Truck Driver Safety and Health
Truck drivers face a disproportionately high risk for fatal crash-related injuries and for serious health disorders. The 2004 fatality rate for U.S. heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers was 48.2 per 100,000 workers, approximately 11 times the rate for the general worker population. The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses estimated 63,570 non-fatal injuries among heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in 2004—the second highest number among all occupations.
We know this industry faces a high risk of illness and injury but the prevalence of specific health problems, and the relative contributions of occupation and health behaviors to the increased risk of injury and illness, is largely unknown. Some research associates the risk of crash-related deaths with job-related fatigue. Other studies suggest that the risks of cancer, heart attacks, and other disorders may be associated with aspects of long-haul driving such as loading and unloading cargo, irregular schedules, long hours of driving, a sedentary lifestyle, and the nature of drivers' food choices on the road.
To help address these research gaps and better understand the risks faced by truck drivers, NIOSH is undertaking a national survey of truck driver safety and health. The survey, which grew out of stakeholder identified needs, will focus specifically on gathering baseline safety and health information among a large, representative national sample of truck drivers. We are seeking comment on the content and conduct of the survey through January 2, 2008. A proposed sample plan can be found on the NIOSH Documents for Public Review page. We propose to conduct the survey at 40 truck stops across the U.S., involving both owner-operators as well as company drivers.
The primary research questions for NIOSH are:
- Is the prevalence of health conditions and sleep disorders greater in the truck driver population than in the general population?
- How are drivers' working conditions associated with health status and behaviors?
- Are sleep disorders, fatigue, and the working environment contributors to poor health outcomes, highway crashes and injuries?
- What are the risk factors, job tasks/exposures, and the short- and long-term effects of work-related injuries sustained by truck drivers?
We value your input and urge you to assist us in developing this important survey. In addition to posting comments on the blog, please submit formal comments to the NIOSH Docket. This extra step is important as we do not request or post contact information on the blog.
For more information on NIOSH research in this area visit the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector program portfolio.
Thank you for your assistance,
W. Karl Sieber, Ph.D.
Karl Sieber is a NIOSH Research Health Scientist with the Surveillance Branch of the Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies. He has worked in survey design and analysis and has developed approaches to collect hazard surveillance data including the collection of occupational exposure data in the indoor environment and from metalworking fluids.
Comments
Hi Dr. Sieber,
I'm a nurse in occupational health at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital in Bozeman, Mt. We have a large volume of DOT physicals and drug urines. I would appreciate any hazard update on medical nursing surveillance and how to keep the drivers safe.
Posted 11/22/07 at 9:01 pm
NIOSH is to be commended again for establishing the blog and accepting public comments.
This post on the Truck Stop study is notable for what it leaves out.
It leaves out diesel particulate matter (DPM). Truck drivers are thought to occupy the front line of exposure to DPM, a health threat in many industries and to the general public. There is little dispute that truck drivers suffer excess mortality from lung cancer, shown in over a dozen studies. The term "suggest" in the post is a weak for discussing this substantial body of data, and lack of mention of DPM is a concern. One study by NIOSH is cited below. There remains a bit of a debate as to whether and how much of that excess is due to DPM exposure. A conclusion that the observed excess derives in any material way from DPM exposure would drive very stringent exposure limitations. A middle-of-the-road account of this information (vintage 1995) is found at
http://www.healtheffects.org/Pubs/diesum.htm
The emphasis on truck stops raises an interesting point. Truck drivers, if like other workers, spend about 40% of their waking hours at work, and breathe about 35% of all their air (working and non-working) in the occupational environment, meaning close proximity to operating diesel engines. However, the mention of truck stops raises the question of whether these workers also sleep in the vicinity of these engines. Based on a 5-day week, that's about 70% of sleeping hours and 20% of overall hours.
I would hope that the research team traveling to 40 truck stops would pack nephelometers and real time aerosol monitors as well a survey questionaires. Getting there would cut the effort of an exposure project in half.
On another topic, the canonical discussion of lifestyle and health behaviors is also a concern.
