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RTMS toolkit

SANS 1395 requirements, explained area by area

What each RTMS requirement area asks of an operator, what an auditor will ask to see, the evidence that answers it and the gaps that most often cause non-conformances.

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SANS 1395-1:2019 sets requirements for transport operators, then a separate set for consignors and consignees. It does not prescribe how you meet them: each organisation designs its own processes. What it does insist on is a defined process for every requirement and records that show the process is followed for every vehicle, trip and driver.

The requirement summaries below are paraphrased from public sources listed at the end of the page. The auditor questions, evidence lists and common gaps are T-ERP guidance drawn from how operators prepare for audits.

Management system

Sites and scope

Certification is per site. You decide which depots are in scope and show that each one, with its own fleet, meets the standard.

What the standard asks for

  • Compliance is demonstrated per site, together with the fleet that operates from it.
  • Keep a list of the sites under the RTMS with their contact details, address, fleet and activity.
  • You may choose which depots to certify; not every depot has to be included.

What auditors ask to see

  • Which sites are in scope?
  • Which vehicles and drivers belong to each site?

Evidence to keep

  • A site register with addresses, responsible managers and activities
  • A fleet list per site

Common gaps

  • Vehicles move between depots but the fleet list is not updated
  • A site is in scope on paper but nobody there runs the records

Vehicles, loads and road safety

Fleet inventory and loading control

A complete fleet inventory with technical data, valid licences and permits, a defined loading method and proof that every trip stayed within mass and dimension limits.

What the standard asks for

  • A fleet inventory of every vehicle in scope with its specifications, kept current as vehicles join or leave. Subcontractor and owner-driver vehicles may be included if every RTMS requirement is applied to them.
  • A process to keep vehicle registration, licences and (where required) permits valid.
  • A defined method for making sure vehicles do not exceed permissible mass, dimensions or passenger numbers. Weighing, loading by unit mass and loading by volume are all accepted ways of verifying it.
  • Records for every trip that confirm compliance, for example weighbridge tickets, delivery notes or load registers.
  • Periodic analysis of overloading and underloading trends, with corrective action where trends are not acceptable. Light goods that cannot overload a vehicle are an exception, if the load method explains why.
  • Abnormal load and mobile crane operators apply TRH 11 as appropriate.

What auditors ask to see

  • Show me the fleet inventory and the supporting licences and permits.
  • How do you know this load was within limits? Show me the record for a sampled trip.
  • What is your overloading percentage per month, and what did you do about it?

Evidence to keep

  • Fleet list with registration, VIN, make, model year, type and rated masses
  • Licence and permit schedule with expiry dates
  • Written loading method per vehicle type or commodity
  • Per-trip mass records linked to weighbridge tickets or delivery notes
  • Monthly overloading report with actions

Common gaps

  • The loading method is not written down, so the payload basis cannot be shown
  • Trip mass records exist for some trips only
  • Overloading is counted but never analysed or acted on
  • Licence discs lapse because nobody owns the renewal schedule

Vehicles, loads and road safety

Road safety

Assess the risks your operation poses to other road users, then manage speed, driving hours, shifts, crashes, traffic offences and public complaints.

What the standard asks for

  • A risk assessment of every part of the operation that can affect road user safety, with mitigating measures.
  • Provision for compliance with the relevant road speed. If a tolerance is allowed, both its extent and its duration must be stated (a blanket maximum speed does not meet the intent).
  • Provision for maximum daily and continuous driving hours for long haul, and for rest days and shift hours.
  • Structured investigation of crashes and incidents with corrective and preventive action.
  • Management of traffic offences and infringement notices, and of public feedback including complaints.
  • Monitoring of these factors and cumulative safety statistics to drive improvement.

What auditors ask to see

  • Are all speed violations detected, and is there consequence management for every one?
  • Show me an accident investigation with its root cause and the action taken.
  • Show me your traffic fine register and the trend.

