Huddersfield driver wins top cash price for safe driving

David Tootell is a member of the Cygnet Health Care Maintenance team at Gledholt Mews and Coach House in Huddersfield, an enhanced residential service for adults with mental health needs or a personality disorder who have been able to progress through the hospital pathway and are looking for the next stage in their rehabilitation journey.

He won £4,000 as part of Lightfoot’s driver engagement initiative, the Elite Driver Championship, to encourage safer and more sustainable driving amongst the UK’s motor fleet drivers.

Lightfoot, which provides technology that rewards drivers for safer driving, first launched the initiative in 2019. The campaign provides prize draws ranging from £1,000 to £7,000 that Lightfoot Elite drivers can win through its driver app.

Upon receiving the cheque, David said: “I’m so shocked, I wasn’t expecting this at all. It is nice to be rewarded for doing your job well.”

Cygnet Group runs a fleet of nearly 300 vehicles, a mix of people carriers and minibuses. The vehicles are provided to allow service users and residents to visit loved ones, and attend therapeutic activities and events in the community. Cygnet introduced Lightfoot in all company-owned fleet vehicles, which have had a proven outcome of lowering emissions, reducing accidents, saving fuel and ensuring the safe, comfortable transfer of service users.

The Lightfoot solution is a vehicle tracking and driver training device, used by national companies including Tesco and Asda, that prompts the driver to drive carefully and smoothly within speed limits, avoid idling with the engine running and, if the vehicle is not being driven as expected, it alerts the driver with a flashing and audible warning system.

The Lightfoot device is connected to your vehicle’s engine, so it can accurately understand how you’re driving. It “scores” your driving and to become an Elite Driver, your Lightfoot score needs to stay at 85 per cent or higher each week.

Louise Neal is the Administration Team Manager at Cygnet Health Care. She said the prize was thoroughly deserved. She added: “I am really pleased for David, he goes out of his way to help the residents, taking them to appointments, and ensuring they get there safely.”

Katharine Draper is Cygnet Group Fleet Manager. She added: “The behaviours Lightfoot encourages are becoming ingrained in the drivers. It encourages them to stay safe and to be economical with their driving, not only in their work circumstances but in all other driving too.”

Ed Snowdon is a Fleet Account Manager for Lightfoot. He said: “Cygnet Health Care do such an amazing job in the community and for us to be able to reward a member of their staff with £4,000 is something I feel very proud of. I couldn’t feel happier for them.”

Since Lightfoot has been installed, Cygnet Group have reduced CO2 emissions by 164 tonnes across its vehicle fleet, which is the equivalent of 602,000 washing machine cycles and the weight of 257 polar bears.