SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – October 23, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – Truck drivers who are fatigued behind the wheel, use cell phones while driving, or have an elevated pulse rate may be at an increased risk of getting into a crash. A new study by the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (RMCOEH) at the University of Utah School of Medicine confirms a significant link between poor health management and a history of crashes.
Cell phone use while driving has repeatedly been associated with crash risk.
Almost 800 truckers were surveyed for the study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. At truck stops and trucking shows in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada, Texas and Utah, the participants were given a basic physical exam, and filled out a questionnaire tracking their personal crash history, health and mental status, working conditions, and lifestyle choices.
Dr. Kurt Hegmann, director of the RMCOEH, and lead author of the study said, “We’ve found personal and occupational factors that we think are meaningfully related to being involved in a crash.” His team also discovered “Some of these risk factors could arise from unhealthy working conditions.”
Researchers found many signs that the typical long haul truck driver’s health is not well managed. Almost 25 percent of the drivers surveyed had detectable high blood pressure but had not been diagnosed or treated for the condition.
“The high incidence of uncontrolled hypertension was a surprise, particularly given that truckers must undergo medical certification every two years,” said Matthew Thiese, Ph.D., another author of the study. He added, “It’s another indication that truck drivers’ health needs are not adequately being met and could be endangering them in ways that we may not anticipate.”
Sixty-two percent of the participants were also obese which is considerably higher than the 35 percent of the general population that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers severely overweight.
Truck drivers are involved in an estimated quarter of a million crashes each year with one to two percent of those accidents resulting in deaths.
Now, the team from the University of Utah School of Medicine will focus on developing ways for truck drivers to better manage and control their health. Thiese said, “Being able to understand the association” between a truck driver’s job and “crash risk, and bringing attention to it, will hopefully one day lead to fewer people getting hurt.”
