Construction workers could be the safest drivers on the roads, according to an Aviva Car Insurance analysis of data from its telematics app for smartphones.

The Aviva Drive app uses the phone's own technology to measure the car's speed, plus the smoothness of acceleration, braking and steering inputs, to create an overall score, and it's builders who have come out top in the latest figures.

Almost seven in 10 (68.5%) construction workers who used the app for more than 200 miles achieved more than 7.1 out of 10, beating staff nurses into second place, 67.6% of whom scored 7.1 or more.

The insurer says that anyone achieving scores in this range can earn a discount off their premium, claiming that 44% could save an average of £150 each excluding optional extras like breakdown cover.

Other strong performers in the survey, which excluded 'driving professions', were operations managers, social workers and soldiers.

However, no telematics system currently in use can monitor poor indicator use, bad parking, undue hesitation, dawdling or a host of other potentially dangerous acts, so these results should not be seen as a reliable indicator of overall safety.

Adam Beckett, propositions director for Aviva, said: 'The Aviva Drive app is designed to record how safely people drive to produce an individual score for that person.

'There are lots of factors which affect how safely a person drives and we're not saying that everyone in a certain profession drives in a particular way, but it's interesting to see that some occupations score particularly well.

'We'd encourage all drivers to give the app challenge a go to find out how they fare. They could even find they could save money on their Aviva car insurance too, so it's well worth a go!'

To download the app from the AppStore or Google Play visit www.aviva.co.uk/drive