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RTMS toolkit

RTMS toolkit: the policies and registers you need

An RTMS manual is a handful of policies and a set of registers that prove them. Here is each one: why it exists, what it must contain, how often it is updated and which T-ERP record or report produces it.

Schedule a consultationSee the requirements they support

Policies and procedures

Registers and records

Training

How a small operator's manual is usually structured

  • Commitment: the road safety goals top management signs up to.
  • Standards: the standards you follow, including SANS 1395.
  • Responsibility: who monitors the commitments and what drivers are responsible for.
  • Transport safety processes: one short section per process (sites, vehicles, licensing, loading, risk, speed, fatigue, accidents, traffic offences, maintenance, vehicle and load safety, insurance, driver wellness, training, safety performance), each pointing to the policy or register below that puts it into practice.

The outlines on this page are original T-ERP guidance. They are not official RTMS documents and do not reproduce the standard.

RTMS toolkit

Policies and procedures

Short, signed documents that say how the business works. Auditors check that each one exists, that it covers what the standard expects and that the records show it is followed.

RTMS policy and road safety commitment

Support, documents and records

The front page of your manual: what the business commits to, which standard it follows and who is responsible.

What it must contain

  1. Road safety goals (roadworthy vehicles, no overloading, no unsafe vehicles in use, safe and defensive driving, a safety culture)
  2. The standards the business follows, including SANS 1395
  3. Responsibilities of owners, managers, the person who runs the RTMS and drivers
  4. Sites in scope
  5. Signature and date of top management, and the review date
How often
Review at least once a year and whenever ownership, scope or sites change.
In T-ERP
RTMS policies, objectives and targets are defined in T-ERP; the signed document is stored with version control.

Speed policy

Road safety

Sets how drivers comply with the speed that applies on each road and what happens when they do not.

What it must contain

  1. Why speed matters (stopping distance, crash severity)
  2. Rule: drivers keep to the posted road speed and the legal limit for the vehicle, whichever is lower
  3. Tolerance, if any: the extent (km/h over) and the duration (how long) allowed
  4. How speed is monitored (telematics, tachograph, spot checks) and who reviews it
  5. Consequence matrix: escalating actions by how far over and how often (counselling, written warning, final warning, hearing)
  6. Training on speed risks and how negative trends are corrected
How often
Review annually; update the consequence matrix if trends do not improve.
In T-ERP
Speed exceptions from telematics are listed per driver and vehicle so each one can be given a recorded action.

Fatigue management policy

Driver health and wellness

Sets the limits that keep drivers rested and how exceptions are handled.

What it must contain

  1. Maximum duty (shift) hours per day and per week, set by the business within applicable law and agreements
  2. Maximum continuous driving time before a break, and the minimum break
  3. Rest days and the minimum rest between shifts
  4. Night driving rules, if any
  5. Known constraints (border delays, few safe stopping areas, security risks) and how drivers manage them
  6. How exceptions are recorded and given a corrective action
  7. Driver education on sleep, the signs of fatigue and wellness
How often
Review annually and after any fatigue-related incident.
In T-ERP
Duty sessions in the mobile app record driving hours and rest, checked against the limits you configure, with fatigue alerts for managers.

Accident and incident investigation procedure

Road safety

What the driver does at the scene and how the business investigates afterwards.

What it must contain

  1. At the scene: stop safely, protect the area, help the injured if safe, call emergency services and the controller
  2. Information to collect: parties, vehicles, licences, time, place, road and weather conditions, photos and a sketch
  3. Reporting to the police as the law requires, and recording the case number
  4. Incident report and supporting documents (licence and PrDP copies, checklists, workshop reports)
  5. Classification: preventable or non-preventable, and severity (fatality, major injury, damage only, near miss)
  6. Root cause analysis, corrective actions with owners and due dates, and lessons shared with drivers
  7. Near miss reporting
How often
Review annually; every incident is entered in the register when it happens.
In T-ERP
Incidents are captured from the field with photos and witnesses, then investigated through root cause analysis to corrective actions and close-out.