First, the mention of "sedentary lifestyle" is a bit demeaning for workers who are required to sit and concentrate intensely for their workshift. For most manual occupations, the demerit of "sedentary lifestyle" assigned by investigators typically ignores the metabolic load of work, even of standing and walking for the majority of a shift. For truck drivers, the job task prevents standing and walking.
Second, I would hope that the contribution of endemic work related musculoskeletal pain to driving of adverse "health behaviors" would be taken into account. Prolonged static posture of the head and neck associated with seated work, in this case driving, is a material risk factor for neck and shoulder pain. If stress drives risk behavior, pain is a form of stress and also a driver. Hours of work likely contribute to stress and therefore also drive risk behavior.
Posted 11/23/07 at 9:44 am
At a time when highway motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of occupational fatalities - not only among truck drivers, but also sales representatives, administrative staff, and a myriad of other occupations that drive as part of their workday - I find it completely incomprehensible that Federal OSHA would exclude these fatal accidents from their normal reporting requirements.
OSHA requires that fatal occupational injuries must be reported within 8 hours of death. However, a few years ago OSHA decided to exclude fatal motor vehicle accidents from these requirements. I'm not sure of the exact circumstances surrounding this decision, but I believe in some part OSHA felt that investigating MVA fatalities would be a duplication of efforts since these fatalities are also investigated by the Department of Transportation and other law enforcement officials. However, many state-plan OSHA authorities, including Washington, Oregon and Michigan (and perhaps others that I'm not aware of), have gone back to the original reporting rule for fatal motor vehicle accidents.
The main reason that the state plans have decided to change back to the original rule - Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of workplace fatalities in the US. Federal OSHA should follow suit.
Posted 11/23/07 at 4:48 pm
Karl,
Great study, as a fatality or accident involving a truck driver will typically involve other occupants of the road.
The vast array of additional job requirements of "Truck drivers" should be paramount in the study. Not all drivers drive from point A to B. The work that is done in addition to driving can encompass several health and safety factors. Many LTL (less than truckload) and delivery drivers face many additional fatigue related issues while the sedentary factor is reduced. A flatbed driver faces tarping issues etc. I would urge you to take the study to companies and drivers that are representative of all aspects of transportation in order to better understand the unseen factors that may contribute to the alarmingly high percentages stated in the article. Questions about driver distractions and complacency to known safe driving practices as well as the level of safety training the drivers are required to complete and if the drivers will honestly disclose their tendancies to ignore the rules.
Ask questions like:
Having spent 25 plus years in the driving field, I can look back on my own experiences and commend as well as scold myself for my practices. Now as the safety coordinator at a large transportation operation, I value any and all information that will help my company proactively address any safety and health issues that promote an attitude of driver safety. Both at work and at home.
Posted 11/26/07 at 10:47 am
Having been involved with transportation issues as related to the concrete precast industry and general commodities I am able to point out that a few of the injuries incurred by drivers occur in flat bed trailers during loading and unloading operations, securing the load and tarping operations. Falls account for most of the injuries sustained with the resulting strains and sprains, also the possibility of being struck by or caught in between. Another major contributor is falling off the trailer or during the process of getting in or out of the cab, especially in inclement weather. In short hauls, less than 100 miles, and inner city driving drivers are exposed to higher levels of pollutants and increased stress due to traffic congestions and other drivers' behaviour. The study should look into the different work hazards exposures between short haul and long haul drivers to see if any group is more exposed than the other.
Posted 11/28/07 at 9:59 pm
Ms. Embrey:
Thank you for your interest in the NIOSH survey of truck driver injury and health. Some of the materials you indicate an interest in are available at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's website. I will also be pleased to notify you when the results of the study are published.
Posted 12/03/07 at 8:29 am
Dr. Mirer:
Thank you for your comments regarding the NIOSH truck stop survey. They bring up several useful points. As you point out, the relation between lung cancer and diesel particulate matter has been studied extensively, and is still under study. As you may know, NIOSH and the National Cancer Institute have been partnering on a study of the health effects from diesel in an underground mining environment which is nearing completion.
