Q Do road hauliers, when recruiting drivers, pay enough attention to physical fitness?
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ADrivers are already recruited with diffi
culty and many hauliers are more concerned when engaging them to check references as to working ability and integrity rather than to study a driver's medical history.
But a driver's absence through illness or injury can seriously disrupt otherwise efficient operation so that there are good reasons to justify an employer requiring a prospective driver to undergo a thorough medical check.
In the United States an increasing number of operators are requiring recruits to be medically examined and some specify an X-ray examination to detect proneness to back injury. There is evidence that one in six drivers are prone to such injury and some employers are prepared to pay to be forewarned.