Posted by Fleet Safety
CALGARY, AB, April 19, 2022 – 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.
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 https://www.fleetsafetyinternational.com/fsi-driver-coaching-program/
About Fleet Safety International
FSI is Alberta’s leading supplier of online driver education and corporate in-vehicle training. For over 40 years we have set a standard for excellence that other driver training organizations follow. Based in Calgary, Canada, our team has developed a variety of online driving courses based on the SAFER™ System of Defensive Driving for learners across Canada and into the USA, most notably the popular Online Novice Driver Training program. We were the first Alberta company to offer an Alberta Government-approved online 3 demerit reduction Defensive Driving program. Serving individuals and businesses alike, our experienced team of educators is ready to provide customers with the training required for a lifetime of safe driving.
About the Mentally Active SAFER™ System
The SAFER™ System is a program designed by Dr. R.H. Flemmer specifically to meet the needs of corporations throughout the world. It is not only a Strategic Based system but is also a Behaviour Based system that incorporates the knowledge that regardless of anyone’s driving skills, some days we are better drivers than others.
While driving, individuals constantly shift through three levels of awareness. Ideally, we would like all drivers to stay in the middle, in a Mentally Active/Proactive state of awareness. However, this is not realistically possible. The SAFER™ System is designed to acknowledge this and to help drivers identify when they have drifted away from the center, then provides strategies to move them back to the center towards Mentally Active/Proactive driver awareness.