The awards are supported by the Road Haulage Association (RHA), MAN Truck & Bus UK and the University of Nottingham. Microlise says this is the first programme of its kind where winners are selected based on analysis of telematics data and feedback from managers.
Data on 90,000 drivers was gathered and analysed from Microlise's solutions. Further selection was then made based on number of miles driven across each of the four quarters in 2014, before each qualifying driver was assessed on criteria such as harsh braking, idling and speeding.
The University of Nottingham carried out data analysis anonymously to identify the best driver in each distance category (short, medium and long distance).
After manager feedback was sought on candidates, 46 drivers from 16 organisations are now being considered for the final shortlist.
"Thanks to additional feedback about individual drivers provided by their employers, a final shortlist will be generated by the RHA, who will be given anonymised information to ensure complete fairness and transparency," says Bob Harbey, executive director at Microlise.
Five drivers in each category will win a track day, courtesy of MAN.