The lure of the open road has long been the driving force behind the men and women opting to work in the trucking industry. Independent owner-operators enjoy the perks of being their own boss and setting their own schedules. Drivers for larger transportation companies can secure competitive pay and attractive benefit packages that include bonuses, stock options, and state-of-the-art trucks.
Of course, there are downsides as well, including absences from home, stress from high traffic areas and breakdowns, changing government regulations, and the physical demands of the job. So what can truckers do to alleviate the negative aspects of a life on the road? We take a look at the pros and cons and deliver some good advice from several trucking insiders and transportation experts.
Inherent Challenges
Of the 7 million trucking-related jobs in the United States, 3.2 million of these are truck drivers according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA). Despite these numbers, there is a critical shortage—to the tune of nearly 35,000—affecting the industry. Part of the problem is demographics, as many of the nation’s drivers are Baby Boomers with a median age of 46.5 years, with an even higher age of 52 years for private carriers.
As older drivers decide to retire, there are few waiting in the wings to take their place. Millennials, for the most part, are not flocking to fill the void due to what they consider work/life balance issues. Though many in the transportation world would argue in support of trucking’s benefits, this younger generation may have a point: the average daily run is nearly 500 miles and drivers can spend up to 11 hours driving each day or between 60 and 70 hours a week, compared with the average American’s 35-hour work week.
Yes, drivers spend much of their time away from home, from their own beds, and sleep patterns can be disturbed. When this is combined with the sedentary nature of the job and a diet often dominated by fast food, there can certainly be health issues such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Further exacerbating these problems can be a lack of traditional healthcare, with few drivers even having a primary care physician due to time spent crisscrossing the country.
Current Endeavors
So what can be done? Tackling the problem is not easy; drivers may be aware of the various health issues, but some are unconcerned. “Healthcare providers and large companies would surely love for health and fitness to become more important to drivers. And, of course, you have some drivers who care deeply about it and do manage to eat healthy and stay in shape,” comments Brett Aquila, a veteran of 15 years on the road and author of Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving.
The lure of the open road has long been the driving force behind the men and women opting to work in the trucking industry. Independent owner-operators enjoy the perks of being their own boss and setting their own schedules. Drivers for larger transportation companies can secure competitive pay and attractive benefit packages that include bonuses, stock options, and state-of-the-art trucks.
Of course, there are downsides as well, including absences from home, stress from high traffic areas and breakdowns, changing government regulations, and the physical demands of the job. So what can truckers do to alleviate the negative aspects of a life on the road? We take a look at the pros and cons and deliver some good advice from several trucking insiders and transportation experts.
Inherent Challenges
Of the 7 million trucking-related jobs in the United States, 3.2 million of these are truck drivers according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA). Despite these numbers, there is a critical shortage—to the tune of nearly 35,000—affecting the industry. Part of the problem is demographics, as many of the nation’s drivers are Baby Boomers with a median age of 46.5 years, with an even higher age of 52 years for private carriers.
As older drivers decide to retire, there are few waiting in the wings to take their place. Millennials, for the most part, are not flocking to fill the void due to what they consider work/life balance issues. Though many in the transportation world would argue in support of trucking’s benefits, this younger generation may have a point: the average daily run is nearly 500 miles and drivers can spend up to 11 hours driving each day or between 60 and 70 hours a week, compared with the average American’s 35-hour work week.
Yes, drivers spend much of their time away from home, from their own beds, and sleep patterns can be disturbed. When this is combined with the sedentary nature of the job and a diet often dominated by fast food, there can certainly be health issues such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Further exacerbating these problems can be a lack of traditional healthcare, with few drivers even having a primary care physician due to time spent crisscrossing the country.
Current Endeavors
So what can be done? Tackling the problem is not easy; drivers may be aware of the various health issues, but some are unconcerned. “Healthcare providers and large companies would surely love for health and fitness to become more important to drivers. And, of course, you have some drivers who care deeply about it and do manage to eat healthy and stay in shape,” comments Brett Aquila, a veteran of 15 years on the road and author of Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving.
“But, overall,” Aquila insists, “truckers care as much about health and fitness as it would appear—hardly at all. I guess you could say ‘the proof is in the pudding’…and the cheeseburger, and the bacon.” Though such sentiments may seem flip, for some, they are reality. One participant in a 2010 study of Canadian truckers said “if you’re a truck driver, you’re not going to be in the best of health… A lot of guys just come to accept it.”
