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Quote of the Day

Judging from the following famous quotes, the sweet smell of success involves a lot of sweat:

• The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.
-- Vince Lombardi (NFL Hall of Fame coach)

• Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.
-- General George Patton

• Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
-- Albert Einstein

• The road to success runs uphill.
-- Willie Davis (NFL Hall of Fame player under Lombardi)

Time to get serious about drivers' health

Allen Herndon

“Truckers would never knowingly run bad fuel through their engines, let them idle for days at a time or stress them beyond their reasonable limits,” says Chelle Pfiffner, founder and managing partner of J&K Health Consulting, LLC. “But too often, they do similar things to their bodies, and the consequences can be both startling and tragic."

Pfiffner, a speaker at this year's Healthy Trucking Summit sponsored by Healthy Trucking Association of America in Atlanta, is only too aware of the unique challenges brought about by a trucker's lifestyle. “Fast food, poor sleep habits, little time for exercise and the stress of driving an 80,000-pound rig across today's crowded highways is a prescription for poor health,” she says.

But unlike a poorly maintained engine, a driver's body can be returned to health and efficiency with some simple lifestyle changes, Pfiffner told the invitation-only audience of trucking company executives.

Allen Herndon is living proof. For the past 20 years, this two million-miler from Troy, AL, has been safely moving America's cargo 100,000+ miles a year, but it's been at a cost to his health.

“Between the time I started driving 18-wheelers in my late 20s and my 46th birthday my weight went from 190 pounds to almost 300 pounds,” Herndon says. “With the extra 100 pounds came high blood pressure, sleep issues and just feeling lousy.”

Then one day he took a good look in the mirror, didn't like what he saw and decided to do something about it. He enrolled in his carrier's Big Road Wellness Campaign. Now his weight is down to 190 and his blood pressure is normal. His back is less painful, his sleep is sound, and he's feeling great.

“There are a surprising number of things you can do in your cab,” Herndon says, “but it does take persistence and dedication. Coupled with responsible nutrition, 30 minutes a day of exercise for 90 days made a huge difference in my health.”

Says Pfiffner, “We developed Big Road Wellness specifically to support the challenges faced by truckers and trucking firms alike. We've been able to not only improve the health of drivers but, ultimately, the health of carriers' bottom lines.”

According to a survey by LifeClinic, 55 percent of the drivers screened are obese, 30 percent are overweight and only 13 percent are normal weight. The frequency of hypertension and pre-hypertension identified significant health risks. With that in mind, Pfiffner says there has never been a more opportune, or critical, time for companies and drivers to get serious about their health.

“With new regulations by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association that can threaten a trucker's CDL, an economy that is only just beginning to recover, along with an industry hit hard by the downturn, there's significant incentive for truckers to take control of their health now. Add in a driver's downtime caused by poor health, coupled with the related loss of income and you've got major challenges. As one veteran driver told me, once you get off the road, it has never been tougher to get back on.”

Citing LifeClinic, Pfiffner notes that medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent.

“I don't know of any innovation in the trucking industry that has ended up helping to change people's lives for the better while providing that kind of return on investment,” Pfiffner concludes.

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