This post appears in the September 2011 issues of Truck News and Truck West magazines.
I wanted to continue writing about
driver health issues this month but was beginning to feel like I was
flogging a dead horse. That isn't the case according to the results
of a recent Health & Wellness Survey of Transport Truck Drivers
conducted by the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University
& City of Hamilton, Public Health Services. According to the
survey 33.1% of drivers say they are willing to participate in
Workplace Wellness programs on their own time. So a large number of
drivers recognize that the trucking lifestyle has a negative impact
on their health and they would like to do something about it. As
drivers we know that there is a huge divide between our intention to
live a healthier lifestyle and our ability to carry through with that
intention. I think most drivers would agree that time is the
limiting factor we all share. It's fair to say we simply don't have
enough of it. This point was driven home to me over the course of
the past week.
I left southwestern Ontario last
Saturday morning and headed up to Winnipeg/Brandon where I peddled
freight around all day Monday. Tuesday I reloaded down around Fargo
and was back at my home terminal early on Thursday. Over 3,000
miles, 12 picks and drops along with the border crossings makes for a
busy week. My EOBR showed me either on duty or driving for a total
of 67 hours. Not any different than the 300,000 other Canadian truck
drivers doing the same thing as me. We do that week in and week out
right? You bet we do.
Waiting at the yard for me was my car
sitting on one very flat tire. Okay, I kept ignoring that 'need new
tires' item on my to do list and now I was forced into crisis
management mode. I also had a 'needs brake service', and 'needs
emissions test for permit renewal' on that same list. At home I had
another list with items such as: 'trim cedar hedge around backyard',
'fix slow leak (for now) on upstairs toilet', and let's not forget
'meet deadline (today) for Truck News column'. There are many other
items I could add to these lists and I know that every driver out
there has lists just like them. Where does 'family time' and
'leisure time' fit on those lists? What about 'exercise time'? It's
pretty easy to see why we call truck driving a lifestyle and not a
job or a career. When you drive a truck it becomes a part of who you
are not just what you do for a living.
Something else happened last night that
put all of that on the back burner. My daughter went into labor with
our first grandchild four weeks ahead of schedule. SURPRISE!!
Thankfully everything went smoothly, Mom and baby are fine, healthy,
and happy. Standing next to my daughter this morning with Nate, my
grandson, in my arms and my wife by my side, I recognized that making
the time to live a healthy lifestyle was about my whole life not just
about my physical well being.
When was the last time anyone within
our industry took the time to coach you on the benefits of including
your own time into your trip planning? Making sure that you had time
to sleep, to eat, to relax etc. Why don't we plan for ourselves and
in doing so still accommodate the needs of our shippers, receivers,
carriers, and enforcement agencies and they for us (drivers) in their
planning?
I've become involved with a
Transportation Industry Health Promotion Research and Policy Planning
Group which was created by the two organizations I mentioned at the
top of the column that are responsible for the driver survey that
kicked things off. I'm impressed with the passion, sincerity, and
genuine concern the members of the group have for improving the
quality of life for transport drivers. The thing that bothers me is
that of the 37 or so members that attended the first session I was
the only driver. Drivers are a very diverse group and greater
representation and participation is needed in order for the
professionals and academics that drive the group to make the best use
of their skills to help us improve the quality of our lives out here
on the road.
Too often we bitch and complain after
the fact about plans and policy’s that are put into place for our
benefit. Think of the hours of service rules and policy regarding
EOBR's. The intense research done prior to the implementation of
these policies was intended to benefit us not limit us or control us.
As drivers we too often sit back and allow things to happen without
participating in the process. I know it takes time, of which we
already have little to spare, but if we don't actively participate in
the process we are giving up the independence that attracted most of
us to this profession in the first place.
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