A COMPANY providing roadside services and incident management has pledged its support to a charity campaigning for road safety.

Huddersfield-based FMG has become a corporate sponsor of national charity Brake, which also has its headquarters in Huddersfield.

FMG said it was committed to reducing the frequency and impact of incidents and using its industry experience, market intelligence and bespoke technology systems to find ways to help fleet managers implement efficiency and driver safety improvements.

The company said such action could result in increased fleet profitability and business effectiveness as well as better driving and safer roads.

FMG chief executive officer John Catling said: “Our objective is to keep drivers as safe as possible and help businesses manage driver risk by working in partnership with our clients to prevent incidents, not just manage them when they do happen.

“We want to change perceptions about our industry.

“We don’t simply deal with incidents and make money from clearing up the mess. We’re a strategic partner, committed to incident prevention and smarter, safer journeys.”

In its role as first National Vehicle Recovery Manager for the Highways Agency, FMG provides a single point of contact for Highways Agency traffic officers needing to get broken down, damaged or abandoned vehicles removed from 5,000 miles of England’s strategic road network.

Said Mr Catling: “Working with the Highways Agency and our recovery partners, we are helping maintain a safer road network, where there is less disruption following an incident.

“But we’re also doing what we can to ensure the incidents don’t happen in the first place through our work with fleet managers.”

The company was shortlisted for the Risk Management Award in this year’s British Insurance Awards for its intelligent monitoring and reporting system, Ingenium Dynamics – which world-leading transport research experts have found to be a highly effective way to manage driver risk.

Ingenium Dynamics improves driver behaviour and makes it easier to identify, manage and remove risk. FMG’s fleet clients are seeing a 25-80% reduction in claims, while loss ratios for a young drivers’ insurance scheme using it have been reduced to 40%.

Martin Howard, spokesman at Brake, said: "We are delighted to be working with FMG, an organisation which is passionate about keeping drivers safe on the roads.

“By sponsoring Target Zero – Brake's subscriber e-bulletin – FMG is helping to ensure that organisations of all sizes can access cutting-edge road safety research and initiatives from across the globe. About a third of road deaths involve someone driving for work purposes. This service is invaluable in helping fleet professionals keep up to date with best practice and ensure employee safety whilst driving for work.”