Building a Safer Fleet Starts with Building a Better Workplace

Published on August 19, 2026

If you ask a group of fleet leaders what makes a strong safety program, you'll likely hear answers related to how they manage driver training, new technologies, compliance, telematics and driver coaching.

While each of these areas certainly helps reinforce specific safety initiatives or goals, establishing an industry-best safety program goes beyond executing the X’s and O’s. During a session at the 2026 Best Fleets to Drive For® Education & Awards Conference, two leaders from Best Fleets Hall of Fame carriers challenged attendees to think bigger.

Rick Schmidt, Senior Director of HR and Safety at Nussbaum Transportation, and Michael Frolick, Director of Safety and Compliance at TransPro Freight Systems, shared a common message: safety isn't something that exists separately from company culture. Instead, it reflects the culture drivers experience every day.

The fleets with the strongest safety records don't just rely on their safety and compliance department to build better safety programs. They take a more comprehensive approach by building a workplace culture where communication, trust, collaboration and accountability naturally encourage safer decisions.

Safety Starts with Trust, Not Enforcement

Every fleet needs policies, procedures and regulatory compliance. Those are the foundation of any safety program. But policies and safety initiatives alone don't influence behavior.

Drivers are much more likely to speak up about a near accident, ask questions about what they experience on the road, or accept coaching when they trust the people delivering the message. That trust isn't built during orientation or through a quarterly safety meeting. It's earned through consistent interactions with leaders across the organization.

Schmidt shared that when new drivers join Nussbaum, they meet with several members of the leadership team before sitting down with the safety department. By the time safety conversations begin, drivers have already experienced the company's values on safety through the people they've met from the top, down.

Every initial interaction can shape how drivers view the organization and its priorities. When leaders demonstrate respect, transparency and genuine concern for drivers, conversations about safety can be collaborative rather than confrontational.

Every Department Contributes to Safety Culture

Fleet safety is and should be every carrier’s top priority. Every department should embrace that mentality, not just those responsible for managing safety and compliance on a daily basis.

“Operations has to be involved,” said Frolick. “Safety can’t operate in isolation.” To that end, Transpro has created a “fleet support system” that brings in operations to support communication and solve driver issues quickly.

Drivers don't separate their experiences into operations, maintenance, dispatch and safety. They experience the company as a whole and can sense its priorities. If dispatch pressures a driver to rush on route, if maintenance communication is inconsistent or if departments operate independently, drivers receive mixed messages about what the organization truly values. The best fleets in the industry work to eliminate those disconnects.

At Nussbaum, Schmidt described how new safety employees spend time learning the operational side of the business, while operations personnel receive education on safety principles. That cross-functional understanding helps departments work together rather than viewing issues through separate lenses. Instead of asking which department owns a problem, successful fleets focus on solving it together. When employees across the organization reinforce the same priorities, that creates a more consistent and connected experience for drivers.

Coaching Works Best When Culture Comes First

Technology has drastically transformed fleet safety. Cameras, telematics and predictive analytics provide plenty of insights into driver behavior. But accessing that information is all for naught if you don’t know how to work with drivers to address risky behavior thoughtfully. Driver coaching remains one of the most powerful ways fleets can influence safe driving practices, but it’s most effective when drivers believe coaching is intended to help them succeed. And that requires mutual respect.

Rather than approaching every event as a disciplinary issue, effective coaches seek to understand what happened and why. They recognize that every driver learns differently and that coaching should be tailored to the individual, not delivered as a one-size-fits-all process.

Both Schmidt and Frolick believe that it’s important to create opportunities for drivers to evaluate programs and provide feedback to leaders so they can take that into account when making decisions to improve the organization. When drivers know their opinions matter, they're more receptive to coaching and more engaged in the company's safety efforts.

Communication Reinforces Culture Every Day

Strong workplace cultures don't develop through mission statements; they are built through daily communication. Every conversation between a dispatcher and driver, every coaching discussion, every maintenance update and every leadership decision reinforces what the company stands for.

When departments communicate openly and share information, they create alignment that drivers can see and trust. What’s equally important is the ability to listen to drivers and their concerns. Driver surveys, one-on-one conversations, ride-alongs and informal discussions all provide valuable insight into what's happening on the road. While technology can identify trends, drivers often provide the context that helps fleets understand why those trends exist. Organizations that consistently seek and act on driver feedback strengthen both workplace culture and safety performance.

Building a Better, Safer Fleet

There's no single program or policy that creates an award-winning culture or an exceptional safety record. Every fleet has different drivers, different operations and different challenges. But the most successful organizations recognize that safety isn't something a single department owns, it's something the entire organization helps create. When drivers trust their leaders, departments work together and communication flows throughout the organization, safety becomes more than a compliance objective. It becomes part of the company's culture.