Nevertheless, trucker health “is a public policy issue,” according to Siphewe Baleka, a Yale athlete and former driver for Springfield, MO-headquartered Prime, Inc., who now runs the company’s fitness program. “If you’re driving in Idaho and you’re obese and sleepy because of sleep apnea and you have an accident, your health is relevant to the public.” Indeed, several accidents caused by driver fatigue garnered nationwide attention in the past year.
Corporate health and wellness programs
Baleka says most health and wellness programs are not designed for a trucker’s lifestyle nor are drivers given the tools they need to stay healthy, which he likens to sending an astronaut into space without a space suit.
Helping employees of any profession stay healthy or lose weight makes economic sense, as it can decrease covered medical, sick day, short-term disability, and worker compensation claims. Additionally, recruiting and training new drivers only to find they cannot pass required medical exams adds to these costs. Using a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention obesity cost calculator, Prime Inc. found the cost associated with its overweight drivers was $6 million annually, directly impacting the company’s independent operators in lost time, wages, healthcare, and insurance costs.
Health and fitness programs also may help attract younger drivers. Gold’s Gym International Inc. began offering discounted fitness programs for truckers and bus drivers earlier this year, available at the fitness chain’s 100-plus locations across the nation. Another way to get truckers interested is to initiate competitions and fitness challenges like Prime’s Skimble Workout Trainer smart phone app. The app includes thousands of free workouts, some of which were created by Baleka.
In early 2015 Prime had 2,157 active drivers enrolled in its on-the-road health and fitness program or 34.6 percent of the fleet. The company also offers an incentive to lose weight—a quarterly cash prize drawing of $1,000 that increases to $5,000 and $10,000 as the group’s collective body mass index is reduced. Baleka says the company’s approach to health and fitness has benefited both recruitment and retention: “We don’t have a shortage of drivers.”
Industry associations
While working on numerous issues, trucking associations recognize the industry’s need for healthy drivers and how it relates to the driver shortage. Abigail Potter, a research analyst for ATA, acknowledges the double-edged sword: yes, drivers must pass a federally-regulated medical exam, and if drivers are not healthy, it “reduces our driver pool.” In response, ATA has been involved in various campaigns to raise awareness in tandem with other trucking groups. In January, the Healthy Fleet Challenge was launched, pitting U.S. driving teams against Canadian teams using FitBit or the MOVES app.
The Truckload Carriers Association, with help from state trucking associations, hosts driver health fair events during ATA’s National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. Last year’s event was held at 15 Travel-Centers of America/Petro locations nationwide, with a nurse at each location to conduct blood pressure screenings and glucose tests.
The Healthy Trucking Association of America coordinates free disease screenings, such as last year’s hepatitis C campaign held at truck stops, employer testing sites, and clinics serving the trucking community.
The association also provides phone apps to help drivers cope with chronic health conditions. Through the Healthy Trucking Driver Vitality Program, drivers get a personal online health portal, a health risk assessment, mentoring, and nutritional
evaluation. The program includes a gym network integrated to the driver’s personal web portal and awards points for the completion of prescribed exercises, which can then be spent at the online ‘Vitality Mall.’
Another initiative, Healthy Trucking Pays, offers up to 10,000 overweight truckers a free physician-supervised weight loss program and a chance to earn more than $800 for participating, with priority given to applicants with hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.
Truck stops
Truck stops, too, have gotten on the healthy driver bandwagon. TravelCenters of America/Petro’s StayFit program identifies healthy food options in their convenience store and on sit-down restaurant menus. Workout rooms are offered at 54 sites, while walking/running trails were created at 144 sites, and basketball hoops can be found at 27 sites. Several sites offer U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) physicals and other medical services.
Another fuel and food chain, Pilot Flying J, teamed up with Urgent Care Travel to open the first urgent care center for truckers in 2013 at its travel center in Knoxville, TN. Pilot plans to open 100 such sites nationwide by the end of 2016. In addition, the company partnered with Pete Thomas, a winner from NBC’s The Biggest Loser television franchise, to coach professional drivers in living a healthier lifestyle. Thomas crisscrosses the country to meet drivers and visit trucking companies to motivate, educate, and inspire truckers to eat right and exercise.
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.