Safe loading and off-loading procedure

Vehicle and load safety

How loads are kept within limits and secured from loading point to delivery.

What it must contain

  1. Loading method and the basis for the payload (weighbridge, unit mass, volume) per vehicle type or commodity
  2. What to do where you do not control loading (raising over- or underloading with the consignor)
  3. Securement method per type of goods, with the straps, lashings or equipment required
  4. Walk-around check and documents to collect before departure
  5. In transit: approved routes, authorised stopping areas, breakdown and spillage response
  6. Off-loading: safe position, when to stop off-loading, documents to hand over
How often
Review annually and when a new commodity, vehicle type or client is added.
In T-ERP
With weighbridge integration, payloads are linked to the trip and overloading is flagged before the vehicle leaves the yard.

Pre-trip inspection procedure

Vehicle and load safety

Makes sure no vehicle enters a public road with a safety defect.

What it must contain

  1. Who inspects and when (every vehicle, every day it is used, before the trip)
  2. The checklist to use and how to mark each item
  3. Reporting defects to the controller or supervisor
  4. Who decides whether the vehicle may move, be repaired on site or stay off the road
  5. Sign-off after repair before the vehicle departs
  6. Required details on every sheet (fleet number, registration, driver, trip, signatures) and where sheets are kept
How often
Review annually; checklists are completed daily.
In T-ERP
Drivers complete the pre-trip inspection in the Driver App before departure, with daily summaries of inspections and defects.

Substance abuse policy

Driver health and wellness

Keeps alcohol and drugs out of the cab and off the premises.

What it must contain

  1. Purpose and who it applies to (drivers, staff, visitors and drivers entering the site)
  2. Prohibition on possession and use, and the exception for prescribed medication
  3. Testing: when (for example reasonable suspicion, at medicals) and how
  4. Consequences and support
How often
Review annually.
In T-ERP
Medical and fitness records are kept on each driver in driver management.

RTMS toolkit

Registers and records

The day-to-day records that prove the policies work. Columns are suggestions: keep the ones that make sense for your operation, add your own, and keep every register current.

Fleet list (vehicle inventory)

Fleet inventory and loading control

Every vehicle and trailer in scope with the technical data needed to load it legally.

Columns

  • Fleet number
  • Registration number
  • VIN
  • Make
  • Model year
  • Vehicle type (truck tractor, rigid, trailer, bus)
  • Site
  • Owned or subcontracted
  • Tare
  • GVM or GCM
  • Maximum payload
  • Passenger capacity
  • Status (active, sold, off road)
  • Comments
How often
Update whenever a vehicle joins or leaves; confirm monthly.
In T-ERP
The vehicle register in fleet management holds the specifications and documents of every vehicle.

Vehicle licence and permit schedule

Fleet inventory and loading control

Keeps every licence disc, roadworthy certificate and permit valid.

Columns

  • Fleet number
  • Registration number
  • Licence expiry date
  • Roadworthy (COF) expiry date
  • Permit type
  • Permit expiry date
  • Renewal owner
  • Comments
How often
Check monthly; update on every renewal.
In T-ERP
Vehicle documents carry expiry dates, and expired documents show red on the compliance dashboard.

Proof that each trip stayed within its permissible mass or passenger limit.

Columns

  • Date
  • Trip or load reference
  • Vehicle registration
  • Driver
  • Goods
  • Verification method (weighbridge, unit mass, volume)
  • Mass loaded or passengers
  • Permissible mass
  • Overloaded (yes or no)
  • Evidence reference (ticket, delivery note)
How often
Every trip.
In T-ERP
Payloads captured through weighbridge integration are linked to the trip and listed in the Daily Load Compliance Register.

Monthly overloading report

Fleet inventory and loading control

Turns the trip mass records into a trend you can act on.

Columns

  • Month
  • Total trips
  • Trips overloaded
  • Overloading %
  • Average overload mass
  • Trips significantly underloaded
  • Main causes
  • Corrective actions
How often
Monthly.
In T-ERP
Monthly Overload Analysis and Monthly Load Weight Analysis reports.