A primary aim of the survey featured on the NIOSH Science Blog is to collect baseline information useful to determine prevalence of certain health conditions and risk factors among truck drivers. This survey is not intended to collect exposure information such as might be obtained from aerosol monitors or to address the relationship between quantitative diesel levels and health conditions. The question of whether truck drivers also sleep in the vicinity of diesel engines is, however, an interesting one which could be included on the survey questionnaire. We are considering other questions regarding diesel exposure information which may be appropriate to include.
We do understand that the lifestyle of drivers is intimately tied to their working conditions; both from sitting in the drivers' seat for up to 11 hours per day, and from lack of opportunities to exercise during their daily 10-hour off-duty period. You make a good point about our terminology and we will use alternative terms to a "sedentary lifestyle" in the future.
We will collect information on working conditions as a part of this survey. In addition, we are considering questions about activities performed on the job, such as what might be obtained from an activity log. An activity log is presently included with the fatigue and sleep disorder components of the survey, although such questions might also be appropriate to include in each component.
Questions relating to the contribution of pain and stress to health behavior will be included in questionnaires. These questionnaires are currently being finalized.
Thank you for your comments. They are helpful in determining further development of the study protocol and questionnaires. I appreciate your interest in this study.
Posted 12/03/07 at 8:29 am
In the June 2007 US Public Health Service Commissioned Officer Foundation Training and Scientific Symposium, there was a presentation on sleep research which specifically discussed truck drivers and monitoring the length of eye blinks. When the blink duration began to increase, the subjects were already exhibiting impaired performance on cognitive tasks and decreased attentiveness. The speaker suggested that visual monitoring through facial recognition software could detect when drivers should be required to take a break.
Posted 12/04/07 at 2:57 pm
I would recommend to use a trucker-specific fatigue questionnaire that we have developed some years ago (see De Croon EM, Blonk RWB, Sluiter JK & Frings-Dresen MHW in Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2005;78:27-34). The original work-related fatigue part of this screening questionnaire is the need-for-recovery-scale (assessing work-related fatigue)that is recommended as well and has been used among others in long-haul bus drivers(see Sluiter JK, Van der Beek AJ, Frings-Dresen MHW in Ergonomics 1999;42(4):573-583 and De Croon EM, Sluiter JK, & Frings-Dresen MHW in Occ Env Med 2006;63:202-206).
Posted 12/05/07 at 1:43 am
With regard to motor vehicle crashes, it would be very useful to better understand the relative risk as an element of exposure. Is the high rate of fatalities the result of excacerbating issues such as fatigue, etc., or is it simply a result of the total numbers of hours spent driving?
In other words, is long-haul truck driving dangerous, or is driving in any context relatively dangerous and is the difference in fatality rates simply the result of the fact that long-haul drivers spend almost all their working hours driving? While I suspect the answer is "both," it would be nice to see some research on motor vehicle fatalities (whether truck drivers or elsewhere) that took into account the relative risk of driving, as well as the relative risk of driving on the job (in other words, are driving fatalities at work simply a byproduct of the level of driving danger we all face, or are there unique workplace factors that driver that risk up -- or perhaps drive it down?).
Posted 12/06/07 at 4:12 pm
I am a long haul driver and I believe the problem with trucker health is mainly due to their dietary intake of garbage called fast food combined with sitting on their butt and doing no physical activity whatsoever. Many trucking jobs today do not require any manual loading or unloading. I do not understand how some of these extremely obese people can pass the dot physical. I believe there are corrupt doctors out there taking bribes from these fat drivers so they can get their medical card and be able to legally drive.
Posted 1/21/08 at 4:40 pm
Hello,
Great post......thank you for posting this, and in such great detail. I know you answered a lot of questions that many people are uncomfortable asking!
Posted 1/26/08 at 7:52 pm
I would like to follow this matter further with 'some amount of interest' Probably be big News in the Trucker's News etc...I work in the 'service industry' within the transportation field.
