The Health of Your Drivers May Be Hurting Your Business

• Drivers are hired to sit all day behind the wheel, with limited opportunities for exercise.
• They eat at truck stops and other restaurants where they can get meals quickly, contributing to poor diets.
• Their work schedules are not consistent, interfering with sleep patterns.
• The job is stressful. They have to contend with the annoyances and hazards of the road all day long, including traffic delays, dangerous drivers, and poor weather. On top of that, they are under pressure to reach their destinations on time. This gives them incentives to skip on sleep and ingest stimulants to help them stay awake.

• The obesity rate for truck drivers is double that of the general population.
• Their smoking rate is almost triple that of the general population.
• 88% of truck drivers report having hypertension, smoking or obesity, and 9% reported having all three, quadruple the general population’s rate.
• Truck drivers’ life expectancy is 16 years less than the national average.
• Unhealthy drivers do not perform their jobs as well as healthy ones do.
• Among private sector employees, truck drivers have the highest number of illnesses and injuries that cause them to miss work.

What you can do

• During the pre-employment screening process, evaluate candidates’ fitness levels through physical examinations and a review of their driving histories.
• Review employer safety policies and driver wellness and fitness requirements during new employee orientation.
• Implement injury prevention programs.
• Offer free or discounted memberships at gyms with locations around the country.
• Encourage drivers to take quick exercise breaks during trips.
• Encourage healthy eating both at home and on the road.
• Monitor drivers’ performance through data provided by telematics devices installed in trucks, review of accident reports, and in-person observation of drivers.

The takeaway