Why should you assess driver skills?

While transport operators have extensive information about their vehicles, obtaining information about their drivers’ skills profile is challenging. Internationally recognized assessments can fill the gap.

Bus and coach drivers are asked to do much more than drive. They have many responsibilities and are vital to ensuring safe, secure, comfortable, and efficient transport.

While defensive driving and adjusting to different road conditions are essential, bus and coach drivers must also ensure that passengers are comfortable, handle requests, and respond to onboard and traffic emergencies. Other skills include observing passengers when approaching and leaving stops and assisting people with disabilities.

These non-driving skills often account for more than the driving itself regarding service quality and efficiency. But they’re not captured by any onboard monitoring systems.

Driver assessment

The IRU RoadMasters Skills Profile Assessment for Passenger Transport provides a comprehensive analysis to evaluate drivers’ skills profiles.

The assessment, tailored to people’s mobility, is built around four key areas: customer service, safe vehicle operation, passenger emergencies, and vehicle emergencies.

The "customer service" and "passenger emergencies" sections of the assessment analyze how drivers manage different circumstances related to passenger inquiries and deal with unexpected situations such as emergencies.

The “vehicle operation” and “road emergencies” assessment sections examine whether drivers can drive safely and comfortably. They also assess how drivers adjust to different driving conditions, conduct proper safety checks, and identify and react to critical failures.

Talent management

The information obtained through the assessment is compiled in digital dashboards to help companies identify critical risks at the company, business unit, or driver level – and implement targeted actions and training in response.

As part of their talent management strategy, leading companies rely on evidence-based information to address performance gaps with targeted actions and recognize their workforce's professional excellence, significantly improving driver motivation and retention.

In addition to passenger transport, IRU RoadMasters provides skills profiling for goods transport, hydrocarbon transport, and eco-driving.

Source:
IRU