Medically Ill Truckers Remain A Threat
Posted on Jul 23, 2008 - 2:23pm by Wayne Weisser in Health
There are literally hundreds of thousands of tractor-trailer drivers in the U.S. with valid commercial driver’s licenses. What makes this disturbing is the fact that a large number of them also qualify for federal disability benefits and have been prescribed medications to treat unconscious spells, seizures or heart conditions. Despite warnings from the government and the unsettling combination of injuries and deaths caused by commercial drivers with serious health issues, far too many of them continue to hop behind the wheel and endanger the lives of unsuspecting travelers.
According to a recent review by the Associated Press, truckers have been caught violating U.S. federal medical laws in every state. Violations compiled by the Transportation Department reveal that Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania make up the states where these laws were broken the most frequently.
Sadly enough, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration admits to not completing any of the eight recommendations proposed by U.S. safety regulators in 2001. At this point, it remains unclear whether any of these eight recommendations will be put into effect before the upcoming Presidential Election.
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I havent had time to read the entire report yet-I’ve been too mad! This AP article has taken the whole thing out of context to slam truck drivers once more.
There’s a basic question begging to be asked here. . .why are so many truckers so sick? Do you see any of these reporters asking?
Well, I’m asking! And I’d hope Oberstar, who requested the GAO study be done, is smart enough to ask-and follow up. I vented here:
[edit] . Its time for a long hard look at the current configurations of the job have done to drivers.
One reason drivers are so sick is they don’t take care of themselves. Can’t blame trucking or even truckstops. A lot of these physicals are shames. There are “DOT” physicals everywhere, and most don’t care as long as they get their money. At first blush, the report is probably the tip of the iceberg. But thanks to pressure from companies and everyone else to keep drivers on the road physicals have become a joke.
No one here to blame except the drivers themselves. Just like most of the industry’s problems.
As a psychotherapist who specializes in working with truckers, I agree there are a lot of truckers out there who are not healthy enough to be driving. I also want to point out that the significant percentage of truckers who are Mentally unfit to drive. I mean that they are so depressed or anxious that they are not thinking straight. This can be just as dangerous as a physical condition…and road rage is a whole other story. Then when you though substance abuse on top of all of this, it is certainly a dangerous combination.
I think truckers are under-served for both physical and mental healthcare.