Driver Safety Training

NEW Driver Safety Training Requirement:
Effective October 1, 2023, all undergraduate students operating university vehicles will be required to complete a driving safety course within the Ability LMS. The Driving Safety for University Vehicle Use course is a 21-minute video followed by an assessment, and is a one-time requirement. Furthermore, when a request for approval to use a university vehicle through Transportation Services is made in Concur, the department will now be required to confirm that the student’s driving record has been approved and the driving safety course has been taken. It is the responsibility of the department that authorizes the use of the vehicle to ensure these requirements are met.

While reviewing driving records for students who operate university-owned motor vehicles has been a long-standing practice, to further educate our students on the risks associated with driving and for the university to maintain reasonable insurance rates, this additional action is needed. The current process for requesting a motor vehicle record review will remain the same. An updated process which will include the ability to obtain records from all 50 states and U.S. territories will be announced later this  year. Students operate university-owned motor vehicles when they work for the university and driving is one of their assigned duties or when a department or college authorizes it for another purpose. Historically, MSU’s most serious accidents have involved student drivers. Questions on motor vehicle record reviews should be directed to The Office of Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) at riskmgmt@msu.edu.

Additional Driver Safety Training Opportunities:
MSU/RMI has also partnered with the National Safety Council to provide other driving safety courses within Ability. These courses are encouraged for everyone who may drive a university-owned vehicle, and include the following topics: Avoiding Aggressive Driving, Avoiding Fatigued Driving, Avoiding Fixed Objects, Avoiding Impaired Driving, Backing and Parking Lot Strategies, Intersections, Lane Management, Speed Management, and Weather and Road Conditions.

Ability LMS Information:
Driver safety training courses will not automatically be assigned to students in Ability. It is the responsibility of each department to provide the new required course link (https://bit.ly/MSU-0100-WBT) to their undergraduate students who will be driving MSU vehicles and ensure they have completed this course before driving the MSU vehicle. The undergraduate student can simply click the bit.ly link, login to the Ability system with their MSU NetID and password, and they can then launch the course. The course consists of watching a 21-minute video followed by completing a 10-question true/false assessment that requires a 100% score to pass (retakes are permitted). For training tracking purposes, supervisors have access to view staff training records in the Ability LMS.  The undergraduate student also has the option to save/print a certificate of completion in Ability once the training course has been completed, in which the student could be instructed to provide a copy to a designated person in the unit if that proof of completion if preferred.  It may be a possibility for others to gain access to view records in Ability in addition to the supervisor, but that would be a question for ORRS (orrs.train@msu.edu) for further guidance and granting system access. Whichever process is most efficient to ensure this requirement has been completed can be decided within each unit.

 

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