Posted 1/29/08 at 9:11 pm
Thank you Karl, for allowing me to share my comments with you. As you requested they are as follows:
1. What is needed in the trucking industry is a culture change. This type of change generally begins at the top of an organization and trickles down. With that in mind, it is important that research be conducted to identify the status quo of the leadership, decision makers and company owners. As I mentioned to Karl, frequently people say, "all truck drivers have bad habits" at which point I get a bit defensive and ask, "How do you know this to be fact?" There are many old, fallacies that predominate the industry which I have found not to be the case in my work with truck drivers. So please conduct research with industry stake holders to identify current beliefs. This will help identify the barriers to over come!
2. Fatigue...please. Who doesn't suffer from fatigue without adequate sleep, rest, nutrition, and stress reducing strategies. When was the last time you went without food for days ...or didn't sleep...and didn't feel fatigue! So please incorporate basic research that asks drivers about sleep habits, physical activity, and eating habits. Oh yes, throw in alcohol in their off hours, and tobacco use. How many hours sleep do they get in a week!
At the CDC you should not be at a loss for experts who can address the effects of malnutrion on the human body, or the relationship between nutriion and brain function.
Sop looking at platonic reasons and come back to earth. We send our children off to school encouraging them to eat breakfast and providing breakfast at school for kids because we know they learn and behave better. We know our toddlers get cranky, whinny and difficult when they are tired and hungry. The US government dropped K=Rations from airplanes during WWII to keep soldiers energy levels up to fight and win the War. On the home front, mothers planted Vistory gardens in order to feed their children and families. Perhaps it time to engage in simple solutions.
IT's time for a culture change within the Transportation industry.
3. I talk with many truck drivers every week. A registered dietitian I teach truck drivers about health lifestyle habits to prevent, sustain and promote personal health. I learn from my drivers that they avoid truck stops. The best truck drivers pack and prepare food in their trucks. There are a number of messages from this comment.
Truck stops won't get a good cross section of survey respondents.
Truck drivers and industry leaders alike have very little respect for DOT...so if the research looks or feels like DOT it is likely responses will be low. Use independent research people to gather your data. Perhaps find people like myself, who can access truck drivers in companies to obtain responses to surveys. I believe I could get companies to distribute surveys at Safety Meetings if they knew work is being done to improve the health of truck drivers.
Survey questions need to ask drivers about there current health habits. Perhaps some of the same questions or similare questions that are asked on a health risk appraisal. I'd ask, Do you have any of the following:
It's time to define the concerns, the best ways to address these concerns, identify the barriesr and tailor programming to address these needs. One size never fit everyone ....think outsie the box for once! Go back to the eating habits we had 50 years ago...you'll get the results desired! Learn from Union Pacific, the airlines, pro ball players, mariners, etc. they have been promotion health for some time.
4. The CDC has promoted health for the past 28 years...Healty People ---Educate the transporation indsutry about the disparities, the objectives and goals, and resources including the Worksite health promotion models in the Occupation Health section.
5. Please be willing to rock the boat! It's time to help the trucking industry leaders see the big picture CDC > CDL certification > worksite health promotion. In Europe companies submit a worksite health promotion plan to their governments. As the US moves to socialized health care companies can be expected to submit a worksite health promotion program to the government - let's be proactive.
Karl as I indicated to you, I would welcome an opportunity to sink my teeth into promoting health of truck drivers through this project. Thank you for listening.
Posted 1/31/08 at 9:55 am
Our company is in the process of setting up a division that works with trucking companies and their Occ. Health division to screen drivers for OSA. If the driver meets certain measurable hurdles; we will provide sleep testing and the necessary therapy. We would appreciate and input and assistance to further this initiative. Thank you.
Posted 2/11/08 at 12:26 pm
I am a radiologist from Taylorville, IL. We have a trucker's lounge two blocks away from our center. A place to hang out, like its for other members from the same clan, the trucker's lounge is a window into the fun loving and easy going lifestyle of the truckers. Boozing and binging is more like a norm for them.
