Trucks play a large role in the economy by providing cheap transportation for products shipped to and from manufacturing facilities, warehouses and wholesalers. The trucking industry utilizes large vehicles that share the road with other motorists. The unsafe operation of these vehicles can put the truck operator and the motorists at risk. As a result, transportation safety becomes a serious concern and many trucking companies hire transportation safety managers to handle this danger.

Training

Transportation safety managers are responsible for making sure that the truck drivers follow all laws and regulations regarding truck transportation, such as Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. At Safway Services, managers are responsible for developing training programs designed to prepare truck drivers to be safe motorists. The transportation safety manager is responsible for writing reports that are intended to document whether the transportation safety programs are successful and to make recommendations about what kinds of changes can be made.

Administration

Many operations must be overseen by the transportation safety manager, according to Employment Trends. This manager oversees vehicle accident investigations and is also responsible for overseeing all record keeping that is performed after the investigation has come to a close. This manager is also responsible for approving all truck drivers by making sure that they all have safe driving records. According to Employment Trends, the transportation safety manager is responsible for conducting truck driver orientations.

Qualifications

A bachelor’s degree in safety management or administration is required to become a transportation safety manager and this manager also often must have several years of relevant experience, according to Employment Trends. The transportation safety manager must have fantastic interpersonal and communication skills. Organizational skills are also needed since the manager will often be overseeing various activities over the course of a given period.

Outlook

The need for truck transportation services is expected to grow by 11 percent from 2010 to 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. One of the reasons why the truck industry is growing is because an increasing number of products are being manufactured overseas. These products need to be transported from docks to warehouses, usually by trucks.

Benefits

Safety supervisors such as transportation safety managers earned $37,376 to $77,133 in 2010, according to Payscale.com. Entry-level safety supervisors sometimes earn as much as $56,994. Safety supervisors have a tendency to be paid the most by the federal government. The highest paid safety supervisors work in Illinois, Florida and New York.