A new national campaign, Driver Health Week, will take place from 1-6 September to highlight the importance of improving the health and wellbeing of commercial drivers amid concerns over an ageing workforce and rising rates of preventable illness.
The week will include an inaugural Driver Health Day at Loughborough University on 4 September, bringing together drivers, operators, academics and policymakers to explore practical ways to keep drivers healthier, safer and in work for longer.
Backed by the RHA, Driving Better Health, National Highways, Loughborough University and the Society of Occupational Medicine, the campaign will include a national roadshow visiting truck stops, educational resources for employers and drivers, and the promotion of health screening and support services.
Commercial drivers face increased risks from long hours behind the wheel, poor diet and physical inactivity, with conditions such as heart disease and diabetes often diagnosed too late. Organisers say improving driver health is becoming an operational priority as the industry’s workforce continues to age.
Professor Stacy Clemes, of Loughborough University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, said operators increasingly recognise the need to invest in driver wellbeing: “All the operators we’ve spoken to are very keen on promoting driver health because I think now everyone’s realising that it’s a big issue and we need to do something about it.”
Stacy Clemes has led 13 years of research into driver health, including the development of the SHIFT programme, which promotes physical activity and healthier lifestyles among HGV drivers and has since been adapted into a Driver CPC training module.
