Show Your Drivers You Care! Put a Healthy Trucking Kiosk in Your Terminal
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If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
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By Marvin Shefsky  If you’ve been reading this column over the last two years, you know we’ve talked to death (bad pun) the issue of drivers’ health. While we understand that there are many trucking industry issues that merit attention – starting with the elephant in the room, the economy, and its enormous impact on the industry – we make no apologies for continually focusing on drivers’ health and wellness. Let’s face it, there’s not much any of us can do about the economy; eventually market forces beyond any of our control will turn things around. The recession will end, the economy will bounce back and freight will pick up. The only question is, When will it happen? Again, no one knows for sure. On the other hand, we all know the collective state of the nation’s truck drivers’ health is in poor shape, and we all know exactly what every carrier and every driver should do about it. The only question is, Will they? It’s one thing to raise the issue of drivers’ health in columns such as this; it’s another thing to provide real, practical solutions. As the saying goes, we “walk the talk.” We started by providing truck stops and carriers with Healthy Trucking kiosks where drivers could check their blood pressure and receive health information for free. Next we provided drivers and carriers with free prescription drug cards so drivers and their families could receive significant savings on their monthly prescriptions. Now we’re sponsoring and promoting the Healthy Trucking Association of America, a potentially game-changing organization geared toward helping drivers live healthier, longer lives while simultaneously protecting companies from the liability generated by unhealthy drivers. It’s the ultimate win-win solution to the issue of drivers’ health. For more on the HTAA, read the accompanying article by my daughter and Associate Publisher Jenny Shefsky. The bottom line is this: Unhealthy drivers are not only a risk to themselves and other motorists, they are a potential financial risk to the companies they drive for. Meanwhile, the feds are circling overhead, ready to swoop down on the issue if the industry continues to drag its feet. Given the HTAA and other cost-effective wellness programs, there are no longer any excuses for companies not to take an active role in improving the health of their drivers. Again, the only question is, Will they? That ball’s in your court. Marvin Shefsky is the CEO of Ramp Media Group and the publisher of Inside Trucking Online. -- Marvin Shefsky, Publisher/CEO
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