But behind all the bonhomie lies a life of undue pressure and unorganized lifestyle. As per US Bureau of Labor Statistics, they have the highest death rate among all of the workers, at 17 percent of worker deaths nationwide(Source: http://healthresources.caremark.com/topic/truckers).
While we have treated large number of truckers for work-related stress, whats interesting is the urge for them to move away from trucking to some other job. While some moved into medical transcription services (http://www.transcriptionstar.com/), others tried their hand at pet shop maintenance, and still others got into charity (http://www.annenbergfoundation.org/).
The fact that they are trying so hard to have their jobs switched stands testimony to the growing resentment amongst them with the tag of "being on the road" always.
No doubt, the medical community needs to look into the predicaments of our truckers.
Posted 2/19/08 at 6:44 am
I REALL NEED TO KNOW IF THERE WERE ANY REPORTS ON TRUCKERS OF 18 WHEELERS HAVING SHOULDER INJURIES, ELBOW ETC , TURNING WHEELS. IF SO I REALY WOULD LOVE TO READ ON THIS .
Posted 2/25/08 at 5:16 pm
Shoulder and other types of injuries among heavy truck drivers are tabulated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Illness and Injury (SOIIC). Truck transportation would be NAICS code 484.
Posted 3/3/08 at 4:26 pm
what id like to know is, have there been any studies about the percentage of women truck drivers getting breast cancer and are they higher or lower than the national average? you know most of the drivers have an iron constituion to not get sick out there. what gets most people down we just shrug it off. i only got a cold about every 3 years. and now ive been nailed with breast cancer. absolutely no history of it in my family. with over 700 to 800 family members, 2 had stomach cancer and 1 had throat cancer. does anyone know or maybe a website i could get the info from?
Posted 3/12/08 at 12:19 am
Unfortunately, I am not aware of any research examining breast cancer among female truck drivers. Due to the small number of women in this industry and the fact that many of the female drivers entered the profession within the past 10 years, it is not possible to draw conclusions about diseases with a long latency such as cancer.
However, your question raises an important issue that we will place on our research agenda for the future.
Posted 3/17/08 at 10:29 am
Road accidents and other health related issues pertaining to Truck Drivers/Lorry Drivers are on rise in most of the countries these days. Unawareness related to health is the main issue. Truck Drivers are to work in more worst conditions then the general public due to which health conditions and sleep disorders greater in the truck driver population than in the general population.
http://moreonhealthtoday.blogspot.com/
Posted 5/10/08 at 4:59 am
Truck driver's job is really very hard as they have to continuously drive and as a result it ends up with sleep disorders and other diseases. I think government should make certain rules and regulations to avoid such things because sleep disorders are the main cause of highway accidents and by making rules (like there should be 2 persons as driver for a truck, so that i can get proper sleep while other is driving). But everyone takes risk for the basic nessecity of life that is food.
Posted 5/11/08 at 12:20 am
What you said in the post are correct. The sedentary lifestyle and eating habits of the truckers make us prone to many diseases. Moreover accidents are major threat to life. Nice that CDC raised voice for us who are in trucking.
Posted 6/09/08 at 8:04 am
Long hauling and short hauling are tough on your body. city driving is stressful. long hauling you are stressed to stay awake. Not to mention the rising cost of fuel and from population and suburban sprawl.
Posted 6/29/08 at 5:50 am
I always wondered why there weren't seperate roads for all truck drivers and shipping trucks. Next to highways, having straight unimpeded routes, with perhaps air vents along the roads that suck in the air through filters.
If a truck drives past a certain area and triggers a fan or airflow to turn on for a few minutes based on cubic feet of air and volume of air that could be drawn in by the air intake vents. Or enclose those roadway routes in a silcon tunnel dome with solar power on the tunnels which could run the intake air filter system. It would also keep those routes from being altered in bad weather. But by the time that could be designed and implemented now, gas and diesel will be too expensive to use and vehicles will go to hybrids and electrics. who knows.
