Truck Drivers Face Unique Challenges Maintaining Their Health
Truck drivers are at the frontlines of the trucking industry and put in long hours on the road to keep it going. Away from home for days at a time, truckers may have difficulty maintaining a consistent, healthy routine. Unfortunately, their health has for too long paid the price: obesity rates among truck drivers are two times higher than the general population’s.
What’s more, most truck drivers report getting less than six hours of sleep per night on the job, and 50% smoke.
It’s no surprise that truckers have difficulty maintaining their health. The challenges of the job include:
Lack of access to healthy food
Long periods of sitting
Little opportunity for exercise
Long periods away from home and loved ones
Thankfully, there’s a new movement to improve truckers’ health and wellness—both on the road and at home. With this new wave, drivers have more resources than ever before to develop a routine to get healthy and stay healthy.
The Risks of Poor Health on The Road
When truckers are in poor health, it puts their jobs at risk, too. Commercial Drivers Licenses require a valid Medical Examiner’s Certificate. And 48% of professional truck drivers receive a one-year-or-less CDL due to chronic conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.
When a driver loses their Medical Examiner's Certificate, they can lose their license permanently.
What’s worse, unhealthy lifestyles can put truckers at risk for serious, long-term health consequences, including an increased risk for motor vehicle accidents, and for heart attacks and other medical emergencies.
The Movement to Improve Health and Wellness
The new movement taking place at trucking companies and in the broader economy is aimed at improving drivers’ health and wellness, their quality of life, and their job security.
Melton Truck Lines of Tulsa, Oklahoma now seeks to create a “Culture of Wellness.” This was motivated not just by high driver turnover rates, but also by the company’s experience of human loss and lives cut short. To improve employees’ health and well-being, Melton created an on-site wellness center at its headquarters, making quality healthcare more accessible. What’s more, they created a health tracking app and added employee incentives for participation.
Private Players and Free Resources
Not every fleet has yet invested time and resources into improving drivers’ health. Luckily, start-up players are helping individual drivers make healthy changes to their lifestyles. With all the resources that are now available, it’s easier than ever for drivers to educate themselves on health and wellness as well as find the tools to support lifestyle changes.
Start-ups provide direct support. Apps like Rolling Strong provide fitness routines designed specifically for drivers, along with coaching and meal suggestions. Individuals can download the app and get started on their own, but fleets and carriers can also partner with the company for a wider rollout.
Nonprofits provide free resources. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute created Driving Healthy, a free database of resources on Living & Eating Healthy, Preventing & Screening, and Driver Safety.
Truck stops are changing to support the movement. Travel Centers of America pioneered the StayFit program, which has introduced medical facilities, fitness centers, and trail guides across America. In addition, stops are stocking more healthy, fresh food options.
Lifestyle Changes Are The Key to Change
For busy drivers, making lifestyle changes can seem like a difficult challenge. After all, conventional wisdom often says that we need to exercise for 30 minutes per day, sleep eight hours per night, and eat fresh-cooked meals. All of that can be impossible for a driver switching between day and night shifts on the road.
The good news is that the new movement to support truckers shows us that conventional wisdom isn’t always right. There are any number of small changes that drivers can make to improve their physical and mental health. Advocates of this new movement recommend changes in the following areas:
Dietary changes - Start by eliminating sugary drinks and reach for water or black coffee instead. From there, try swapping saturated fats (hamburgers, mayo-based dressings, fried foods) for healthy alternatives (chicken sandwiches, vinaigrettes, fruit). To up-level, try a calorie tracking app to keep track of what you’re eating.
Exercise - Exercising for just 15 minutes before the start of a drive can kick your metabolism into gear. Try running around your truck—32 laps is 1 mile (generally). Your truck can become a workout space, and apps like Rolling Strong provide routines you can do with only a few square feet.
Sleep - To make sure you’re catching ZZZ’s, start by making your sleep environment as comfortable as possible. It should also be pitch black and a white noise machine might help you to relax and fall asleep.
Stress management - Long periods away from home can make it hard to maintain connections. Be sure to spend time with friends and loved one when you can, and to make time for phone calls when you’re gone. Try meditation and deep breathing at night to improve your stress response.
Trucking Away From Bad Health
The key is creating habits that are easy to maintain, and taking small steps towards better health. Amazingly, with the movement for truckers’ health and wellness in full swing, there are more ways to find support than ever before.
The industry, at large, wants its truckers to reclaim their health.
And they’re starting to.
If you are a trucking owner and want to learn more about how Trucking Proud Insurance Agency (TPIA) is leading innovation in this space, please contact jamie@truckingproudins.com. If you are an insurance broker interested to learn more about joining the TPIA team to leverage these unique tools, please contact team@truckingproudins.com.
Sources:
Transport Topics. Options Abound for Elevating Drives’ Wellness. http://www.ttnews.com/articles/options-abound-elevating-drivers-health-and-wellness
Encore. Truck Driver Health and Wellness. http://www.encoreprotection.com/blog/truck-driver-health-and-wellness/
Trucking Info. The Impact of Truck Driver Wellness Programs. https://www.truckinginfo.com/156430/the-impact-of-truck-driver-wellness-programs
Rolling Strong. https://rollingstrong.com/
Driving Healthy. https://www.drivinghealthy.org/
