Between the availability of public transit and ridesharing apps, Canada is seeing higher numbers of inexperienced drivers entering the workforce– bringing with them driver errors causing collisions, injuries, and damages.
To combat this problem, the driver training professionals at Fleet Safety International have developed a new Driver Coaching Program for Canadian businesses based on the Mentally Active SAFER System of Defensive Driving. The program empowers employees to internally evaluate and mentor their peers, allowing ongoing safety training for employees. In some cases, it can even include the bonus of a reduced insurance rate.
With over 40 years in the corporate driver training industry, Fleet Safety International’s educators have extensive experience with identifying and solving the needs of safety managers across Canada. Dr. Randy Flemmer, President of Fleet Safety International, explains a recent trend: “While most safety managers prefer to send their teams to complete in-person training frequently, in recent years many managers have been forced to switch to less frequent in-vehicle training.” He adds that the reduction in training frequency presents a safety issue when combined with an increasing number of inexperienced drivers.
Which direction should the industry take?
With this information, Dr. Flemmer and his team considered which direction the industry could be moving toward over the next decade. They decided to start developing an option for businesses to bring refresher training in-house, while continuing to maintain a high quality of coaching and driver evaluation that incorporates the SAFER System.
“Since businesses started to see the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen requests from our customer base to develop a supplemental program where they could provide effective coaching internally. The intention is to reduce the money and time spent sending employees for refresher training, without compromising safety in the workplace,” says Dr. Flemmer. “It’s all about balancing worker safety and cost management. As budgets and timelines become tighter, we cannot allow the safety of employees to slip. The needs of Canadian businesses are changing on an almost-constant basis, and as educators we need to provide a solution that fits for them today.”
With this subscription-based program, selected safety professionals inside the organization are trained by experts to become driver coaches and deliver the Fleet Safety International training materials to their fellow employees. Fleet Safety International will continue to provide coaching materials and guidance to the internal coaches to support them throughout the training and evaluation process.
To learn more about the Driver Coaching Program and see more information about Fleet Safety International’s online and in-vehicle driver training programs, go to fleetsafetyinternational.com/fsi-driver-coaching-program.