Posted 7/10/08 at 11:24 am
Would definitely love to see the results of the survey. I would certainly think job-related fatigue has to be a major factor in these type of cases.
Posted 7/12/08 at 9:13 pm
It is nothing short of amazing that while the unprecedented prices of fuel have generated extraordinary reactions from both the media and citizens, the critical issue of highway safety is being all but ignored. Sure the distress about gasoline and diesel fuel prices is justified. But while the nation is fixated on these costs, people are continuing to die every day on America's highways. And while there have been some advancements in traffic safety, more than 40,000 people a year continue to be killed in highway crashes every years—many of them children and teenagers. Despite the continuation of this national tragedy, there are some effective ways to reduce these deaths and injuries, many publicized at http://www.trafficsafetynews.com.
Posted 7/18/08 at 3:53 pm
If you wish to keep medically unsafe drivers off the road, you will need to investigate the entire Medical Profession and the Insurance Industry. Three and a half years ago I injured both of my knees and I am currently confined to a wheelchair waiting for two knee joint replacements and collecting Social Security Disability. Last month I attended a Worker Compensation hearing and the Lawyers for the Insurance Company used a Doctor Report stating both MRI's were wrong and I can return to work as a truck driver at any time. With these types of "quacks" examining truck drivers, it is unlikely that anyone with a medical condition will be denied a medical certification to drive.
Posted 7/22/08 at 1:27 am
truck drivers belong to the blue collars community of workers..I agree that they should have regular check ups and the local government or hospital should also consider in helping those drivers by giving of free medicines and vitamins
Posted 7/23/08 at 11:14 am
Drivers, especially company drivers, are subjected to long hours, up to 70 hour work weeks, then you get to take a whole 36 hours off! And this is if they are keeping their logs honestly. They have few healthy choices for food, since it is difficult to "park" their rigs just anywhere. There is no overtime pay, no respect for the drivers by the four wheelers they have to be on the road with, also no respect from most of the people they work for. There is not much consideration given to them, especially by the customers the drivers serve, who leave them sitting outside their business hours on end, with no regard or compassion for the driver, who may actually have a home life and would just love to be loaded or unloaded so that they can get underway, and hopefully routed back home, with the hopes of some kind of a normal life. They are also at the mercy of usually uncaring dispatchers who just want to get the next load underway. Sounds wonderful, huh?
Posted 8/1/08 at 8:01 pm
Karl,
Will scope of survey cover long-term health effects (e.g., knee, other musculoskeletal) in delivery drivers, even after retirement, of years of climbing steps/stairs in delivering packages?
See: Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2003;60:794-797. Knee disorders in the general population and their relation to occupation. P Baker, I Reading, C Cooper, D Coggon.
Posted 8/11/08 at 11:13 am
I am pleased to see this research being done to make a safe and healther work enviroment for such a vital industry. I am a truck driver and a truck owner with a cross country trucking operation where I am providing a job to a driver. I drive locally in a dump truck for a company and am on the safety committee. I am researching for statistics on injury rates of drivers falling while getting in and out of the truck. I am doing this to address a work package that requires a driver to get out of a truck when it is being loaded. Where can I find statistics such as this? Any help will be greatly apreciated.
Posted 8/15/08 at 12:39 pm
Mr. Watson:
Thank you for your inquiry. Incidence rates and other information for truck drivers' nonfatal occupational injuries (such as falls) involving days away from work are available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. The most recent (2006) data is available as a press release on their web site.
Although falls specifically among truck drivers getting in and out of the truck (only) are not tabulated, Table 23 of the press release indicates that in 2006, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers experienced an incidence rate of 50.8 falls per 10,000 full-time workers for falls to a lower level, and 46.6 falls per 10,000 full-time workers for falls on the same level. For purposes of this table, a fall while getting into or out of a truck cab, as you describe, would likely be coded as a fall to a lower level. This is to be compared to overall incidences (across all occupations) of 8.0 per 10,000 full-time workers for falls to a lower level, and 16.4 per 10,000 full-time workers for falls on the same level. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report also gives other pertinent information which may be of help to you, including nature of the injury and body part affected.