Evidence to keep

  • Operational risk assessment and route risk assessments
  • Speed policy with tolerances and a consequence (escalation) matrix
  • Speed exception reports with the action taken per driver
  • Accident and incident register with investigations
  • Traffic fine register and public feedback register

Common gaps

  • Speed policy allows a single maximum speed regardless of the road limit
  • Telematics alerts are received but no action is recorded
  • Investigations stop at "driver error" with no root cause or follow-up
  • Fines are paid without being linked to a driver or an action

Vehicles, loads and road safety

Maintenance of roadworthy vehicles

Vehicles and trailers serviced to manufacturer intervals, proof that the schedule is followed, tyre management, and breakdowns recorded, analysed and responded to quickly.

What the standard asks for

  • Vehicles kept roadworthy at all times, with the resources to do so.
  • A service schedule for vehicles and trailing equipment based on the manufacturer (OEM) intervals, with evidence it is implemented and records (checklists, invoices, job cards) for each service.
  • Tyre management that at least analyses tyre pressure and tread depth on a representative sample of rolling wheels at a defined frequency, plus good practice such as matching wheel assemblies and a minimum tread depth policy.
  • A process to record and analyse breakdowns, especially on public roads, and an efficient response so that a broken-down vehicle is a risk to others for as short a time as possible.
  • For long haul, authorised stopping areas defined and communicated to drivers.
  • If you carry dangerous goods, provision for SANS 1518 and SANS 10231.

What auditors ask to see

  • Show me the service schedule for this vehicle and the job card for its last service.
  • How many services ran over their interval this quarter?
  • Show me your last tyre survey and your breakdown analysis.

Evidence to keep

  • Maintenance schedule per vehicle and trailer with interval, last service and next due
  • Job cards, checklists and invoices per service
  • Tyre survey records (pressure and tread) and fitment records
  • Breakdown register with causes and response times

Common gaps

  • Trailers are left off the service schedule
  • Services are done but the interval overrun is not tracked
  • Tyres are replaced without survey data or fitment records
  • Breakdowns are fixed but never analysed for repeat causes

Vehicles, loads and road safety

Vehicle and load safety

A daily roadworthiness check before every vehicle is used, loads secured for the goods carried, route risks communicated to drivers and the legal and insurance basics in place.

What the standard asks for

  • Vehicle and load safety verified at the loading site, in transit and at the off-loading site.
  • A daily basic roadworthiness check (pre-trip inspection) on every vehicle, with records, and a process that stops a vehicle with a safety defect from using a public road.
  • Load securement appropriate to the goods. The SANS 10187 series covers securement for general freight, metal, timber, loose bulk, containers, abnormal loads, dangerous goods and glass.
  • A way to communicate route risks to drivers.

What auditors ask to see

  • Show me the pre-trip inspection for this vehicle on this date.
  • What happens when a driver finds a defect?
  • How is this type of load secured, and who trained the people loading it?

Evidence to keep

  • Signed daily pre-trip checklists with defects and sign-off after repair
  • Safe loading and off-loading procedure per load type
  • Route risk briefings or acknowledgements
  • Legal compliance register and insurance schedule (good practice)

Common gaps

  • Pre-trip sheets are pre-ticked or missing for days the vehicle worked
  • Defects are reported but there is no record of the repair before the next trip
  • Securement method is not documented for each commodity

Drivers

Driver health and wellness

Medically fit drivers, active management of chronic conditions, a substance abuse process and a fatigue management plan built on shift schedules and monitored hours.

What the standard asks for

  • Drivers evaluated for medical fitness, with management of drivers who have chronic conditions.
  • A process to minimise driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
  • Shift schedules that keep working hours within accepted standards, and monitoring of actual on-duty and driving hours with corrective action on exceptions.
  • Initiatives on the causes, effects and symptoms of fatigue, and wellness awareness (sleep, nutrition, exercise, substance abuse, hygiene, chronic illness).
  • Where constraints such as border delays or a lack of safe stopping areas apply, the organisation must show how it manages fatigue despite them.

What auditors ask to see

  • Show me the medical fitness record for this driver.
  • How do you supervise drivers with chronic conditions?
  • Show me the shift roster and the driving hours for this driver last week.

Evidence to keep

  • Driver medical schedule with last and next medical dates
  • Substance abuse policy and test records
  • Fatigue management policy, shift rosters and driving-hour records
  • Wellness awareness attendance records

Common gaps

  • Medicals lapse because there is no schedule of due dates
  • Fatigue policy exists but actual hours are never compared with it
  • Exceptions (delays, client demands) are not documented with a corrective action

Drivers

Competency, training and awareness

Drivers hold the right licence and PrDP, are recruited for competence and receive planned training, with refreshers after incidents and records for all of it.

