It’s no secret that driving a truck is not always conducive to a healthy lifestyle and the demands of the job do not typically leave a lot of time to get regular exercise or eat healthy food while on the road.
According to the experts at Commercial Truck Trader, driver health, both physical and mental, is one of the top concerns among those who work in company trucking management.
“Not only is there concern for the lives of these employees, but an unhealthy workforce also contributes to more crashes, more time off work during worker’s comp, higher employee turnover and higher insurance costs,” the company said in a media release.
Here are 7 tips for helping your drivers stay healthy, courtesy of Commercial Trucker Trader:
- Introduce a wellness program – Develop or sign up your company up for an employee wellness program which should help drivers set attainable goals and provide them with actionable strategies and helpful resources.
- Offer incentives – Offer bonuses, gift cards and other prizes for tracking certain metrics, hitting personal goals or meeting major health milestones.
- Maintain vehicles – Routine preventative maintenance ensures fresh, clean cabin filters, cleared exhaust systems and functional heating and cooling in the cab.
- Explain and advertise wellness – Advertise the program via multiple media channels from handouts to posters to emails to texts and get experienced drivers to endorse the program.
- Optimize routes – Help drivers to find the time to prepare meals, workout and get enough sleep by optimizing drivers’ shifts and routes to be fair and consistent.
- Provide tools and testing – Purchase or reimburse drivers for things like coolers for storing healthy food, workout equipment like resistance bands, ergonomic seats, sunscreen, medical exams and sleep apnea tests.
- Remember mental health – Make sure that the employer-provided insurance offers to your drivers covers mental health, including remote therapy that drivers can access on the road.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
