Editorial: Improving Drivers’ Lives

The trucking industry took a pause from its busy, round-the-clock pace last week to recognize the essential role that drivers play, not only for their employers but also in the nation’s economy.

Fleet owners and managers know that without the men and women who drive the trucks, all the expensive equipment on their lots, streaming down the highways, backed up to loading docks or taking on fuel at truck stops, would be just that many pieces of metal, glass and rubber.

That’s why fleets took time to do a little something extra for their drivers during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

Some companies and state associations sponsored picnics, handed out awards, provided cash bonuses or gave drivers an extra paid day off. At some carriers, office workers — the clerks, dispatchers, managers and others who work so diligently behind the scenes — got up in the cab to ride with their drivers to see what life is like out there on our nation’s crowded highways.

For many, it must have been an eye-opener, seeing what really goes on, with the traffic congestion, the often careless automobile drivers, the shippers or consignees who are always looking at the clock and asking “Where were you?” if the truck shows up a little late, but all too often leave drivers waiting in line for an hour or two — sometimes longer — to pick up or drop off a load.

It’s not an easy job and the growing list of problems — from beat-up, congested highways and bridges to higher tolls and more of them, rising fuel prices and pressure to comply with increasingly complex government regulations — sure doesn’t make it any easier.

One of the most important things that carriers can do to show how much we appreciate the men and women who move the nation’s goods is to do things to make drivers’ lives healthier and longer. Driving a truck is a high-stress, sedentary job. To counter that, some carriers are setting up wellness programs and providing advice about exercising and eating more healthful meals.

Robert Low, president of Prime Inc., speaking at the McLeod Software user conference, reeled off some dismal statistics about driver’s health and said there is “no reason” for drivers to have 16-18 years less of life expectancy than the national average.

Low said something everyone can agree with: “We’ve just got to do more” to ensure the health of the people who keep the trucks rolling.