Why "short" doesn't work for driver training, and what you can do instead

Mark Murrell

September 5, 2023

Lately I've been seeing a few people promoting the idea that driver training needs to be kept very short - like 10 minutes or less - and making the case that drivers "don't want" or "can't handle" anything more than that.

I find that argument to be both misguided and somewhat patronizing to drivers. It strikes me as another place where people are accepting oft-repeated myths without really thinking about them. So, in the spirit of my previous column/rants (here, here, and here) I thought I'd take a deeper look into this, and explore what's really going on.

Here's why this line of thinking is inherently flawed, what's really going on when drivers say that, and what to do about it.

Training isn't different from other activities

The argument that drivers can't pay attention to training for extended periods doesn't make any sense to me. Drivers are expected to pay attention to the road for hours on end (up to 8 hrs without even taking a break, according to current HOS rules), and they certainly have no problem paying attention to sporting events, binging TV shows, and engaging in other long-form activities throughout the day or week. Yet somehow they can't spend an hour on training to improve their skills? That doesn't add up.

(It's also worth noting that online training is the only training where this "short-is-better" approach seems to exist. No one limits orientation or road training to 10-minute blocks, so why should online courses be so constrained?)

Training takes time

When someone suggests training should be limited to 10 minutes, the first thing I wonder is how they're going to teach a proper vehicle inspection process in that time. Or cargo securement. Or hours of service, weights and dimensions, or any number of other subjects that are complex and require time to fully understand.

The hazmat regs, as an example, specify a lot of content that must be covered to sufficiently address the subject, so there's no practical way to cover it in such a short time.

It's not really short

When I point that out to proponents of "short is best", they generally acknowledge the point and suggest that multiple short modules will be strung together to sufficiently address the topic.

So...NOT limiting it to a short period after all.

That makes sense, since my previous point noted that there's no real way to cover a subject properly in 10 minutes.

It breaks the flow of learning

However, in most cases, the modules DON'T get strung into a larger whole. They're just given out one at a time over an extended period. That means that this month drivers learn a bit about something, then next month they learn a bit more. That scattered approach dramatically limits the effectiveness of the content, since people don't have an opportunity to get into a learning space and spend any deep thinking time considering it.

It's not really training

If you do keep it short (and some suggest REALLY short modules in the range of 5 minutes), what you're providing is more like a "tip of the day". Those are great, and I absolutely recommend using them as part of a program to keep people thinking about the right things. But it's not training, and certainly not anything that can be called professional development for drivers.

Drivers aren't different from other professionals

I'm part of the camp that believe truck drivers are expert professionals, comparable to airline pilots, lawyers, and accountants. Those other professions devote consistent, regular effort to maintaining and improving their skills (beyond the day-to-day practice) and continued training is part of that. If we want the public to treat drivers like those other professions, then we need to treat them like professionals as well. Lawyers, accountants, and airline pilots would never suggest that a few short videos are sufficient for maintaining their qualifications, so why do we think it's fine for drivers?

It's dangerous for the fleet

No fleet ever wants to find themselves in court having to defend their operations against a plaintiff who's arguing the company prioritized profits over safety. If driver training is limited to basic scraps, doled out periodically in short segments, it's pretty hard to argue that the fleet takes safety seriously. As soon as the plaintiff's attorney sees a flimsy, cut-rate approach to driver training, their entire argument will be about how the fleet skimped on safety to save a buck. You've basically handed them their victory, and I can't see why anyone would want to make things easier for them.

It misses the point

If drivers are saying they don't want to spend an hour or two on training, they're not actually talking about the training. In those situations, something else is wrong, but if the underlying issues aren't addressed, then the fleet will never make progress improving its safety profile, operational efficiency, or workplace culture.

So, if "long training" isn't really the problem, then what is? And how do you address it?

Solving the real problem

If drivers say they want training to be short, what they're really saying is:

• I don't see how this relates to my job, so I want to get it over with
• This feels more like a chore than something that benefits me, so I want to get it over with
• I'm not being paid for my time, so I don't want to devote it to this
• I've got other pressures to deal with and this is just adding to them

Those are all very good reasons to want something to be over quickly, and if I was in their place, I'd want that too. However, those are all issues with how the company is organizing training and supporting driver development, not issues with the training itself.

The number one reason we see drivers not engaged in training is because fleets have presented it as some kind of chore or punishment, rather than an investment in their future. Fleets that focus on training as a way for drivers to grow and get better at their jobs, and support those efforts company-wide, don't have issues with people complaining about length.

The key to getting drivers on side is pretty simple:

• Involve them in the decision-making process about training - what's going to be covered when, and why you want to cover it
• Give them sufficient time to complete the training, and pay them for that time
• Follow up afterwards and discuss it, demonstrating that you take it seriously as well

When fleets want to expand their training programs, and do a deeper dive into content, there are always sound business reasons for that decision. If those reasons are communicated to drivers, they generally understand and support the decisions.

When fleets demonstrate that they're serious about investing in driver professional development, by paying them and providing sufficient time to complete the assignments (without pressure from Ops to get back on the road or make up the time in other ways), drivers feel supported. When they feel supported, they repay that support by committing their time and focusing on learning.

We've seen this over and over with our customers: drivers regularly request MORE training and spend their free time going through optional courses because they want to learn more and get better at their jobs.

I've seen the same thing with the data from Best Fleets to Drive For as well. Fleets that take the time to communicate with their drivers, bring them into decisions, and give them the space to do things the right way, always have better performance - their drivers are happier, they have better safety records, and their turnover drops as well.

On the topic of training, specifically, the data is unequivocal - more than 90% of drivers, every year for the past 15 years, say they value ongoing training and want more of it from their fleets.

The idea that drivers are inherently against training and therefore need it minimized is just not borne out by the data.

So the next time someone suggests that driver training needs to be short and only delivered in quick bites, look beneath the surface at how that training is being positioned. Get the messaging, communication, and company-wide support in place, and the complaints about course length will go away pretty fast.