Driver unhappiness is increasingly becoming a serious threat to the transport industry, prompting government and industry to address working conditions and up the ante on truck driver wellness programmes.
Minister of Transport, Blade Nzimande, recently highlighted truck drivers’ concern for their safety following a number of violent protests on national highways in which drivers, their vehicles and their cargo were targeted.
He urged transport operators to “urgently address” these concerns while at the same time condemning the “senseless acts of violence”. One driver – a 42-yearold South African veteran – described on a Facebook page for long-haul drivers how he had narrowly escaped being set alight with his truck during the now infamous Mooi River protest on the N3 in April. “The people attacking me were other local truck drivers who were accusing me of being a foreigner, stealing their jobs. My pleas to show them my South African driver’s licence fell on deaf ears as they poured petrol on me.
The police arrived just before they struck the match that would have ended my life,” he said. General manager for Hollard Commercial Vehicles, Wayne Rautenbach, told FTW that unhappy truck drivers were an overall threat to the economy. “If trucks stand still, this eventually leads to the economy doing the same thing.”
He said it was crucial for employers to manage and mitigate risk exposure through a truck driver wellness programme. “As an insurer of heavy haul vehicles we have seen positive results through our prioritising of wellness, training and education programmes,” said Rautenbach. Drivers – speaking to FTW via Facebook messaging on condition of anonymity – lauded the various wellness programmes and truck stops introduced by, amongst others, Arrive Alive, fuel company Engen, and the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI).
But while these did go some way towards alleviating their concerns, much more was needed, they added. “Yes these truck stops help us to rest and eat and get tested for HIV and help us test our blood pressure and get condoms, but the food we can get at these stops is expensive and unhealthy take-aways and we often have such tight delivery schedules that we cannot take more than a 30-minute break to eat,” said a driver who works for a small operator.
Combine the demanding hours and prolonged time away from home with the constant driver shortages and escalating safety concerns – and burnout, stress, fatigue and depression become par for the course according to a blog on Trucking SOS which pointed out that wellness programmes should address these concerns as well.
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A 42-year-old South African veteran described on a Facebook page for long-haul drivers how
