ISO 39001 Road Traffic Safety Management System Certification

ISO 39001 specifies requirements for a road traffic safety management system: the way an organisation that operates vehicles or generates road traffic reduces death and serious injury arising from it. Certification is independent confirmation that road risk is managed as a system — targets, controls and review — rather than left to individual drivers, which matters wherever an organisation's work puts vehicles on the road.

Why Norwegian organisations certify

Organisations with large fleets — logistics, oil and gas, construction, public transport and delivery — carry real exposure to road incidents, in human, operational and reputational terms, and road safety is a stated national priority in the UAE. ISO 39001 gives these organisations a recognised framework to demonstrate that occupational road risk is managed deliberately, and it increasingly appears in the HSE requirements that clients and authorities place on contractors whose work involves significant driving.

What the standard requires

• Road safety risk assessmentIdentifying the road traffic risks the organisation creates or is exposed to, and treating them proportionately.
• RTS policy and targetsA stated position on road safety with measurable objectives aligned to reducing death and serious injury.
• Performance factorsManaging the factors the standard identifies — speed, vehicle condition, driver fitness, journey planning and route.
• Fleet and vehicle managementEnsuring vehicles are suitable, maintained and equipped for the risk.
• Driver competence and fitnessSelection, training, and management of the people who drive on the organisation's behalf.
• Journey and route managementPlanning that reduces exposure — distance, timing, fatigue and route choice.
• Incident investigationInvestigating road incidents to cause and acting to prevent recurrence.
• Performance monitoringMeasuring road safety performance against the targets and reviewing it.

Who needs it

Any organisation whose activities put vehicles on the road at scale — transport and logistics operators, fleet-based service companies, construction and energy contractors, and public bodies responsible for road users. The standard applies whether the organisation owns the vehicles, employs the drivers or simply generates the traffic, and is designed to work alongside occupational health and safety management.

The certification process

Stage 1 reviews your road traffic safety documentation, confirms the scope of operations covered, and establishes readiness, raising gaps early enough to close them. Stage 2 assesses implementation: whether the risk assessment reflects the actual driving the organisation does, whether the performance factors are managed as documented, whether driver and vehicle controls operate, and whether incidents are investigated and acted upon. The certificate is valid three years, with surveillance audits in each intervening year and full recertification before expiry.

Working with other standards

ISO 39001 shares its high-level structure with ISO 45001 and ISO 9001, and road traffic safety is in practice a part of occupational health and safety for any organisation whose people drive for work. Integrated auditing covers the common clauses once rather than repeatedly, and the road risk assessment frequently sits within the same safety management the organisation already operates under ISO 45001.

What you receive

• Stage 1 report identifying readiness gaps before the main audit
• Stage 2 audit report with findings supported by objective evidence
• Non-conformities classified by severity with defined response timescales
• Certificate of registration stating your certified scope and operations
• Certification mark for use under our mark and seal policy
• Annual surveillance audits and reports through the cycle