ISO 39001 — Road traffic safety management systems
ISO 39001 is the international standard for road traffic safety (RTS) management systems. Serbia has adopted it as SRPS ISO 39001:2016.
It is intended for organisations whose employees face most of their risk on the road — driving, loading, delivering or working in traffic.
Why it matters
Road traffic collisions are one of the biggest global problems for health and safety. ISO 39001 helps organisations identify and reduce the risks that affect road safety, improve the performance of their fleet and raise employees’ awareness of responsible behaviour on the road. It can bring practical benefits: fewer incidents, and lower costs and losses related to road traffic.
Who it is for
ISO 39001 is intended for all organisations that interact with the road traffic system — hauliers, logistics companies, municipal services, construction firms and public institutions. It is also useful for companies with company vehicles or drivers, because it helps reduce the risk of collisions and helps protect employees.
How it is implemented
- An analysis of the current state of road safety and identification of risks.
- Setting the road safety policy and objectives.
- Writing procedures for fleet management and on-the-road risks.
- Training employees and monitoring performance.
- The certification audit and continual improvement of the system.
What changes in daily work
- You know which road safety performance factors matter for you specifically — speed, driver fatigue, vehicle condition, route planning — and you measure them.
- Collisions and near misses are reported and investigated, rather than settled by word of mouth.
- Driving schedules allow for rest periods, not just the delivery deadline.
- Vehicle maintenance has a plan and records, so faults aren’t discovered on the road.
- Requirements for hauliers and subcontractors go into the contract.
Climate change in the organisation’s context
Since February 2024, ISO 39001 has had an amendment (ISO 39001:2012/Amd 1:2024), one of the climate amendments ISO made to its management system standards. It requires the organisation to determine whether climate change is a relevant issue, and adds a note that relevant interested parties can have requirements related to climate change.
This isn’t a separate system or new documentation. What is required is that the consideration takes place and can be seen — in the context analysis and in the management review.
How long implementation takes
Implementing ISO 39001 usually takes 30 to 90 days. Exactly how long depends on the size of the organisation, the number of employees and how much of the above is already in place. On your side, for small and medium-sized organisations it takes 2 to 5 hours a week in total, spread across several people — more on this in our frequently asked questions.
What affects the price
Three things affect the cost of implementation:
- the size of the organisation;
- the number of employees;
- the standard being implemented.
For ISO 39001, what weighs most is the number of vehicles and drivers, and whether transport is subcontracted. We can only give an exact price after you get in touch and we have a short conversation about the scope — without that, any figure would be guesswork, so we don’t give one here.
Frequently asked questions
Does ISO 39001 only apply to hauliers?
No. It applies to any organisation that takes part in or affects road traffic — including those that order transport, manage a fleet, deliver goods or whose employees drive for work.
Does it replace the obligations under road safety law?
No. The law applies regardless of the standard. ISO 39001 requires legal obligations to be listed and compliance with them to be evaluated periodically — so it builds on them rather than replacing them.
What are ‘RTS performance factors’?
Measurable factors that affect road safety outcomes: speed, seat belt use, vehicle condition, driver fatigue, route planning, training. The standard requires the organisation to choose the ones that matter to it and monitor them.
Can it be combined with ISO 45001?
Yes, and it is a natural pairing: for many organisations, road risk is the single largest occupational health and safety risk. The structure is the same, so the common parts are done once.
Does the standard require zero collisions?
No. It requires objectives to be set, performance to be monitored and results to be reviewed. A certificate doesn’t mean collisions won’t happen — it means there is a system designed to reduce them and learn from them.
General questions — cost and duration, who issues the certificate and how long it is valid — are covered in our frequently asked questions.
Related standards
- ISO 45001 — occupational health and safety; shares the structure, and road risk is often the largest part of the overall risk to employees.
- ISO 9001 — quality management systems; implemented together when delivery and deadlines are part of what you promise the customer.
- ISO 41001 — facility management, when the fleet falls under the same maintenance function.
How STANDARDISO can help
We guide you through the whole process — from assessing road risks and choosing performance factors, through the documentation and driver training, to the internal audit and preparation for the certification audit. The certificate is issued by an independent, accredited certification body. Everyone on our team works in English, and we can prepare your documentation in English, Serbian or both.