In a sector long driven by compliance, cost control and corrective action, the conversation around driver safety is shifting. Increasingly, fleets are asking not just how to monitor risk—but how to motivate better performance.
At the centre of that shift is Geotab Vitality, a joint venture that blends telematics intelligence with behavioural science. Editor Jarlath Sweeney sat down with Steve Lockington, CEO of Geotab Vitality, to discuss how incentive-led safety is delivering measurable results for fleets worldwide.
Q: Steve, for readers unfamiliar with Geotab Vitality, how does it fit into fleet operations?
Geotab Vitality helps fleets prevent collisions, improve driver performance, and boost retention with personalised coaching and driver engagement. It combines AI-powered predictive analytics with deep behavioural science expertise to help fleets engage and motivate their drivers to perform at their best.
We’re not just looking at safety events in isolation. We’re focused on creating a proactive culture—one that recognises positive behaviour, sets personalised goals and uses real-world rewards to reinforce the right habits every day.
It’s about shifting from reactive safety management to continuous engagement. Instead of waiting for something to go wrong, we help drivers improve incrementally, every week.
Q: Many fleets already use telematics to track harsh braking, speeding and so on. What makes your approach different?
You’re right—most fleets already have access to enormous volumes of telematics data. The challenge isn’t data collection. It’s behaviour change.
Traditionally, drivers only hear from management when something goes wrong. That creates a negative feedback loop. Drivers can feel monitored rather than supported.
Our model is entirely built around positive reinforcement. We don’t say: “You did something bad.” We say: “Here’s how you can do better—and here’s the reward for doing it.”
Drivers earn up to 100 points per day for safe driving. Those points translate into real monetary rewards through a digital wallet in the app. The faster we connect safe behaviour with tangible recognition, the more likely that behaviour is to stick. That’s behavioural science 101.
Q: You mentioned behavioural science. Where does that expertise come from?
It comes from our partner, Vitality, which has over 25 years of experience in incentive-led engagement models.
Vitality started in South Africa as a health and life insurer. Because of regulation, they couldn’t simply charge higher premiums to higher-risk individuals. Instead, they asked: how do we change behaviour?
They built a programme that rewards people for healthier choices—exercise, preventative screenings, better nutrition. Today they operate in more than 40 markets globally. That expertise in gamification, nudges, streaks, badges and personalised insights is embedded directly into InTouch.
We’re applying the same behavioural science principles that improved health outcomes to driver safety.
Q: How does the scoring system work? Drivers often question fairness in benchmarking.
Fairness is critical. We don’t compare a long-haul HGV driver in a congested urban environment to a passenger vehicle in rural Texas. That would make no sense.
We use a sophisticated risk algorithm built on 25 years of telematics and insurance data. It draws on insights from five million of connected vehicles. Drivers are clustered by vehicle type, geography, driving conditions and risk environment.
So you’re measured against a comparable peer group—not against an unrealistic benchmark.
Everyone starts at the same baseline. Goals are then personalised based on individual performance. Over time, higher-performing drivers see higher targets and potentially higher rewards, while others get achievable improvement steps.
Q: What kind of results are fleets seeing?
We’ve been live globally for just over a year, and the results have been very encouraging.
In one pilot with Richards, a major U.S. building supply and construction distribution company, we saw a 41 percent improvement in key driving behaviours—specifically acceleration and braking—within 50 days.
What’s interesting is that most of the improvement happened in the first two weeks. That shows the power of immediate engagement. But importantly, performance didn’t taper off. Because the programme is continuous and rewards reset quarterly, engagement remains high.
They also saw an 8 percent reduction in in collision risk, 2.7% reduction in fuel spend, 44% reduction in driver turnover – leading to almost $200K in savings.
For a fleet manager, those are very compelling numbers.
Q: Beyond safety metrics, are there other measurable benefits?
Yes—driver retention and morale.
One driver from that pilot spoke publicly about how he had an impeccable safety record for years but had never really been recognised for it. He said the only time he heard from management was if something went wrong.
With InTouch, his good performance was visible. He was earning rewards. He felt noticed.
That matters in today’s labour market. Drivers are under more pressure than ever—more traffic, more in-cab technology, tighter delivery windows. Recognition becomes a powerful differentiator.
Q: Fleets often focus on their highest-risk drivers. Do you take the same approach?
We challenge that thinking.
Of course, high-risk drivers need attention. But if you can lift the performance of every driver slightly, the aggregate impact can be just as significant.
We call it improving the whole distribution curve. Instead of targeting only the outliers, we raise the average.
Because we already have access to telematics data, we know exactly where each driver stands. The app then guides them on the next most important improvement—whether that’s speeding, harsh braking or smoother acceleration.
It becomes a continuous coaching mechanism.
Q: How easy is it for fleet managers to implement?
Very straightforward.
It’s a subscription model—per driver, per month. There’s minimal configuration. You upload your drivers, automated onboarding emails go out, and they’re live in the app.
We handle the scoring, clustering and reward structure. Fleet managers don’t have to configure rules or ratings.
We also provide customer success support and communication toolkits to help managers roll it out effectively. But once it’s running, it’s largely self-sustaining because drivers interact directly with the app.
Q: You’ve expanded rapidly across regions. Where are you currently operating?
We’re live across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and we’re expanding into Latin America, the Middle East and South Africa.
The app is currently available in multiple languages, and the rewards marketplace is localised to each region. That localisation is important—drivers in Ireland may want different rewards than drivers in Canada or Australia.
Q: Do younger drivers engage more readily with a gamified system?
Younger drivers certainly adopt it quickly—they’re comfortable with app-based engagement and gamification.
But interestingly, we’re seeing strong engagement across age groups. Once drivers see colleagues earning rewards or discussing scores over coffee, participation builds organically.
We’ve also introduced quarterly resets so nobody feels locked into a label. Even if you’ve had a poor quarter, you get a fresh start.
Q: Is there potential to integrate driver health and wellbeing into the platform?
Absolutely. In fact, some fleets we work with also use Vitality for employee health benefits.
We’re currently assessing two hypotheses. First, is a healthier driver also a safer driver? Early data suggests yes. Second, can engagement in a safe-driving programme increase engagement in broader health initiatives?
Professional driving is demanding and stressful. If we can encourage small improvements—walking after a shift, better nutrition, better rest—there’s potential for a virtuous cycle.
We’re also looking at expanding into fuel efficiency and other operational metrics. Ultimately, we want to be a holistic driver enablement platform.
Q: Where do you see Geotab Vitality heading in the next few years?
Twelve months ago, we were focused on launching the platform. Today, we’re expanding across modes—last-mile, line haul, mixed fleets.
Our ambition is to become the go-to platform for driver engagement. The data already exists. The question is how to turn it into positive, sustained behaviour change.
If fleets can create environments where drivers feel supported, recognised and motivated, performance improves—not just in safety, but across operations.
At the end of the day, drivers are the backbone of the transport industry. If we help them succeed, fleets succeed.
For an industry grappling with rising insurance costs, regulatory pressure and driver shortages, the shift from surveillance to support may prove transformative. As this conversation with Steve Lockington highlights, the next frontier in fleet safety may not be more data—but better human engagement.
Interview by Jarlath Sweeney, Editor, Fleet Transport Magazine