ViewpointDoes truck driver health and wellness deserve more attention?
Introduction
The global economy is reliant upon supply chain networks to operate efficiently in order to prosper. While there are direct costs firms face while participating in these activities, there are also external costs that can have a notable impact. There is much coverage of numerous external costs in the logistics literature, but a cost that needs additional investigation is the health and wellness of truck drivers. The medical literature includes a significant amount of research on this topic. For example, some studies have looked at health needs and improving health awareness and education among truck drivers (Angeles et al., 2014, Hassan et al., 2014, Ng et al., 2015), while others have considered obesity (Martin et al., 2009, Kay and McLaughlin, 2014, Sieber et al., 2014) or fatigue (Adams-Guppy and Guppy, 2003, Dawson et al., 2014). However, this is a topic that has been widely overlooked in business or logistics publications. These fields should give serious consideration to this issue since trucking is a key cog in the global economy.
A lack of attention to the well-being of truck drivers may contribute to inefficient or ineffective supply chains since this group is a key participant in this function. It may also worsen the truck driver shortage currently being experienced since the perceived negative effects of the work on their lives discourage potential commercial vehicle operators. Truck driver health and wellness is an important problem because due to issues like long working hours and the potential of traffic accidents, the United States Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook notes that truck drivers have one of the highest rates of illness and injury of any occupation (Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers, 2014). There are also notable financial impacts related to the problems truck drivers may experience. For example, as mentioned in the coming paragraphs, annual costs related to commercial motor vehicle crashes in the United States are approaching $100 billion.
Although research in this area is lacking, policymakers around the world have not unequivocally ignored it. Efforts have been made in various countries to limit the hours a driver can operate a vehicle. The United States has recently updated its hours of service (HOS) regulations, while countries in the European Union have drivers’ hours rules that impose similar limitations. For example, in the United States the Federal Motor Carrier Administration has determined that drivers can operate a vehicle no more than 60 h within 7 days or 70 h within 8 days, and mandatory rest breaks are also included (Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers, 2014). These types of statutes that establish daily and weekly limits are created in order to create a safer environment for both drivers and those operating other vehicles. Despite these efforts, the American Transportation Research Institute (2015) has ranked HOS rules at the top of its critical trucking industry issues list (2015). Key issues still outstanding relate to a loss of productivity and reduced driver pay related to these HOS limitations. Thus, it seems that the balance between safety and economic issues has not yet been achieved.
Section snippets
Health problems
Truck drivers work in an environment that requires long periods of relative immobility in the driver seat of a vehicle. This can contribute to an inactive lifestyle that may ultimately lead to poor health. This is especially true when coupled with a bad diet, which many truck drivers face due to the speed and convenience of unhealthy foods. In addition, Sieber et al. (2014) found that over half of truck drivers smoke, and many of workers in the transportation, warehousing, and utilities (TWU)
Relation to accidents
Fatigue or health issues can lead to dire consequences for both drivers and other vehicle operators on the road. One result is the involvement of heavy trucks in fatal crashes. While fatigue and health issues were previously mentioned as external costs of logistics that directly impact truck drivers, the potential consequence of accidents and their profound impact on the health and wellness of both drivers and other road users makes it relevant to this discussion. Table 2 outlines trucking
Conclusion
The issue of truck driver health and wellness has been extensively explored in the medical literature, but research on the topic in the area of business has been lacking. The trucking industry and drivers have the ability to take actions to help alleviate this problem, but businesses and researchers also need to allocate ample attention and resources to help with the shortcoming since inefficiencies in trucking can negatively impact firms, customers, and the economy as a whole. For example,
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