What the standard asks for

  • Every driver holds a valid driving licence and professional driving permit (PrDP) for the vehicle class driven.
  • Suitably qualified drivers are recruited and training is provided to everyone whose work affects RTMS outcomes.
  • Training topics are aligned to RTMS outcomes, with additional training after non-conformances, accidents or long absence.
  • Training records: qualifications, certificates, registers, assessments. Training does not have to be formal or classroom-based in every case.

What auditors ask to see

  • Show me the licence and PrDP for these sampled drivers.
  • Show me your training plan and the attendance register.

Evidence to keep

  • Driver licence and PrDP schedule with expiry dates
  • Annual training plan
  • Attendance registers and certificates

Common gaps

  • PrDPs expire without anyone noticing
  • Training happens but there is no register or plan
  • No refresher training after a driver is involved in an incident

Management system

Support, documents and records

Leadership provides resources and assigns responsibility, and the RTMS is written down with records that are identifiable, legible and traceable, on paper or electronically.

What the standard asks for

  • Resources for the RTMS (people, skills, infrastructure, technology) and roles and responsibilities defined and communicated.
  • Documented processes (policies, procedures, work instructions) and supporting records (checklists, registers, tracking reports).
  • Detection of non-conformances and corrective action.
  • The standard does not prescribe a system or software; paper and electronic records are both acceptable.

What auditors ask to see

  • Who is responsible for the RTMS?
  • Is there a process in place, and what records prove it is applied consistently?

Evidence to keep

  • Signed RTMS or road safety policy
  • Appointment of the person responsible for the RTMS
  • Document register
  • Corrective action register

Common gaps

  • Policies are written for the audit and never updated
  • Records are spread across files, inboxes and spreadsheets and cannot be found on the day

Management system

Performance evaluation

Define performance indicators, monitor them at least quarterly and act on negative trends. Certified operators also report quarterly figures.

What the standard asks for

  • Performance indicators that include the standard list: vehicles, trailers, trips, kilometres, crashes split into preventable and non-preventable, fatalities and major injuries, overloaded trips, service interval exceedances, drivers, drivers with chronic illnesses, and corrective actions for traffic infringements and speed violations.
  • Monitoring and analysis of the indicators, at least quarterly, with corrective action on negative trends.

What auditors ask to see

  • Show me your quarterly KPI figures for the last year.
  • This trend went the wrong way: what did you do about it?

Evidence to keep

  • Monthly safety performance report
  • Quarterly KPI report
  • Trend analysis with actions

Common gaps

  • Figures are compiled by hand the day before the deadline
  • Crashes are not classified as preventable or non-preventable
  • Negative trends have no recorded action

Management system

Internal audit, management review and continual improvement

Check your own system before the auditor does, have management review the results and show that you improve efficiency and road safety where the numbers say you should.

What the standard asks for

  • Internal audits of the RTMS, with results documented and reported to management.
  • Evidence that management reviews RTMS performance, especially the performance indicators, and takes action. Formal minutes are no longer required, but evidence of review and action is.
  • Analysis of performance indicators to improve efficiency, and initiatives to improve road safety where negative trends are noted.

What auditors ask to see

  • Show me your last internal audit and how the findings were closed.
  • Show me evidence that management reviewed the KPIs and what it decided.

Evidence to keep

  • Internal audit plan and reports
  • Findings with close-out evidence
  • Management review record with decisions and actions
  • Improvement objectives and progress

Common gaps

  • Internal audit is skipped in a busy year
  • Findings are raised but not closed
  • Management review happens informally with no evidence

Consignors and consignees

Consignor and consignee requirements

For organisations that send or receive goods: manage the transporters you use, control what leaves and enters your site, and keep cycle times short.