Operational risk assessment

Road safety

The major ways your operation could harm other road users, and how each is controlled.

Columns

  • Hazard (for example overloading, unlicensed vehicles, speeding, unsafe vehicles, phone use, intoxication, fatigue, unsafe following distance)
  • Possible consequence
  • Likelihood
  • Severity
  • Risk rating
  • Existing controls
  • Additional actions
  • Owner
  • Review date
How often
Review annually and when operations, routes or vehicles change.
In T-ERP
Store the signed assessment as a controlled document in T-ERP; route-level risks are managed as route risk assessments.

Route risk assessment

Road safety

Tells drivers what to expect on a route and at each site.

Columns

  • Route and sites
  • Route hazards (crime hot spots, congestion, weather, road condition)
  • Authorised stopping areas
  • Site entry instructions
  • Site hazards
  • Site exit instructions
  • Return journey instructions
  • Special instructions (PPE, headlights, seatbelts)
  • Emergency contact numbers
  • Review date
  • Driver acknowledgement
How often
Before a new route is used, on a set review schedule and when drivers report new hazards.
In T-ERP
Route risk assessments score hazards, load restrictions and seasonal risks, and drivers acknowledge high-risk routes before departure.

Speed violation and trend register

Road safety

Shows that every speed violation was detected and dealt with.

Columns

  • Date and time
  • Driver
  • Vehicle registration
  • Road speed
  • Recorded speed
  • Duration
  • Violations by this driver in the period
  • Action taken (per consequence matrix)
  • Trend notes
How often
Weekly review of exceptions; monthly trend.
In T-ERP
Daily Speed and Telematics Exception Report.

Accident and incident register

Road safety

One list of every crash, incident and near miss with its cause and action.

Columns

  • Number
  • Date and time
  • Location
  • Vehicle registration
  • Driver
  • Description
  • Preventable or non-preventable
  • Severity (fatality, major injury, damage only, near miss)
  • Root cause
  • Corrective action
  • Status
How often
When each incident happens; summarise monthly.
In T-ERP
Incident management, with the Monthly Safety Summary report.

Traffic fine register

Road safety

Links every infringement notice to a driver, a cause and an action.

Columns

  • Number
  • Date
  • Notice number
  • Vehicle registration
  • Driver
  • Offence
  • Corrective action taken
  • Status
How often
When each notice arrives; trend monthly.
In T-ERP
Traffic offences are monitored per driver in driver management.

Public feedback register

Road safety

Records complaints and compliments from the public about your vehicles and drivers.

Columns

  • Date
  • Source and contact
  • Vehicle registration
  • Driver
  • Description
  • Investigation result
  • Action taken
  • Response date
How often
When feedback is received.
In T-ERP
Monthly Public Feedback report.

Vehicle maintenance schedule

Maintenance of roadworthy vehicles

Plans every service to the manufacturer interval and shows overruns.

Columns

  • Fleet number
  • Registration number
  • Vehicle type
  • Service interval (km)
  • Service interval (months)
  • Date of last service
  • Odometer at last service
  • Next service due (km and date)
  • Job card reference
  • Overrun (yes or no)
How often
One schedule per vehicle and trailer; update after every service.
In T-ERP
Service schedules and job cards in fleet maintenance, with the Monthly Maintenance Compliance report.

Tyre fitments and surveys, so tyre safety and cost can both be managed.

Columns

  • Fleet number
  • Registration number
  • Tyre position
  • Brand and size
  • Serial number
  • Date and odometer fitted
  • Reason for fitment
  • Pressure reading
  • Tread depth reading
  • Balancing or alignment done
  • Date removed and reason
How often
At every fitment; surveys at the frequency your tyre policy sets.
In T-ERP
Tyre management in fleet maintenance, with the Monthly Tyre Management report.

Finds repeat causes and shows how fast breakdowns on public roads are cleared.

Columns

  • Date and time
  • Vehicle registration
  • Driver
  • Location (public road or site)
  • Cause category
  • Time reported
  • Time assistance arrived
  • Time vehicle cleared
  • Repair or job card reference
  • Preventive action
How often
Every breakdown; analyse monthly.
In T-ERP
Breakdown repairs are handled as job cards in fleet maintenance.