I hope this information will be helpful to you. Please feel free to contact NIOSH if further information is needed.
Posted 8/18/08 at 4:53 pm
I am a Diet Technonlogist and I do a lot of community nutrition education. I know a few truck drivers and express my deep concern on an ongoing basis in regard to their health, diet habits as well as their sedentary activity level. Please send me any updates or information you may have. Thanks
Posted 8/27/08 at 2:25 pm
Reading these comments, I am amazed that there are so many mis-conceptions and falacies surrounding truck drivers among health professionals. Re: diesel particulate-long-haul drivers usually sleep in their trucks for several weeks at a time, often with the truck idling simply because temperature extremes make it impossible to sleep otherwise in an enclosed truck and it is not safe to sleep with the windows open. Even opening a vent often pulls in exhaust from adjacent trucks and one particular very common make of road tractor has notorious problems with exhaust and coolant fumes leaking into the truck during idle—several deaths have occurred. There is no way to escape the fumes and I dont doubt with the newer fuels with smaller particulate matter, the lung damage will be worse. COPD is very common but not attributed to the job.
Long-haul and short-haul job configurations are very different. . .it is actually a different job entirely. Unfortunately, most studies interview short-haul drivers because they are more accessable. Long-haul has its own set of problems. Unfortunately, the casual observer often lets their inate distrust of a nomadic lifestyle they dont understand get in the way of unbiased observation. There wont be any binge-drinking truckers at any truck stop truckers lounge—unless it is one of the interstate strip joint/bars around the country. Most drivers never darken their doors. What truck drivers DO do is BS the gullible—they're/we're good at that!
Falls are very common among those I work with—whole-body vibration likely is a contributing factor as a driver is often dizzy and unbalanced after having driven eleven hours straight. WBV has been implicated in a wide variety of disabling conditions, such as musculoskeletal damage (try L-3 to S-1), cervical disk problems, vision problems, female reproductive problems, prostate problems, digestive and abdominal conditions, etc. Studies done in the 90's usually studied short-haul configuration drivers who have far, far less exposure to WBV. This incidence of damage has obviously been far under-reported and likely explains the high number of extremity injuries even in among drivers who seldom unload a truck. The exposure definitely exceeds the European recommended limits by several hours daily and with a seven-day week. It is not unusual for a long-hauler to driver 4000 miles in a weeks time—you run the numbers.
Constant shift-change work has been shown to contribute to overweight, diabetes, sleep disturbances and high blood pressure. Irregular route long-haul drivers are usually exposed to this constantly, which leads to stress and poor health. Additionally, pay scales have been reduced continuously since 2002—stress over home, job and finances is a constant. I suspect much of what is being attributed to sleep apnea is severe long-term sleep deprivation over which the company driver has little control as he cannot control his schedule and the computer/dispatcher doesnt flat care.
And finally, be very aware in any study that approaching major carriers for accurate information will result in a tained study as they have liability issues that are their over-riding concern and will do everything in their power to assure that no accurate information that could possibly open them to liablity will show up in any driver/truck under their control. The only way accurate information will be gathered is via instrumentation in the cab of a large group of drivers for a period of several months—instrumentation that can collect air quality, movement, jarring and scheduling data independently of the carriers and the drivers.
I hope this information leads you to rethink whatever model you were considering for study—there are likely variables you havent yet thought of. I welcome NIOSH/CDC investigation into some of the worsening health problems drivers are being exposed to on a daily basis just to bring home a paycheck.
Posted 9/23/08 at 12:24 am
This is really good and important information not baised against truck drivers or the trucking industry. I will post this on my website at www.infotrucker.com and also submit formal comments to the NIOSH Docket.
Posted 10/6/08 at 11:50 am
I agree wholeheartedly about this article regarding truck safety, which should be taken seriously. More articles like this should be written regarding truck safety.
Posted 10/19/08 at 2:22 pm