Pilot has also added a variety of healthy grab-and-go items at its travel centers, and opened a number of PJ Fresh Marketplace units, a fast-casual dining concept, in some locations. The Marketplace features hot meal items like baked chicken, as well as yogurt and salads. That’s not to say you can’t get less healthy options like the famed Cinnabon sweets at some PFJ locations.
Biggest Loser’s Thomas tells drivers to be mindful of their food choices and offers solutions to the difficulties of staying healthy on the road. His “TeamPETE” program uses a three-pronged approach: (1) driver success stories provide tips and strategies others have used to make healthy changes; (2) Pete’s Picks is a guide to healthy eating on the go at all PFJ restaurants; and (3) the ‘10-Minute Trucker Tune-Up’ is an exercise program that enables drivers to work out right alongside their truck.
Federal Standards, Mandates, and Issues
In an effort to curb a practice called “doctor shopping”—visiting multiple doctors who have no knowledge of one another or prescribed treatments—to pass biannual DOT physical exams, exams must now be conducted by a certified medical examiner on a national registry. Baseline health requirements, including blood pressure and diabetic control without insulin, may now be joined by a required sleep apnea test.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimates that 28 percent of commercial drivers suffer from sleep apnea, a cause of daytime sleepiness. Under the new requirements, medical professionals now have the discretion to send drivers for a sleep evaluation.
New measures for health and fitness are not, however, popular across the board. Some see federal regulations to improve driver safety as unnecessary interference and hindering productivity. Revised hours of service and restart rules designed to reduce driver fatigue have been under fire since their July 2013 implementation, and certain provisions have been suspended pending a congressional study to determine their efficacy. Critics say the rules are too limiting, sap productivity, and had the opposite effect of combating fatigue, often forcing drivers to stop when they’re not tired or pushing them to stop and sleep when just miles away from a delivery.
“The original restart field study was tragically flawed,” says P. Sean Garney, ATA’s director of safety policy. “Some of the data used to justify the restarts didn’t accurately take into account how it is used in the industry.” The rule also put more trucks on the road during the daytime, when there is more traffic and a higher potential for accidents, which Garney says wasn’t considered when it was put into effect. “We are very interested in the results, and how they relate to highway safety.”
Conclusion
There is no question driver health is an important issue for the transportation industry. Real returns—both hard and soft—are achievable when drivers are provided with the tools and education they need for a healthy lifestyle.
Baleka believes more should be done to obtain real-time metrics, especially to determine fatigue. Ultimately, however, the primary responsibility for healthier choices is with the individual.
Images: ©iStock.com, shotbydave
