By Dave Bean, Content Editor, FMW
January 10, 2024
The National Safety Council (NSC) has responded to a massive training inequity for those who drive fleet vehicles by introducing an online curriculum, designed specifically for those whose employment has them behind-the-wheel as part of their jobs.
“Many assume fleet drivers are well-trained, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case,” said Mark Chung, executive vice president of roadway practice at NSC. “At the National Safety Council, we follow the data, and the data are showing that workplace deaths are taking place on our roads at devastating rates, thus making this training truly essential—essential to saving lives and keeping workers safe on every jobsite, which includes America’s roadways.”
When tallying work-related fatalities every year, the main culprit is traffic accidents. Over 2000 people lost their lives in work-related vehicle crashes in 2022, according to data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure represents nearly 40% of all deaths that can be attributed to occurring on-the-job.
According to the NSC, a key factor in this tragic tally appears to be a lack of training among employees who do not possess a commercial driver’s license. This group of drivers may be driving vehicles that might not be typically considered part of a fleet – either company-issued cars for day use or even their own personal vehicles.
The NSC believes its new training program, Fleet Essentials, might be just the elixir that all employee drivers need to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to, literally, survive the workday.
Fleet Essentials is comprised of numerous online-based modules designed to educate and inform the more than 15 million American drivers who utilize a vehicle during work hours but may have a deficit in specific work-oriented operational instruction. This includes the two categories of employees who sustain the highest rate of road casualties: delivery drivers and salespeople. Neither group necessarily requires a commercial driver’s license.
The NSC Fleet Essential online curriculum incorporates classes for the following:
- Passenger vehicles
- Delivery vans
- Medium-duty trucks
The series of classes also focuses on the following facets:
- Vehicle dynamics
- Driving professionally
- Distracted driving awareness for employees who drive
For more information about the National Safety Council’s Fleet Essentials training program, click here.
The NSC is also offering a free webinar specifically about Fleet Management. To register, click here.
