VEHICLE safety company Vision Techniques have broken all records by being the first company to win the Best Innovation Award for three years in a row at the prestigious CIWM Awards in London.

The Blackburn firm won the Innovation award with their vehicle security system VT IDent.

Approaching their third decade of developing safety systems, Vision Techniques won the CIWM Innovation award for a fourth time.

The first win was with 360 camera system Overview in 2013.

The company returned with cyclist safety technology TurnAware in 2015, then rollaway preventing BrakeSafe took the prize in 2016 and now with VT IDent winning in 2017.

The succession of awards confirms the company focus on innovating lifesaving systems for vehicles, specifically this year preventing vehicle theft, especially after a year of devastating terrorist attack involving stolen trucks and vans.

Vision Techniques was up against big competition with refuse vehicle manufacturer Dennis Eagle and international road sweeping manufacturer Aebi Schmidt being some of the other companies to be nominated for this award.

The CIWM Awards ceremony took place at the Grosvenor Square Marriott in London.

The award-winning system ‘VT IDent’ adds security to a vehicle using programmable ‘identification’ tags. Ident will inhibit access for anyone without a tag; essentially preventing anyone from jumping in the cab and driving away.

James Newhill, sales manager at Vision Techniques, said: “To win this award for the third year in a row is astonishing, and we are the first company to do it in the history of the CIWM awards.

"The companies and councils that have used the IDent system have given us fantastic feedback about its benefits and highlighted that it is a unique safety system in the market."

The system is being used by high profile companies such as Kier Environmental and Biffa Waste, with the system installed on council waste vehicles across the UK.

Darren Judd, Kier Environmental head of fleet and plant, who is responsible for their fleet of 750 heavy use vehicles across the UK, said: “There are so many instances where a vehicle could be out of our control.

"If someone jumps in with the engine running and tries to steal it - that’s a 26 tonne truck, it could cause a lot of damage in the wrong hands.”

Michael Hanson, founder of Vision Techniques, said: “Winning this award for the third time is a great achievement for Vision Techniques and its 65 employees.

"For 29 years our focus has been to pioneer safety systems which reduce heavy vehicle accidents and ultimately save lives.

"We are the only company to win a prestigious CIWM Award both four times and three years in a row and it is something that every member of the Vision Techniques family has helped to achieve and should be very proud of.”

For more information about the VT IDent security system, please contact Vision Techniques on 01254 679 717 or via email at info@vision-techniques.com.