harshly seven times, brake heavily three times and corner too aggressively 18 times.
With van drivers covering around 58 billion miles annually in the UK, Lightfoot estimates this equates to nearly 20 billion instances of harsh acceleration, braking, or cornering each year – that’s over 2.2 million every hour.
These behaviours were identified using G-force sensors embedded in Lightfoot’s technology, calibrated through extensive field testing. While some events were classified as unavoidable due to real-world road conditions, the company drew a clear line between ‘necessary responses’ and ‘preventable actions’ - the latter contributing to elevated risk, fuel consumption, emissions and vehicle wear.
However, once Lightfoot’s real-time coaching was activated, incidents of aggressive driving fell significantly. Harsh acceleration dropped by 50%, while hard braking and cornering decreased by 12% and 15% respectively. On average, the technology delivered a 25% reduction in aggressive driving across all tested drivers, with some fleet customers reporting as much as a 50% decline in incident rates.
Drivers using Lightfoot saw their average performance score increase from 59.6% to 84.1%, just shy of the 85% threshold required to be classified as an ‘Elite Driver’. This benchmark, validated through independent research by the University of Bath, correlates with safer driving, lower CO₂ emissions, extended EV range and reduced operating costs.
Paul Hollick, CEO of Lightfoot, commented, “The testing we’ve done to show how the average van driver behaves reveals some shocking numbers. But it is important to understand this so we can then provide a benchmark—and a solution.
“It’s worth noting that these driving behaviours are often not illegal, and not always avoidable either. But what we want to do is cut out unnecessary, often aggressive driving actions—and we’ve proved beyond doubt we can do that.”
According to Lightfoot, fleets adopting its solution can achieve fuel and emissions savings of up to 15%, while electric vehicles see similar gains in range. Accident rates can drop by as much as 40%, and vehicle downtime is cut by 45% due to reduced wear and tear.