Deadly health perils for truckies exposed in driver study

It will be extraordinarily powerful, soiled and harmful work.

Factor in lengthy hours, stress and doubtlessly deadly ranges of fatigue, and it is a recipe for severe well being dangers and an early demise.

Now, the heavy load Australian truckies are carrying has been revealed in a just-released examine, which claims the unforgiving rigours of driving a truck will result in greater than 6000 driver deaths and 21,000 misplaced years of life over the course of this decade.
A drone photo of a truck in outback Queensland, Australia.
Truck driving is the primary employer of Australian males, nonetheless driving for a residing poses many well being threats. (Nine / Krystle Wright)

Work-related illnesses or accidents within the business, which employs round 380,000 staff, will find yourself costing $485 million in healthcare, researchers additionally estimated.

Truck driving is the primary employer of Australian males, nonetheless driving for a residing poses many well being threats.

Transport and logistics staff usually have worse well being than these in different industries, and are particularly liable to musculoskeletal and trauma-related accidents.

According to the Monash University-led examine, drivers even have a “high prevalence” of heart problems, weight problems, and hypertension, which has been attributed to lengthy working hours, poor entry to healthcare, publicity to bodily and psychological stress and different behaviours and occupational traits which contribute to sick well being.

The most typical points for drivers embody again illnesses, hypertension and poor psychological well being.

Many report extreme ranges of psychological misery in comparison with staff in different sectors.

A truck drives in outback Queensland on the way to Adelaide.
Truck drivers are 13 occasions extra more likely to die at work than different staff. (Nine / Krystle Wright)

“Despite the importance of the transport and logistics industry to the Australian economy, workers are at a greater risk of work-related injury or disease relative to other industries,” the researchers discovered.

Last week, a report from Safe Work Australia confirmed drivers and equipment operators suffered most office deaths within the nation in 2021.
According to a Comcare Australia report, truck drivers are 13 occasions extra more likely to die at work than different staff, and over half are categorised as overweight.

The transport and logistics business contributes vastly to the Australian economic system.

In 2015-16, the sector generated $122 billion, or 7.4 per cent, of the nation’s GDP.

However, researchers famous that few research had explored the financial and scientific burden attributed to poor truck driver well being.

“Despite the importance of the transport and logistics industry to the Australian economy, workers are at a greater risk of work-related injury or disease relative to other industries,” researchers stated.

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Researchers used information from different research and sources to estimate work-related mortality, productiveness losses, and hospital and drugs prices.

The examine stated authorities motion, together with will increase in funding and modifications in coverage, might assist save lives and scale back the $2.6 billion in estimated misplaced productiveness over this decade.