#StartupStory: Driver Assess

It’s a world first and, for just R200, a driver can complete a detailed questionnaire and receive back a comprehensive assessment.

The report measures 14 different dimensions of human behaviour and computes the results into a format that can be used to determine a driver’s likely behaviour.

In a nutshell, what is Driver Assess?

It’s an online driver behaviour profiler which categorises an individual’s, usually sub-conscious, driving behaviours into low, medium or high-risk categories.

Driver Assess is a tool that enables individuals to become aware of their current driving behaviours, pay attention to them and make active choices in changing those behaviours.

When, how and why did you create the company?

I came across the profiler 24 months ago. It was actually created by someone else a while ago but they never ended up marketing or using it. I contacted the creator and he granted me rights to it.

The profiler measures ‘risk’, not functional driving skills. If one is not aware that one has say, a sub-conscious aggression issue when driving, one can’t do anything about it.

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Ilse van den Berg  13 Jul 2018

Due to my occupational safety and risk background and my experience in emotional intelligence, I was interested in the possibilities of enabling people to become aware of and change the behaviours that put them at risk each time they drive.

We have so many deaths on our roads due to road rage and most people don't see themselves as part of the problem. Do you believe something like Driver Asses can really help us drop the number of fatalities and why do you think so?

+90% of SA collisions or accidents are immediately preceded by a driver breaking the law and committing an unsafe act.

• A significant minority of SA drivers are low-risk drivers. They are courteous, they allow the traffic to flow by practising defensive driving, they do not participate in conflict and will choose to avoid conflict and aggressive situations. 
• A significant minority of SA drivers are high-risk drivers; these drivers have a disproportionally large impact on the accidents and the aggression and conflict situations on the roads. 
• The majority of SA drivers are medium risk drivers. When, under pressure, their reactions to their triggers and resulting behaviours may not serve them and they become high(er) risk drivers in that moment (up to 40–60% of such instances).
• Only individuals can change their default, deeply ingrained driving patterns. They can only do this when they are aware they have a driving behavioural issue and they consciously choose to make changes.

So, to answer your question, if drivers change their high(er) risk behaviours, drive consciously and practice defensive driving, the frequency of accidents will be reduced and fatalities will decrease, yes. However, this will not happen if one or two thousand people change, millions of drivers need to make this change.

Is Driver Assess specific to the SA market?

It is normed for SA, Botswana and Namibia and can be for any other country that shows an interest.

What is your competitive advantage/core differentiator?

Our competitive advantage:

• It's affordable at only R200.
• There is no other such tool in the SA market.
• It's a new and innovative road safety tool which is directed at the cause of aggression and accidents, the driver.
• It's specific to each individual.
• A risk assessment for all drivers as part of the pre-employment process.
• A personalised risk assessment for all current driving employees - it allows organisations to implement specific interventions which are personal and meaningful and not a one-size-fits-all approach.
• You can re-assess individuals when required.
• It provides traffic authorities with a tool to identify high-risk individuals and reduce high-risk behaviours on the road by requiring the profiler to be done when applying for a driver’s license or when re-applying under AARTO.

Our core differentiator:

• Personal change is difficult. Driver Assess guides people through the change process. For the first time, personal change can be experienced and practised multiple times a day and the benefits quickly reaped. It’s in the driving seat where true change happens.

Tell us about your biggest struggles as an entrepreneur as well as some major highlights.

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Ilse van den Berg  12 Jun 2018

My biggest challenges have been:

• Creating the portal and a usable, applied system.
• Creating a powerful need for people to take the profiler.
• Convincing senior people that they need to know their own driving story first before they ask or require others to do the profiler.
• Dealing with national and provincial DoTs and RTMC – no one calls back.
• Apathy and reluctance to try something different on the part of drivers and the authorities.

And my biggest highlights:

• Changing the way I drive; I am now part of the solution.
• The feedback given to me from people who have used the profiler and them realising that if they get angry, anxious or fearful in the car, they feel those emotions and carry out those behaviours in other areas of their lives too.

What’s next?

Our mission is to help top-level execs and management of the traffic authorities realise what is possible, they do the profiler, know their own driving story and make Driver Assess mandatory for everyone with a driver's licence.

We also want insurance companies to pick up on this and for their senior managers and their teams to do the profiler and understand how to leverage Driver Assess into their company systems and processes to add value to their customers and businesses.

It would be great to get schools and the Department of Education (DoE) to include the profiler in Life Orientation in Grades 11 and 12 and teach personal change and road safety to the 300,000+ 17/18-year-olds who get their licenses every year. This age group is the 'at most risk' group on the road.

Ultimately we would love to go abroad and sell Drivers Assess to countries that value road safety.

For more, go to www.driverassesslive.com and become a better, safer driver.