Practise, Practise, Practise: NSC Delivers Training Programmes For Fleet Drivers

Practise, Practise, Practise: NSC Delivers Training Programmes For Fleet Drivers

Despite an increased focus on safety training, not all fleet drivers have undergone such instruction. There are approximately 15.5 million active fleet drivers in the US who have not yet obtained a commercial driver's licence, and the National Safety Council (NSC) considers that a large proportion of these have not received adequate training. This could partially explain why the transportation and material moving industries had the highest fatality rate of all occupations in 2022. Specifically, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that over 2,000 people died from occupational transportation incidents in that year – representing 38% of all occupational fatalities.

To address this issue, the NSC has created Fleet Essentials, a package of short online courses to help educate drivers. Courses are broken down by vehicle type and topic: there are individual modules for passenger vehicles, delivery vans and medium-duty trucks, whilst programmes focused on specific topics include driving professionally, vehicle dynamics and the issue of distracted fleet drivers. The training programmes are short, ranging in length from 20 to 40 minutes. This captures the trend within EHS training of shifting from traditional lengthy programmes to more direct content that helps keep workers engaged, to help with knowledge retention.

Effective training programmes for vehicle drivers have several benefits for firms that go beyond reducing SIFs (serious injuries and fatalities). Safer drivers are less likely to suffer crashes and incidents, and therefore contribute to lower insurance costs, reduced vehicle downtime and smaller repair expenses. This helps businesses maintain their brand reputation, enjoy a reduction in medical costs and suffer minimal threats from legal settlements.

Several technological devices work in conjunction with these programmes to keep fleet drivers safe. These range from connected worker devices that offer location-tracking capabilities, to predictive data analytics that identify risky behaviour. Properly trained, and with the relevant digital tools at the helm, drivers will know how to conduct themselves appropriately, while firms will be able to identify risky situations early and instigate corrective workflows to maintain safety. To read more about fleet vehicle safety and technology, click here.