Delivery Driver Safety Course: Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Ready to drive: licence, insurance and fatigue

Before your shift, make sure your licence, your insurance and your body are all ready.

Your licence

You must hold a valid driver's licence for the vehicle you drive. In Alberta, for example, a Class 5 licence covers most cars, vans and 2-axle trucks. Bigger vehicles, or vehicles with air brakes, need other licence classes or endorsements. This course is background knowledge only. It does not replace driver training or licensing.

Your insurance

Tell your insurer how you use your vehicle. In B.C., ICBC has a delivery rate class for driving for delivery, such as food delivery apps. The pleasure class only allows delivery driving for up to 6 days in a calendar month. ICBC warns that the wrong rate class could leave you personally responsible for the cost of claims. Other provinces have their own rules, so ask your insurer.

Hours of service for larger trucks

The federal Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations cover trucks with a registered gross vehicle weight over 4,500 kg that are run by carriers operating beyond one province. South of latitude 60°N, a driver may not drive after 13 hours of driving or 14 hours on duty in a day, and must have at least 10 hours off duty in a day. Most cars and small vans are lighter, but fatigue is still a risk.

Fatigue and impairment

Fatigue slows your reaction time and hurts your judgement. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) says being awake for 17 hours is like a blood alcohol level of 0.05, and 21 hours is like 0.08. Adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a day. Driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs is a crime under the Criminal Code.

Lesson 2: Phones, GPS and staying focused

Apps, maps and calls pull your eyes and mind off the road. Every province limits phone use while driving. Two examples:

Province	Not allowed	Allowed
Ontario	Holding a phone or device at all, even when stopped at a red light; typing a route by hand	Hands-free use; touching a securely mounted phone only to make, answer or end a call
Alberta	Hand-held phones, texting and entering data into a GPS, even at red lights	A GPS fixed to the vehicle and set up before driving or used by voice; two-way radios when needed to stay in touch with an employer

In both provinces you may use a phone to call 911 in an emergency. Ontario asks you to pull off the road to a safe area to make the call.

Set up before you roll

Mount your phone and enter the next address before you start moving.
Pair your phone with the vehicle's Bluetooth or put it away out of sight.
Secure parcels, bags and loose items so they cannot slide or fall.
Eat and drink before you drive, not while driving.

Road Safety at Work, a B.C. program, reminds drivers that hands-free does not mean distraction-free. Ontario advises that you pull over and park somewhere safe before you use your device.

Winter driving

Transport Canada says that below 7°C, all-season and summer tires begin to lose traction. Winter tires give better grip on snow and ice. Leave more time between stops in bad weather.

Lesson 3: Stops, parking and backing up

Delivery drivers stop, park and reverse many times a day. Backing up is risky because you cannot see everything behind you, and children, pets and other people may walk into your path.

Backing up safely

Avoid backing when you can. Choose pull-through parking or a spot you can drive forward out of.
Get out and look at the area behind the vehicle for people, vehicles and objects.
Use a spotter if one is available, and agree on hand signals first.
Check all mirrors and the camera, then scan them again before you move.
Reverse slowly and pause often to check again.

Do not rely on a backup sensor or camera alone. They do not show the full picture.

Lesson 4: At the door: lifting, slips and dogs

Many delivery injuries happen away from the vehicle.

Lifting and carrying

CCOHS gives this advice for safe lifting:

Use equipment, such as a hand truck or dolly, whenever you can.
Get help from another worker for heavy or awkward loads.
Keep the load close to your body and centred.
Face the load and do not twist your spine. Turn with your feet.
Bend at the knees, keep your back straight and lift smoothly, not with a jerk.
Keep your path clear so you can see where you step.

Slips, trips and falls

Wear footwear suited to wet, icy or outdoor conditions. Walk at a pace that suits the surface and watch where you are going. Do not carry so many parcels that you cannot see the steps.

Steps and walkways can be slippery in rain, snow and ice. Slow down.

Dogs

Canada Post warns that any dog can bite, no matter how friendly, and that a delivery worker cannot know how a dog will react. So if a dog is loose, do not enter the yard. Stay calm, move away slowly and follow your company's procedure, such as reporting it and trying later.

Lesson 5: Working alone and personal safety

CCOHS says a person is working alone when they cannot be seen or heard by another person. Most delivery drivers work alone for much of their shift.

What the law expects

Some provinces have specific working-alone rules. In B.C., the OHS Regulation (sections 4.20.1 to 4.23) requires the employer to identify hazards and set a written procedure for checking on the worker, with a set time interval between checks and a check at the end of the shift. In Alberta, Part 28 of the OHS Code requires an effective way to communicate and regular contact.

A good check-in system

A main contact and a backup person who know your route and expected times
Check-ins by call, text or app at set times
A plan for what happens if you miss a check-in
A code word you can use to ask for help
A phone that is close by and charged

If you are robbed

Police robbery prevention advice is clear: co-operate and do not resist. Treat any weapon as real. Try to notice what the robber looks like and which way they go, but do not chase them. When it is safe, call 911 and then report to your employer.

Lesson 6: Collisions, injuries and your rights

After a collision

Under section 320.16 of the Criminal Code, a driver who knows they were in a collision with a person or another vehicle must stop, give their name and address, and offer help if anyone is hurt or seems to need it. Failing to do this without a reasonable excuse is a crime.

Stop in a safe place and turn on your hazard lights.
Call 911 if anyone is hurt or there is danger.
Give your name and address and exchange information.
Report the collision to your employer as soon as you can.

Your three rights

Across Canada, workers covered by occupational health and safety law have three basic rights:

The right to know about hazards and get training and supervision
The right to participate in health and safety, for example by reporting concerns
The right to refuse work that you believe would put you or others in danger

Report every injury, collision and near miss to your employer. Each province has its own workers' compensation board and reporting rules, so learn yours.