Why Post-Incident Coaching Fails (And How to Fix It)

The Compliance Trap

Picture this: A driver speeds, causes an accident, and gets called into the office. You document what happened, issue a disciplinary action, retrain them on speed limits and safe following distances, and send them back out. Six months later, the same driver is involved in another incident. Sound familiar?

This is the retraining cycle, and it's playing out in fleets across the country every single day. The frustrating part? Organizations are doing everything they're supposed to do. They're documenting thoroughly, following regulations, checking every compliance box. But the incidents keep happening.

The problem isn't that companies aren't compliant; it's that compliance alone doesn't change behavior. Using my behavior science expertise, I recently collaborated with NETS to develop a new Post-Incident Coaching Guide that incorporates principles designed to prevent future incidents. Here's what most organizations are getting wrong, and how to fix it.

The Hidden Problem: You're Accidentally Reinforcing What You Want to Stop

Let's walk through the typical post-incident process:

1. Document what happened
2. Identify the "bad" behavior
3. Issue disciplinary action
4. Retrain the employee on what they should have done
5. Repeat when (not if) it happens again

Here's the behavior science truth that makes this approach ineffective: Your drivers already know not to speed or tailgate.

Think about it. Do you genuinely believe your drivers don't know the speed limit? That they're unaware that tailgating is dangerous? Of course, they know. They passed their CDL exam. They've been through onboarding. They've likely sat through this exact training multiple times.

So when you retrain them on information they already have, you're checking a compliance box, but you're doing absolutely nothing to prevent the next incident.

This pattern persists because regulatory compliance drives minimum accepted practice. Organizations create policies designed to cover liability rather than solve problems. And honestly, it's the same story across industries. Compliance and regulations often lead to doing just enough to protect the company legally, rather than taking sufficient action actually to change what's happening on the road.

The Question Everyone Skips: Why Did They Choose the Unsafe Behavior?

Here's where we need to shift our thinking: from "what happened" to "why it happened."

We already know the driver sped. That's documented. But why did they choose to speed when they knew they shouldn't? That's the question that changes everything.

Traditional incident investigations unintentionally force blame onto the employee. When you start with "You sped and caused an accident," you're putting them on trial. And what do people do when they feel accused? They get defensive. They protect themselves. They certainly don't open up about the real factors that influenced their decision.

This defensive posture destroys the very thing you need most: honest information about what's actually driving behavior.

Think about what the real root cause might be. It's not "the driver sped." It's:

• "Delivery windows are so tight that speeding feels necessary to make the schedule"
• "Route planning doesn't account for actual traffic patterns, so drivers constantly play catch-up"
• "The compensation structure rewards on-time delivery above everything else"
• "There's no consequences for unrealistic dispatch decisions, but drivers get written up for being late"

See the difference? One focuses on the individual's action. The others identify the actual conditions influencing that action. And only one of those approaches gives you something you can actually fix.

What Actually Works: Start with Curiosity, Validate Root Causes

The tone you set in those first moments after an incident determines everything that follows. If you come in with accusations, you'll get defensiveness. If you come in with curiosity, you create space for collaboration.

Lead with Questions, Not Accusations

Start by asking for the driver's perspective. Not "Why did you speed?" but "Walk me through what was happening from your perspective. Help me understand the situation you were dealing with."

This immediately takes the blame off the driver and creates a collaborative environment where you can work together to solve problems from every angle.

Identify the True Root Cause

Remember: the behavior you observed is not the reason the incident happened. The driver speeding is what you saw. The reason they chose to speed is what you need to identify and validate.

When you demonstrate that you understand the difference and show that you're interested in the real factors driving their decisions, you build trust. And with trust comes honesty. With honesty comes the information you need to actually prevent the next incident.

Balance Accountability with Reality

I know what you're thinking: "But what about bad actors? What about people who just don't care?"

Yes, they exist. There are instances when blame is necessary and consequences are appropriate. I'm not suggesting we ignore genuine misconduct.

But here's what I've learned across years of working in this field: More often than not, we fail drivers before they fail us.

Bad actors are genuinely rare compared to the number of times drivers are put into situations and environments that influence poor choices. When you're dealing with impossible schedules, inadequate route planning, pressure from dispatch, equipment issues that haven't been addressed, or a dozen other systemic problems, that's not a driver problem. That's an organizational problem.

And when you address those systemic issues, accountability actually becomes more transparent and more fair.

Stop Using Retraining as the Default Solution

This is crucial: Retraining is not a solution for behaviors people already know are wrong.

If your driver knows they shouldn't speed, teaching them not to speed again accomplishes nothing. You're not going to change anything by covering information they already have.

Instead, focus on:

• Identifying and removing barriers to safe behavior
• Addressing the environmental and systemic factors that make unsafe choices feel necessary
• Creating conditions where the safe behavior is also the easier behavior

Two Things You Can Do Tomorrow

You don't need to overhaul your entire system overnight. Start with these two changes and watch what happens:

1. Always Start by Asking WHY

Change your opening question. Instead of "Why did you speed?" try "Help me understand what factors led to this situation. What was happening from your perspective?"

This single shift in language transforms the conversation. You're not interrogating, you're investigating together.

2. Stop Considering Retraining a Solution

Before you default to retraining, ask yourself: "Does this person actually not know this, or do they know but chose differently?"
If they already know the information (and they almost always do), retraining won't help. You need to identify and address what made the unsafe choice feel like the necessary choice.

Start documenting systemic factors, not just individual actions. Track patterns in the "why" across incidents. You'll start to see organizational issues that no amount of individual retraining can fix.

We Can Do Better Than Compliance

Look, compliance will always be necessary. Regulations exist for good reasons, and documentation protects both drivers and companies. I'm not suggesting we ignore any of that.

But compliance alone isn't enough. It was never meant to be enough. It's the floor, not the ceiling.

Behavioral post-incident coaching doesn't replace compliance; it makes compliance actually effective. When you understand why behaviors happen, you can create real change. You can prevent future incidents instead of just documenting them.

For NETS members, the complete Post-Incident Coaching Guide walks through these principles in detail, with practical tools you can implement immediately.

For everyone else, start with just one change: Ask "why" and genuinely mean it. Be curious about what's really happening. Listen to what your drivers tell you. You might be surprised by what you learn, and by how much changes when you address the real problems instead of just the visible symptoms.

Because at the end of the day, our job isn't to check boxes. It's to get people home safely. And that requires understanding not just what happened, but why it happened in the first place.