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FROM MINOR TO MAJOR
Page 64
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Page 67
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In a macho industry like road transport it's tempting to make light of problems like backaches and fatigue. But that would be a big mistake because they can have devastating consequences. David Harris reports.
Not all truck drivers' health problems are immediately life-threatening. For every heart attack there are a hundred )re backs; for every fatal road accident there re innumerable of cases of stress. But those 1.atively minor conditions can have huge insequences on both work and lifestyle. It doesn't take a medical expert to work out iat making a living as a truck driver can give Du back problems. Long periods of driving in lead to poor posture and muscular nbalance and a spine which looks a bit too inch like a question mark for comfort. You can guard against this,of course. Regular reaks, exercise and a good quality,properly djusted seat will all help prevent long-term roblems. Ideally your seat should be set up so Dur the hips and knee form 900 angles. Truckers, sometimes unfairly, are not usually associated with a regular exercise programme. But making time for half an hour or even 15 minutes' exercise every day could help to defend against a whole range of physical problems as well as the back pain that dogs the industry.
Threats to health
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and repetitive strain injury (RSI) have both been flagged as potential dangers for drivers, although facts are hard to come by.
DVT is most commonly associated with long-haul air passengers squeezed into economy seats and immobile for long periods. Fortunately most truck seats are much more comfortable than aeroplane seats and the natural movements of driving, particularly operating pedals, should help to minimise the risk.
The problem with assessing how much of a risk DVT is to truck drivers is that its cause is not always obvious, as those attempting to sue airlines have discovered. But some operators have taken note —Taylors of Martley launched a "drink lots of water" campaign two years ago with this in mind. Its 200 drivers were issued with refillable water bottles and advised to follow doctors' advice to drink 1.5 litres a day.
The Transport and General Workers Union has also voiced concerns; it has raised the issue of issuing drivers with surgical stockings, which are also believed to counter DVT.
Authenticated stories of DVT clearly associated with long-distance driving are rare. 1111. M has reported the case involving Wiltshire'based John Black, but the cause of his DVT vas being hit by a wheel in his workshop • ather than driving.
Even the Freight Transport Association's lead of health and safety, Robin Sharpsays he las come across few cases. Oddly, the only :ases of which he is certain involves his own vother, who developed DVT after longlistance car driving, and an unnamed FTA nnployee who suffered from the condition. [he fact that Sharp's experience of the :ondition is both so limited and yet so close to tome indicates how hard DVT is to either luantify or dismiss.
Most insurers also say few confirmed cases )f DVT — or RSI— have come to their notice.
Graham Davies, of Cheltenham-based ruck specialist Ratcliffe Insurance, says:"We taven't had any approaches on DVT or RSI, )ut that doesn't necessarily mean the condiions aren't occurring, because in all likelihood fan employee developed a condition like this t would be covered by employers' liability nsurance."
Insurance problems
Dne problem which this raises is that employ:1.s' liability insurance premiums has been ?ping through the roof in recent years. iunderland haulierAlex Smiles recently blind its premiums jumping from L13,000 to 90,000 when it was forced to switch insurers ifter its original company stopped taking the msiness.
Smiles' case might be exceptional but one .eason insurers in general are charging higher nerniums for employers' liability cover is that hey are wary of potential claims for :onditions such as DVT.
Another factor which complicates any assessment of the DVT risk, either from driving or flying, is that victims do not all collapse at the end of their journey but may die days later, so the link is not always apparent. However, research by Imperial College, London, among others, indicates that the condition is far more common among those • who have made long journeys recently.
Anybody really concerned about DVT could have a blood test to see if their blood has the predisposition to clotting known as thrombophilia but the test is not usually available on the NI-IS and costs several hundred pounds to have done privately. It seems unlikely that truckers will be queuing up.
Bad vibrations
There have been some high-prolile compensation payments involving RSI but the legislation covering DVT and RSI has not been too specific, if only because the conditions themselves are not well understood But one area which will be covered by new regulations this year is vibration.The EU Vibration Directive requires employers to: • Minimise the vibration to which workers are exposed; • Inform them of risks; • Provide protective equipment where required.
Geoff Day, the FTA's expert on this directive is not impressed:"This is a directive which will cost millions to implement and any possible benefits will be outweighed by the cost by a factor of ten to one. it's just another load of bureaucracy" Like RSI and DVT, one of the problems with vibration is that the risk does not seem huge, at least in terms of the number of reported cases. Such risks as there are depend on individual drivers, the vehicles they drive, and the intensity of their schedule. Perhaps the biggest risk is whole body vibration,where drivers' backs can be hurt by constant exposure to movement caused by the engine and suspension. But again, this is difficult to diagnose with certainty.This doesn't mean it doesn't exist but it does mean it is hard to confidently attribute to a single cause.
One thing these conditions have in common is that they underline the importance of sticking to the hours rules in cabs that are properly equipped and ergonomically set up.They also remind us that drivers should have regular health checks. in an ideal world anybody driving a large vehicle for a living would do just that, but a study in Walsall two years ago found that compared with other groups of workers, truck drivers are among the least likely to have check-ups.
Silent killer
Perhaps the most serious non-traumatic condition that can be countered by drivers taking care of themselves and keeping to the hours rules is also the one that most often leads to traumatic accidents. It is of course, tiredness.
While a bad back can be treated and the incidences of DVT and RSI in truck drivers are difficult to quantify, there is no doubt about the fatal effects of fatigue. Falling asleep at the wheel is the main reason why the peak time for accidents is between 2am and 4am.
A study from the sleep research laboratory at Loughborough University shows that fatigue accounts for 15-20% of motorway accidents. Drink, by way of comparison, is involved in less than 14% of all accidents.
Part of the solution for tired drivers is simply to get more sleep. University researchers in Australia and New Zealand found that drivers who sleep fewer than seven hours a day are more at risk than those with a blood-alcohol level of 50m g.
But making sure you get enough sleep is not a complete answer, according to the Loughborough study. One reason why the 2am-4am slot is so dangerous is that this is when the body's natural clock dictates that sleepiness is a problem.This means that a sober driver who has had enough sufficient sleep and is within his or her driving hours could still be vulnerable in the early hours.
Awareness would seem to be the vital issue here.Any driver feeling drowsy should do something about it immediately by stopping as soon as possible and taking a cat-nap and drinking coffee.The Loughborough research also suggests that drivers who do feel drowsy often don't do anything about it. If this sounds like you then change your habits before you become another statistic. •