How To Become Fleet Safety Certified

As a fleet manager, you need to go above and beyond to ensure that your drivers and vehicles are safe. An accident can lead to serious injuries and significantly disrupt your business’ operations, and even land you in legal trouble if you’re not adhering to fleet compliance and vehicle tracking laws.

One of the best ways to take your safety training to the next level is to get fleet safety certified. A fleet safety certification course will teach you how to establish a fleet driver training program, how to investigate accidents, and more. It’s valuable training for every fleet manager.

In this guide, we’ll explain what fleet safety certification means and how to become fleet safety certified.

What Is Fleet Safety Certified?

Being fleet safety certified means that an individual has successfully gone through a fleet safety training course. These courses are typically designed for fleet managers and cover topics like:

• How to create and enforce safety policies for your company’s fleet
• How to build your own fleet driver training program
• How to maintain fleet compliance with Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations
• How to respond to and investigate accidents and vehicle breakdowns
• How to use technology and software to improve fleet safety

Several organizations offer fleet safety training certifications, including OSHAcademy, the National Association of Fleet Administrators, and the National Traffic Safety Institute. There are no national standards to become fleet safety certified, so courses from different organizations include slightly different content.

Fleet safety certification courses are designed for anyone who oversees commercial fleet drivers and vehicles, including fleet managers, fleet safety officers, and fleet trainers. Many fleet safety courses assume that trainees have several years’ experience in fleet management, although most courses don’t require experience to sign up.

Fleet safety certification isn’t required by the DOT or any state agencies. However, some companies may require fleet managers to have a fleet safety certification to qualify for certain jobs.

The Benefits of Being Fleet Safety Certified

Earning a fleet safety certification has several important benefits.

First, knowing how to develop effective safety policies can reduce the risk of accidents within your fleet. That’s important because it means you could reduce workplace injuries and slash your fleet management costs.

Becoming fleet safety certified can also help you establish a high-quality driver safety training program at your company. These programs further reduce the risk of accidents, which is good for drivers and your business. Businesses that offer driver training programs also benefit from increased employee retention among fleet drivers.

Another benefit of taking a fleet safety certification course is that it can teach you how to manage fleet compliance requirements. Falling out of compliance with DOT regulations can not only make your fleet less safe but also lead to hefty fines and business disruptions. Becoming fleet safety certified ensures you never miss compliance requirements.

Fleet Safety Certification vs Fleet Driver Training

Fleet safety certification courses and fleet driver training programs are designed for two different audiences.

Fleet safety certification courses are aimed at fleet managers, fleet safety officers, and fleet trainers. These courses teach managers how to improve safety across their entire fleet and create policies that reinforce safety.

Fleet driver training programs, on the other hand, are aimed at drivers. These programs are often taught by fleet managers who are fleet safety certified. Fleet driver training programs cover topics like how to drive defensively, how to inspect vehicles, and how to avoid distractions while driving.

How to Become Fleet Safety Certified

To become fleet safety certified, you must successfully complete a fleet safety certification course. Depending on the course you choose, you may need to pass one or more tests to achieve certification.

Fleet safety certification courses can be online or in-person.

5 Common Fleet Safety Certifications

Let’s take a look at five of the most popular fleet safety certification courses and what they offer.

1. National Association of Fleet Administrators

The National Association of Fleet Administrators offers a Certified Automotive Fleet Manager certification that includes eight different modules:

• Risk management
• Business management
• Asset management
• Professional development
• Financial management
• Maintenance management
• Information management
• Vehicle fuel management

To achieve the certificate, you must complete all eight modules within a three-year period. In total, the course represents more than 160 hours of training. It’s one of the most comprehensive training programs available to fleet managers.

If you want to focus on a specific module rather than take the entire course, you can also get a certification in any one of the eight program topics.

2. DriveSafe

DriveSafe’s fleet safety course is a brief, hour-long course that covers basic policies fleet managers can put in place to reduce the risk of accidents. It explains:

• How to eliminate common distractions while driving
• How to prevent driver fatigue
• How to encourage defensive driving

This certification is a good starting point if you’re thinking about creating your own fleet driver training program. It’s also relatively inexpensive.

3. OSHAcademy

OSHAcademy’s fleet safety course is a comprehensive course that covers how to establish policies for your fleet, how to train drivers, how to respond to accidents, and more. It also provides training on how to establish hiring standards for your company and how to hire safety-conscious drivers.

The course includes a final exam that you must pass to achieve certification. The course is entirely online and takes around five hours.

4. National Safety Council

The National Safety Council offers online and in-person defensive driving courses that are tailored to each state’s rules of the road. The courses explain how to reduce the risk of accidents and traffic violations as well as how to minimize liability when something goes wrong.

This training is suitable for drivers as well as fleet managers. Fleet managers who take a course can incorporate what they learn into their own driver training program.

5. National Traffic Safety Institute

The National Traffic Safety Institute offers a combination of on-site and online training tailored to the needs of your fleet. You can get access to fleet trainers who will ride along with you or your drivers and offer actionable safe driving tips.

The organization has several certification programs, including the Safer Driver Challenge. This is a comprehensive course that focuses on defensive driving techniques and developing policies for fleet safety. There are also courses focused on developing policies for high-profile vehicles, utility vehicles, and safe driving in inclement weather.