→ Fleet Resources → Driver Safety → Safety as a Shared Value: Insights from Jim Senter on Building Safer Fleets
In this episode of Roadrageous, we sit down with Jim Senter, CSP and Senior Regional EHS Manager at Kellanova. With 15+ years of experience in environmental health and safety, Jim has transformed fleet programs by reframing safety as a shared value instead of a shifting priority.
He shares how his team reduced preventable collisions, turned incident data into coaching opportunities, and leveraged AI dash cams to drive awareness without creating fear.
“Priorities change. Values don’t. Safety must be a value if you expect it to stick.”
Jim ensures that every sales meeting starts with safety—embedding it into culture instead of letting it fade behind sales priorities.
Incidents are reported, anonymized, and shared as lessons—ensuring that data drives team-wide improvement instead of punishment.
AI telematics and dash cams provide real-time self-correction (e.g., seatbelt alerts, rolling stops). Jim stresses that tech is additive, not a replacement for defensive driving awareness.
Distracted driving dominates headlines, but fatigue is just as dangerous. Jim advocates for cultural acceptance of rest—normalizing naps and safe schedules.
Programs are adapted by region and season (snow, floods, wildlife) and extended into employees’ families, reinforcing safety beyond the workplace.
“Mistakes are opportunities to coach, not reasons to discipline.”
Supportive coaching builds long-term engagement and reduces turnover.
As highlighted in Mitigation at the Edge, the key to success is closing the loop—moving from raw data to meaningful action.
Jim’s approach shows that when safety is framed as a value, it endures through changing business priorities. This cultural shift not only reduces collisions but also:
Jim Senter’s story underscores that safety isn’t compliance—it’s culture. By treating safety as a shared value, supporting drivers with coaching, and leveraging technology responsibly, fleets can create safer environments where people thrive.
When safety is woven into every meeting, every drive, every decision, it becomes second nature—ensuring drivers get home safe and bring that culture of care into their communities.
Website: improvlearning.com
Podcast Archive: Roadrageous Episodes
On LinkedIn:
In July, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) deployed 175 investigators across 40 states to review nearly 400 Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) providers. Investigators found issues including inadequate training ranges, unlicensed instructors, missing assessment records, and one provider using a school bus in a trailer as a classroom. While not all providers were fraudulent, […]
Sherry Calkins is a recognized leader in the fleet industry with nearly three decades of experience in government and private-sector fleet operations before moving into technology leadership at Geotab. Along the way, she has become a prominent voice in connected mobility, fleet data, AI, and strategic partnerships. She has served on industry boards and was […]
John Kearns is SVP of Safety & Risk at Alliant Insurance Services, known across the transportation industry as “The Liability Mechanic.” He spent nearly three decades working federal and state law enforcement, adult-based learning and training, and transportation risk before moving into insurance — a path that lets him read a fleet’s operation from the […]
In July, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) deployed 1...
Sherry Calkins is a recognized leader in the fleet industry with nearly thr...
John Kearns is SVP of Safety & Risk at Alliant Insurance Services, know...
Adam Lang is the Director of Customer Advisory Services at Netradyne. He sp...
Combining telematics, AI, and comedic behavioral coaching, IMPROVLearning t...
Learner Login