Daily pre-trip checklist

Vehicle and load safety

The driver's daily record that the vehicle is fit for the road.

Columns

  • Date
  • Fleet number and registration
  • Driver
  • Odometer
  • Checklist items (fluids, leaks, tyres, wheel nuts, brakes, steering, lights, mirrors, windscreen and wipers, couplings, emergency equipment)
  • Pass or fail per item
  • Defects found
  • Supervisor decision
  • Repair sign-off
How often
Daily, before every trip.
In T-ERP
Pre-trip inspections in the Driver App, with the Daily Pre-Trip Inspection Summary and Daily Vehicle Fluid and Level Check Log.

Insurance schedule

Vehicle and load safety

Shows cover is current for the risks you carry.

Columns

  • Policy type (goods in transit, public liability, vehicle, environmental where relevant)
  • Insurer
  • Policy number
  • Cover amount
  • Start date
  • Expiry date
  • Vehicles or sites covered
How often
At every renewal.
In T-ERP
Quarterly Insurance and Liability Review report.

Driver medical schedule

Driver health and wellness

Keeps every driver's medical fitness evaluation current. Store medical detail confidentially.

Columns

  • Employee number
  • Surname
  • First name
  • Date of last medical
  • Fit for duty (yes, with conditions, no)
  • Chronic condition being managed (yes or no)
  • Next medical due
  • Comments
How often
Update after every medical; check due dates monthly.
In T-ERP
Medical fitness and chronic condition records in driver management.

Shift roster and driving hours record

Driver health and wellness

Planned shifts against the hours actually worked and driven.

Columns

  • Driver
  • Date
  • Planned shift
  • Duty start
  • Duty end
  • Driving hours
  • Breaks taken
  • Rest day (yes or no)
  • Exception and reason
  • Corrective action
How often
Daily.
In T-ERP
Duty sessions in the mobile app, with the Daily Driver Duty and Fatigue Log and Monthly Fatigue Compliance report.

Driver licence and PrDP schedule

Competency, training and awareness

Confirms every driver may legally drive the vehicle class they are given.

Columns

  • Surname
  • First name
  • Licence number
  • Licence code
  • Licence expiry date
  • PrDP category
  • PrDP expiry date
  • Comments
How often
Check monthly; update on every renewal.
In T-ERP
Credential tracking with expiry alerts, and the Monthly Driver Compliance report.

Training plan and register

Competency, training and awareness

What training is planned, who attended and when it is due again.

Columns

  • Driver or employee
  • Course or topic (defensive driving, fatigue, wellness, loading, securement)
  • Planned date
  • Date completed
  • Trainer or provider
  • Result or assessment
  • Reason (planned, refresher after incident, new starter)
  • Next due
How often
Plan annually; update after every session.
In T-ERP
Annual training plans and training records, with the Monthly Training Effectiveness report.

Corrective action register

Support, documents and records

One place for every non-conformance, from audits, incidents, fatigue exceptions and trends.

Columns

  • Number
  • Date raised
  • Source (audit, incident, speed, fatigue, overloading, complaint)
  • Description
  • Root cause
  • Action
  • Owner
  • Due date
  • Date closed
  • Effectiveness checked by
How often
Ongoing; review monthly.
In T-ERP
Corrective actions with owners and due dates escalate on the dashboard; Monthly Corrective Actions report.

Safety performance report

Performance evaluation

The monthly scorecard that feeds your quarterly KPI report and management review.

Columns

  • Month
  • Trips
  • Kilometres
  • Accidents and incidents
  • Speed violations
  • Traffic fines
  • Excessive shift or driving hours
  • Service overruns
  • Overloaded trips
  • Comments and actions
How often
Monthly, rolled up quarterly.
In T-ERP
Monthly RTMS Performance Dashboard and Quarterly RTMS KPI Report.

Your own check of every requirement area before the external auditor arrives.

