The fleets turning data into safer journeys: UK Fleet Champions 2026

On Wednesday 30 September, more than 300 people from across the fleet sector gathered at New Dock Hall at the Royal Armouries in Leeds for Brake’s UK Fleet Champions Awards 2026. Quartix was proud to be the event’s headline sponsor, delivered in partnership with the National Highways Driving for Better Business campaign.

The awards recognise organisations and individuals working to prevent crashes caused by work vehicles. Twelve awards were presented to winners chosen by an independent panel of judges from across the fleet industry. What stood out was how many of this year’s champions are using their fleet data proactively.

Why we support Brake

Brake is the UK’s road safety charity, and its work reaches far beyond one night of awards. Brake’s National Road Victim Service currently supports around 1,000 people whose lives have been changed by road death and serious injury, with an estimated 2,000 new referrals this year alone. In 2025, nearly a third of all road deaths, an estimated 445 people, involved someone driving for work. Behind every one of those numbers is a family, a workplace and a community.

As Brake’s CEO Ross Moorlock reminded the room, the charity does all of this without central Government funding in England and Wales. It relies on partners, sponsors and fundraising evenings like this one. Guests raised an extra £3,300 on the night through a raffle, games and donations.

Brake’s CEO Ross Moorlock commented: “The organisations being recognised tonight are not simply collecting awards plaques; they are setting benchmarks for an entire sector. They are proving that road safety and business performance go hand in hand. And they are demonstrating that protecting people is not a compliance exercise; it is a leadership responsibility.” 

Sean Maher, Quartix’s Global Sales Director, spoke at the ceremony: “Whether you run two vans or 20,000 vans in any sector, putting safety at the heart of how you operate is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make.”

And Mark Cartwright, Head of Commercial Vehicle Incident Prevention at National Highways added that employers in the sector can make a real difference through “better policies, better training, better vehicles”, calling fleet organisations to drive forward safer roads.

Congratulations to this year’s Fleet Champions

Congratulations to every winner, runner-up and shortlisted organisation. Here are some of the stories that stood out:

Greggs had a remarkable night, winning the Dr Will Murray Award for Analysis and Action as well as Company Driver Safety (Small/medium). As the award’s name suggests, it celebrates the step that matters most: using what the data shows to change how a fleet operates. VolkerRail took Company Driver Safety (Large).

Ray Cowpe of Arriva Northwest & Wales was named Road Risk Manager of the Year, and Whistl won Fleet Team of the Year. Guy Best of GBA Logistics was recognised as this year’s Road Safety Hero.

Drainline Southern won the Safe Vehicles Award, proof that you don’t need a national fleet to set the standard.

The Fleet Safety Partnership Award was shared by two partnerships: TTC Group with Kier Group, and Vodafone Automotive with United Utilities.

VolkerHighways won Road Safety in the Community, and SEERPIC took the Emergency Services Driver Safety Award.

You can learn more about the winners and runners up on Brake’s website.

The most moving moment of the evening was the Kevin Storey Award for Outstanding Commitment to Road Safety, presented to Vicki McCarthy of VolkerRail. Vicki’s 16-year-old daughter died in a road crash in 2014. Alongside her role as a training coordinator for a large fleet, Vicki now gives talks about what unsafe driving costs in real life, particularly to young drivers. She received her award to a standing ovation and spoke of her determination that no other parent should go through what she has.

Vicki’s story is a reminder of what fleet safety is really about: making sure everyone gets home at the end of the day.

How your fleet data can drive a safety initiative

This year’s champions treat safety data as a starting point for action, and inspired every fleet, from a handful of vans to thousands of vehicles, to do the same:

• Spot risk early. Driver behaviour data shows patterns such as harsh braking, sharp cornering and speeding before they turn into incidents.
• Coach drivers. Sharing clear, fair data with drivers turns safety into a conversation. Our SafeSpeed scores also compare each driver’s speed with other road users on the same stretch of road, as well as the legal limit.
• Learn from what happens. Dashcam footage helps managers understand incidents, protect drivers and speed up investigations.
• Recognise progress. Data shows who is improving, so good driving can be celebrated as well as risky driving addressed.

As Sean put it after the ceremony: “Safer roads start with the decisions fleets make every day, and this year’s entries showed just how much commitment there is across the industry.”

Take part in Road Safety Week, 15-21 November

Road Safety Week is Brake’s biggest campaign of the year. It begins on Sunday 15 November, the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, and this year’s theme is Safe People on the Move. Whether we drive, walk, wheel or ride, we can all do something to make a difference.

Here’s how your fleet can get involved:

1. Sign up at brake.org.uk/roadsafetyweek for the free action pack of resources.
2. Review your own data. Use the week to look at your driver behaviour reports and choose one improvement to focus on.
3. Talk to your drivers. Share a road safety message with your team and recognise those who drive safely.
4. Fundraise. Host a Big Tea Brake at any point in November to support Brake’s work with people affected by road crashes.

Congratulations once again to all of this year’s UK Fleet Champions, and thank you to Brake and everyone who made the evening possible.