Anyone who travels the roadways of Texas likely notices the high volume
of semi-truck traffic that is present during daytime and nighttime hours.
One might wonder if the long hours spent on the road and away from home
could have an effect on a truck driver’s health and well-being. Well,
some very illuminating results from a study on truck drivers were recently released.
The study was aimed at finding any connections between the health of truck
drivers and their risks of being involved in accidents. A doctor who was
interviewed about the study said that there were occupational and personal
factors that tended to strongly relate to the occurrence of accidents.
Among the factors the doctor said were related to drivers being involved
in accidents were the following:
- Regular consumption of alcohol.
- Frequent cellphone use.
- Experiencing symptoms of cardiovascular disease.
- Suffering from lower back pain within the last year.
- Accelerated heart rate.
- Having been previously diagnosed with heart problems.
The doctor also pointed out that truck drivers were saddled with a number
of challenges. For one thing, while out on the road, the drivers have
very limited access to healthy foods. They are also subject to a high
degree of stress and are unable to engage in much physical activity.
Hopefully, the results of this study and similar studies conducted in the
future will encourage the trucking industry to make changes that will
help improve the overall health and well-being of truck drivers. But as
things stand, there are apparently many drivers whose health makes them
vulnerable to causing accidents.
A driver who is suffering from ill-health could all too easily become fatigued
and cause a very serious accident. If you should ever be involved in a truck accident, a Texas personal
injury attorney may be able to help you secure a level of compensation
that is substantial enough to meet your needs.
Contact us today!
Source: MedicalResearch.com, “Health Factors Put Truck Drivers At Increased Crash Risk,” Oct. 24, 2015