Columns

  • Audit date
  • Auditor (independent of the work audited)
  • Requirement areas covered
  • Samples taken (vehicles, drivers, trips)
  • Findings
  • Corrective actions and owners
  • Close-out date
How often
Plan so every area is covered in each certification cycle.
In T-ERP
Internal audits are scheduled and run in T-ERP, with findings tracked to close-out.

Evidence that management looked at RTMS performance and decided what to do.

Columns

  • Date
  • Attendees
  • KPIs and trends reviewed
  • Audit results
  • Complaints and incidents
  • Decisions and actions
  • Owners and due dates
  • Improvement objectives
How often
At least quarterly, after the KPI figures are compiled.
In T-ERP
Monthly Management Review and Quarterly Continual Improvement Report.

Dispatch and access authorisation record

Consignor and consignee requirements

For consignors and consignees: the five checks on every vehicle leaving or entering the site.

Columns

  • Date and time
  • Direction (dispatch or access)
  • Vehicle registration
  • Transporter
  • Driver
  • On vehicle inventory (yes or no)
  • On driver listing (yes or no)
  • Mass and dimensions compliant (yes or no)
  • Pre-trip inspection done (yes or no)
  • Load secured (yes or no)
  • Authorised (yes or no)
  • Authorised by
How often
Every vehicle.
In T-ERP
Daily Dispatch and Access Authorisation Log and Monthly Cycle Time Analysis.

Transporter register and evaluation

Consignor and consignee requirements

For consignors and consignees: the transporters you use, their RTMS status and their annual evaluation.

Columns

  • Transporter
  • RTMS certified (yes or no)
  • Certificate expiry
  • Records held (fleet, licences, mass, speed, hours, incidents, drivers, medicals, training)
  • Annual evaluation date
  • Score
  • Actions
How often
Certificates checked on expiry; evaluation at least annually.
In T-ERP
Monthly Subcontractor Compliance and Quarterly Operator Performance Evaluation reports.

RTMS toolkit

Training

A simple in-house module that covers the basics and feeds your training register.

Defensive driving training module

Competency, training and awareness

A short in-house module you can run with drivers and record in the training register.

What it must contain

  1. Why defensive driving: anticipating the mistakes of others
  2. Following distance and space management
  3. Speed, stopping distance and road conditions
  4. Fatigue: causes, warning signs and what to do
  5. Pre-trip inspection and reporting defects
  6. Load securement basics
  7. What to do after a crash or breakdown
  8. Short assessment and attendance register
How often
Set a frequency in the training plan and add refreshers after incidents.
In T-ERP
Record attendance and results as training records against each driver.

RTMS toolkit

Inside the RTMS toolkit

FAQ

RTMS template questions

Does SANS 1395 prescribe RTMS forms or templates?

No. The standard does not prescribe a system, method or format, and paper or electronic records are both acceptable. These outlines are a practical starting point; what matters is that your records cover the requirement and are kept consistently.

What documents should an RTMS manual contain?

Typically a signed road safety or RTMS policy with responsibilities, a description of each transport safety process, policies for speed, fatigue, accident investigation, safe loading, pre-trip inspection and substance abuse, and registers such as the fleet list, licence schedule, trip mass record, overloading report, risk assessments, accident and traffic fine registers, maintenance schedule, tyre record, driver medical and licence schedules, training register and a safety performance report.

Can I copy these outlines into my own manual?

Yes. The outlines are written by T-ERP for operators to adapt. Set your own limits (speeds, hours, tolerances) within the law and your client requirements, have top management sign the policies and review them at least once a year.

Should limits like driving hours and speed tolerances come from a template?

No. Those limits depend on your operation, the applicable law and your client contracts. The policy outlines show where each limit belongs; the numbers are yours to set and justify to the auditor.

Sources

The requirement areas these documents support are summarised from the sources below. The document outlines and field lists themselves are T-ERP guidance; the standard does not prescribe formats.

  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.
    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.

  4. 4.
    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.

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

Registers that fill themselves in

In T-ERP most of these registers are produced from daily work: trips, inspections, duty sessions, job cards and incidents. See it in a 30-minute consultation. No obligation.

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