Why Investing in Driver Training Pays Off
This guide is designed for fleet supervisors, safety managers, and HR personnel who oversee commercial driver hiring or training under FMCSA regulations.
Background
The cost of recruiting, insuring, and replacing drivers is a growing concern for fleet providers, especially with worsening driver shortages and increasing expenses associated with crashes. High turnover and accident claims are substantive expenses that challenge organizations and significantly impact the bottom line. This paper explores how investing in CDL training, either in-house or through strategic partnerships, can yield significant fleet driver training savings and produce a measurable return on investment (ROI). This paper analyzes the CDL training ROI in four primary categories: cost-saving factors of accident reduction, fuel and maintenance savings, lower hiring costs, and insurance benefits awarded to safer fleets.
Why It Pays to Invest
- Fewer Accidents Equals Lower Liability
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) training programs, especially those focusing on defensive driving and hazard awareness, have reduced crash rates by up to 40%. With the average truck crash costing $91,000, avoiding just two crashes per year saves over $180,000 (and, potentially, lives).
- Fuel and Maintenance Savings
According to SmartWay’s EPA report, fuel-efficient driving techniques learned in CDL training can cut fuel usage by 5–10%, saving approximately $3,000 per truck annually. Better handling methods learned during CDL training programs also extend brake, tire, and engine life, which lowers maintenance costs.
- Reduced Driver Turnover
Turnover costs can exceed $9,000 per driver. High turnover and poor safety create a situation where companies must constantly replace drivers. This situation also directly impacts safety performance. Training programs, especially in-house ones with employment contracts and career ladders, boost retention. Greyhound, for instance, reduced turnover from 65% to 30%, saving millions in hiring and onboarding costs. In a case study of their success, Greyhound implemented new training and education processes: 40 self-directed courses that new hires could take on their own time virtually. These courses eliminated two weeks of classroom time and expenses. Quality training programs have been shown to build driver competence and confidence, improving safety and retention.
Reducing driver turnover through training directly translates to saved dollars. Fewer drivers quitting means fewer signing bonuses, fewer orientation classes, and less time and money spent recruiting replacements. Experienced, retained drivers are typically more productive (fewer mistakes, better time management) and less likely to be involved in incidents. Retention benefits don’t just save money through HR cost savings; the improved operational efficiency and safety make this investment well worth the cost of implementation.
- Insurance Discounts
Driver training is part of the Driver Fitness category of the company’s CSA Safety Score. Property/Casualty Insurers reward companies with solid safety records. A well-trained fleet can often receive 10 to 30% lower premiums. Over time, this can amount to six-figure annual savings for larger companies.
A Real-World Example
Greyhound revamped its CDL training and reduced turnover by more than half, from 65% to 30%. It also cut its training expenses by $2.3 million and improved new-driver safety by 20%. According to Lann (2017), with nearly 5,000 drivers on staff, the company was spending about $8.2 million per year on its operator hiring and training process, yet still struggling with a 65% turnover rate among drivers. Their investment in this in-house CDL training significantly minimized this expense by reducing turnover expenses.
Key Takeaways
The cost of CDL training vs benefits (cost-benefit analysis) overwhelmingly points toward investment in training being well worth the costs, particularly when considering improved safety, fuel efficiency, and HR savings. Driver training savings typically exceed annual training costs within 12–24 months.
Whether in-house or outsourced, training also helps reduce driver turnover through training initiatives and improved driver satisfaction. Organizational leaders should consider the multiple elements associated with driver training programs and the impacts explored in this paper as they relate to ROI.
How Driving-Tests.org Can Help You
Carefully reviewing the cost-benefit analysis of driver training will likely lead organizational leaders to invest. Incorporating Driving-Tests.org’s CDL Premium Corporate platform provides these advantageous features:
- Comprehensive CDL Test Preparation: Access to up-to-date practice tests and study materials aligned with FMCSA guidelines.
- Progress Tracking and Reporting: Easily track each driver’s progress and test results to streamline record-keeping.
- Multi-User Management: Add and remove drivers or training coordinators quickly; keep everyone accountable with assigned modules.
- Engaging Mobile-Friendly Content: Drivers can study on their own schedule, reducing classroom time and improving pass rates.
By integrating proven online learning tools with practical test preparation, your drivers will be well-equipped to pass their official knowledge tests in either an in-house or third-party school setting.
References
American Transportation Research Institute. (2022). An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2023 Update. Retrieved from https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/FMMO_NMPF_53A.pdf
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (2017). Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2017. U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved from https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/large-truck-and-bus-crash-facts-2017
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (2022). Training Provider Registry Requirements. U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved from https://tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov
Greyhound Lines, Inc. (2016). Greyhound: Driving Change in Driver Retention and Training [Case Study]. Retrieved from https://www.drivermetrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DM-A4-CaseStudy-Greyhound.pdf
Lann, D. (2017, February 8). Greyhound Case Study. Avatar Management Services. https://avatarms.com/greyhound-case-study/
National Private Truck Council. (2021). Annual Benchmarking Survey Results. Retrieved from https://www.nptc.org/gary-column/benchmarking-survey-report-2021/
SmartWay Transport Partnership. (2020). Fuel Savings and Emission Reductions Through Driver Training. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-03/documents/volprg_20100629smartway.pdf
Truckload Carriers Association. (2020). Driver Turnover and Retention Report. Retrieved from https://truckload.org/about-tpp/tpp-retention-project/
U.S. Department of Energy. (2015). Improving Fuel Economy in Heavy-Duty Vehicles Through Driver Training. Retrieved from https://www.energy.gov
Maintain rock-solid compliance.
Reduce administrative work and improve driver readiness. Flexible online CDL permit courses with built-in ELDT certification - trusted by 590+ fleets, schools, and public agencies.
Learn more