What the standard asks for

  • Keep valid certificates of RTMS-certified operators and act on any major or habitual non-compliance.
  • For non-certified operators, keep records covering their fleet, licences, permits, mass compliance, speed, shifts, driving hours, accidents, traffic notices, drivers, licences and PrDPs, medical fitness and training, with corrective action processes, and evaluate them at least annually.
  • Apply the full operator requirements to your own heavy vehicle fleet.
  • Load within mass and dimension limits, promote payload optimisation, secure loads properly and train loading staff.
  • Before dispatch and before site access, check that the vehicle is on the inventory, the driver is on the driver listing, mass and dimensions comply, a pre-trip inspection was done and the load is secured. Non-compliant vehicles are not authorised until corrected. Keep a record for every vehicle.
  • Monitor waiting time, entry, loading and exit times and reduce preventable delays.

What auditors ask to see

  • Show me the dispatch authorisation for this vehicle.
  • How do you evaluate the non-certified transporters you use?

Evidence to keep

  • Register of transporters with RTMS certificate expiry
  • Annual scorecards for non-certified operators
  • Dispatch and access authorisation records
  • Cycle time records

Common gaps

  • Gate checks are done but not recorded per vehicle
  • Non-certified transporters are used without any evaluation

RTMS toolkit

Inside the RTMS toolkit

FAQ

SANS 1395 requirements: questions

What are the main RTMS requirements?

For operators, SANS 1395-1 covers sites, the fleet inventory and loading control, road safety (risk, speed, driving hours, crashes, fines and complaints), maintenance of roadworthy vehicles, vehicle and load safety, driver health and wellness, training, support, documents and records, performance evaluation, internal audit, management review and continual improvement. Consignors and consignees have an additional section.

Does SANS 1395 tell me which system or forms to use?

No. The standard does not prescribe methods, software or formats, and paper and electronic records are both acceptable. You define your own processes and must show records that prove you apply them consistently.

How do auditors test the requirements?

The main (stage 2) audit draws random samples of vehicles, drivers and trips and checks that the records exist for each, for example a trip mass record, a pre-trip inspection, the driver licence and PrDP, the medical and the service history of the vehicle.

Do I have to analyse overloading if my loads are light?

Not if overloading is genuinely impossible. The 2019 revision allows operators carrying light or volume-limited goods to skip overloading trend analysis, provided the load assessment method explains why the vehicle cannot be overloaded.

What changed in the 2019 edition of SANS 1395?

The main change was that consignor and consignee requirements, previously in separate documents (ARP 067-2 and ARP 067-3), were brought into the standard. Several previously implied requirements were spelled out, such as speed tolerances, driving hours for long haul, breakdown analysis and response, and the split of crashes into preventable and non-preventable.

Sources

Requirements are paraphrased from the sources below; they are a summary, not the text of the standard. Buy SANS 1395-1 from SABS for the full requirements, and confirm details with your certification body.

  1. 1.
    SANS 1395-1:2019 Road transport management systems - Part 1: Requirements for operators, consignors and consignees - Goods and passengers - South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)

    The standard itself. Buy a copy from the SABS webstore or a regional SABS office; this toolkit summarises and does not reproduce it.

  2. 2.
    RTMS standard (SANS 1395) - RTMS South Africa

    The standard is published by SABS; summary of the requirement areas including consignor and consignee requirements. Accessed 29 October 2026.

  3. 3.
    Information update: SABS publish revised RTMS standard - SANS 1395:2019 - JC Auditors (2019, copy on file)

    Summary of the 2019 revision: speed tolerances, driving hours, tyre surveys, breakdown register and response, stopping areas, dangerous goods standards, the performance indicator list, management review and the consignor and consignee clause.

  4. 4.
    RTMS workshop presentation downloads (2017 to 2021) - RTMS South Africa

    Auditor and operator presentations, including "RTMS Measurement and Compliance" (eMalahleni, July 2019) on load assessment methods, load securement standards, speed consequence management and records. Accessed 29 October 2026.

  5. 5.
    RTMS brochure and FAQ (2021) - JC Auditors (SANAS-accredited RTMS certification body)

    Registration process, stage 1 and stage 2 audits, two certificates, annual surveillance audits, quarterly performance reports, depot selection, certification time frames. Accessed 29 October 2026.

This toolkit is general guidance from T-ERP Technologies, not legal advice or an official RTMS publication. T-ERP is not a certification body.

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