Driver coaching in the Samsara dashboard provides a structured way to address risky driving behaviors, such as harsh braking, idling, or Hours of Service (HOS) violations, and help prevent future incidents. Safety events can be sent to Coaching directly from the Samsara dashboard to connect detected behaviors with guided training, performance tracking, and measurable improvement across the fleet.
To streamline coaching activities, you can share safety events directly with drivers for self-review or send events to the Coaching Workflow for manager-led sessions. Manager-led coaching supports reporting and accountability in Coaching reports, while self-coached events bypass the Coaching workflow and are tracked in the Event Resolution Report.
Users with the Full Admin or Safety Coach role can perform all coaching activities. For custom roles, specific permissions are required to manage events and sessions in the Coaching workflow. The following permissions determine which users can view, assign, and manage coaching sessions:
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Accessing the Coaching page: Requires Safety > Edit Coaching permissions or equivalent. Users with this permission can view coaching sessions, start new sessions, and mark behaviors as coached.
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Sending events to Coaching: Requires Safety > Edit Coaching and Safety > Edit Inbox & Report permissions. These permissions allow users to send events from the Safety Inbox to Coaching for manager-led sessions and assign coaches to those sessions.
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Sharing events with drivers: Requires Safety > Share Safety Events permissions and the dependent permissions Safety > Edit Coaching, Safety > Edit Inbox & Report, and Essentials > View Drivers. These permissions enable users to share events for driver self-review in the Driver App or Driver Portal.
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Assigning coaches: Coaches with Safety Event Access – Coach permissions for a driver’s tag can be assigned to sessions and complete coaching activities for those drivers.
For the event to display in Coaching (Safety () > Coaching), a driver must first be assigned to the event either by administrator or driver manual assignment. Safety events can also be assigned to a driver by automatic assignment, such as facial recognition or API.
The following event types can be sent to Coaching:
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Safety Events: Send safety-related incidents, such as harsh braking or speeding, from the Safety Inbox to Coaching.
Tip
By default, events must be sent manually to Coaching after they are detected. To streamline this process for commonly used or recurring behaviors such as harsh braking or speeding, use an automated coaching workflow when events of selected behavior types have an assigned driver.
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HOS Violation Events: Send HOS violations from the Hours of Service Violations Report to Coaching to reinforce compliance with driving-hour regulations.
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Idling Events: Send idling events from the Idling Report to Coaching to coach drivers on idle time and fuel efficiency.
Before completing a session, a coach must be assigned to the session. The coach assignment options vary depending on the phase of the behavior in the coaching flow:
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Before Coaching: From the Safety Inbox, an admin or manager can select a coach when sending an event to Coaching. If no coach is selected, an Unassigned coach session is created for the driver when the event enters the Coaching workflow. If Automatic Coach Assignment is enabled in the Coaching Settings, the system automatically assigns the most recent coach associated with the driver or tag when an event is sent to Coaching.
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During Coaching: After a session is created and displays in the Upcoming Coaching report, a coach can be assigned manually or automatically. An admin or manager can edit the assigned coach directly from the session in the Upcoming Coaching report, or coaching automations can assign coaches automatically when events are routed to Coaching based on driver tag or role permissions.
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At Completion: If a session remains unassigned, the coach who completes the session is assigned automatically. When a coach marks behaviors as coached in an unassigned session, that coach becomes the assigned coach for those behaviors.
After an event is detected, assigned to a driver, and sent to Coaching, the driver and the behavior to coach display on the Upcoming report (Safety () > Coaching > Upcoming). This view provides the foundation for managing all active coaching sessions—from identifying which drivers need review to assigning coaches and completing sessions. Only events with assigned drivers populate in the Coaching reports.
Use the Upcoming report to identify drivers who have been flagged for coaching but have not yet completed a session (indicated with a Needs Coaching status). You can filter the report by Behavior Type, Tags, Coach, or Date Range to focus on specific drivers or sessions. Each row displays summary information for a single driver, including the following details:
|
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Driver |
The driver’s name |
|
Safety Score |
The driver’s safety score calculated over the past 30 days |
|
Behaviors To Coach |
The behavior categories to coach. For repeat events, the number of detected safety events displays next to the behavior category. |
|
Last Coached |
The date of the driver’s most recent coaching session |
|
Assigned Coach |
The coach currently linked to the driver |
To complete a coaching session, use the following workflow:
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Go to Safety (
) > Coaching > Upcoming.
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Locate the driver that requires coaching.
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Assign a coach if one is not listed.
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Select Coach to start the coaching session.
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Review the flagged behaviors, related video, and any notes.
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Coach the event on the behavior.
The specific coaching workflow depends on the event type:
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Safety events: Use behavior-based coaching to address driving behaviors identified through the Safety Inbox.
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HOS violations: Coach drivers to reinforce compliance with driving-hour regulations.
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Idling events: Coach drivers on idle time and fuel efficiency.
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When finished, complete the session.
The coach and driver can optionally sign the summary to confirm completion and accuracy.
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View the completed session report.
To review a record of completed coaching sessions for audit, follow-up, and performance review, use the Completed report (Safety () > Coaching > Completed). The report provides all sessions completed using the Coaching workflow as a session. Other coaching events, such as in-progress coaching and events marked Coached without using the Coaching workflow, do not populate in this report.
Each row displays summary information for a completed session, including the following details:
|
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Date Completed |
When the coaching session was marked complete |
|
Driver |
The driver’s name (blank if no driver was assigned) |
|
Behaviors Coached |
The behaviors addressed during the session |
|
Completed By |
The coach who marked the session complete and the session type (Self-Coaching or With Manager). |
Review or Schedule a Report coaching reports to evaluate program effectiveness and timeliness across your organization:
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The Coaching Effectiveness Report reviews how often coached behaviors repeat over time to assess the impact of coaching and identify areas that may require additional attention.
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The Coaching Timeliness Report monitors how quickly sessions are completed after events are detected to maintain accountability and consistent follow-up.
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