📚 Guide by Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety — The Defensive Driving online course trains commercial drivers, oilfield trucking operators, and heavy vehicle operators on Alberta and Canadian regulatory requirements. Delivered by Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety Calgary. Same-day certificate.
🔗 Related Safety Mom courses & guides: H2S Alive Calgary · TDG Guide · Oil Sands Safety Certs · Instructor: Arliss Levine, CRSP, CHSC
DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE OVERVIEW
A powerful 2 to 3 hour short course designed for people on the go. This program is excellent for corporate drivers and features our World Renowned SAFER System of Defensive Driving.
DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE TOPICS
- Introduction
- Driver Competency Model
- SAFER System of Defensive Driving
- Most Common Collisions
- Following too close
- Backing
- Intersections
- Wildlife Collisions
- Fatigue
Advanced Driving
- Ditch Entry and Recovery
- Vision
- Emergency Braking
- Skid Control
- Collision Avoidance
- Complacency
Advanced Driving
DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE DURATION: Approximately 2 hours
DEFENSIVE DRIVING ASSESSMENT: Testing conducted throughout this online winter driving course is designed to reinforce the information presented. A mark of 80% must be achieved in order to receive a certificate of completion. Participants are able to repeat the course twice if the pass mark is not achieved.
DEFENSIVE DRIVING CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION: Upon successful completion of this online course, a certificate of completion will be available for download and printing.
ONLINE DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE PREVIEW
Additional Safety Knowledge
Commercial Driver Requirements in Alberta
Alberta commercial drivers require a Class 1, 2, or 3 licence depending on the vehicle. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations and Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act govern hours-of-service, vehicle inspection, and cargo securement. Drivers of vehicles over 4,500 kg gross combined weight rating are subject to National Safety Code (NSC) standards including electronic logging device (ELD) requirements as of January 2023.
Hours of Service Rules
Federal HOS regulations for interprovincial trucking allow a maximum of:
- 13 hours driving in a 14-hour work shift
- 70 hours on-duty in any 7 consecutive days (or 120 hours in 14 days with a 24-hour reset)
- Mandatory 8 consecutive hours off-duty after each shift
- Minimum 10 hours off-duty in a 24-hour period, at least 8 of which must be consecutive
Alberta intraprovincial drivers follow provincial HOS rules with similar structure. Log falsification is a serious violation that can result in licence suspension and carrier CVOR downgrades.
Pre-Trip Inspection Requirements
Under Schedule 1 of the National Safety Code, drivers must perform and record a pre-trip inspection at the start of each shift. Critical inspection items include air brake system (drivers of air-brake vehicles need a Q endorsement), tires, wheels and fasteners, coupling devices, cargo securement, lights, and emergency equipment. Defects are classified as major (out-of-service) or minor (repair required within a set timeframe).
Defensive Driving — Defensive Driving Fundamentals
Safe commercial driving is built on the Smith System 5 keys: aim high in steering (look 15 seconds ahead), get the big picture (scan all mirrors every 5–8 seconds), keep your eyes moving, leave yourself an out (maintain 4–6 second following distance for heavy vehicles), and make sure they see you (signals, headlights, horn where appropriate). Oil & gas drivers add H2S awareness, rough-terrain skills, and load-specific hazard knowledge to the base defensive framework.
Content reviewed by Arliss Levine, CRSP, CHSC — lead safety instructor at Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety Calgary, an Energy Safety Canada Authorized Training Provider.
