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Show Your Drivers You Care! Put a Healthy Trucking Kiosk in Your Terminal
“There is more credit and satisfaction in being a first-rate truck driver than a tenth-rate executive.”
– B. C. Forbes (1880-1954), editor and founder of Forbes Magazine (1917)
Driver Wellness Leads to Safety, Cost Efficiency, Productivity
By Jack Kelsh
A trillion dollars here, $40 billion there, another $100 million for this and that. Everything seems to have a price tag attached to it, and it all adds up.
I recently conducted a series of seminars for a large mining corporation. I was one of several presenters, so I had an opportunity to eavesdrop on some of the other speakers. The topics ranged from tires to trust. My topic was about safety through wellness and how wellness relates to economics in the workplace. My audience had little to do with the trucking industry, but there are many parallels. The concerns are the same: safety, cost efficiency, productivity, etc.
Companies spend a great deal of money to educate their employees, knowing that if even a fraction of it sticks, they will be ahead, economically. This benefits not only the company, but the workers as well.
Wouldn’t it be nice if your company could catch a break and be able to get some very good educational material at no cost? It is impossible to get all of your drivers together at the same time, so it obviously would not make sense to hire a speaker to come in for only a few drivers. That would be cost prohibitive.
I have something for you. I conducted a seminar at Diversified Transfer and Storage in Billings, MT for the Montana Motor Carriers Association. With permission, I had it videotaped and edited and put on to a DVD. I would like to offer this to any trucking company who asks for it, free of charge. You can show it as many times as you like to your drivers in however many groups it takes in order to reach them all.
I am a certified nutritionist in sports nutrition. I am also a truck driver. I drive a local route for Diversified Transfer and Storage. My story is that I lost 175 pounds as a truck driver. I developed a fitness program including an exercise wheel and a book, “Nineteen Wheels: the Professional Driver’s Amateur Workout and Guide to Healthy Living on the Road.” The workout can be done while driving or stopped.
I know what it’s like to be driving a truck all day, living on “road food” and feeling trapped where you think that there is nothing you can do to achieve good health. I want other drivers to benefit from my experience, to learn what I learned and do what I did. I want to break the stereotypes and raise the standard of wellness in the trucking industry. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I want to sell my books and 19th wheels and get them into the hands of as many drivers as possible, as well as motivate them to use them.
The book tells my story. I was up to 365 pounds before I was able to do something about it. I describe my motivation and hope that others can relate to my state of mind. The book illustrates the set-up and execution of the driver seat workout, and on to how to use the 19th wheel. The entire second half of the book deals with nutrition. I illustrate how to eat properly, even while on the road, even from the buffet table. I point out not only what to avoid, but what to eat instead and in what combinations.
The whole program adds up to better driver wellness, which in turn makes a safer driver. The result is less driver fatigue, better mental capacity and awareness, better balance, better immune systems, reduced illnesses, diseases, injuries and, of course, accidents.
You can view details of the program, read articles and watch a short news video on my Web site (www.safetythruwellness.com). When you are on the site, click “contact us” and ask for the video seminar. Include your name and address and I will send it out ASAP.
Jack Kelsh is a professional truck driver, sports nutritionist, author and frequent contributor to Over the Road and Pro Trucker magazines. He has designed a total body workout geared for over-the-road drivers. For more information, visit www.safetythruwellness.com or call 406-855-3582.
