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Show Your Drivers You Care! Put a Healthy Trucking Kiosk in Your Terminal
"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things."
-- Peter F. Drucker
Time for the Industry to Get Serious About Health
By Marvin Shefsky
Study after study confirms that the nation’s three million truck drivers, when viewed collectively, are dangerously unhealthy compared to just about any other group of workers in the country. Consider these numbers: About a thousand U.S. truck drivers die on the job each year, accounting for one-sixth of all worker deaths, according to federal statistics. The feds also found that truck driver illness was at least one of the causes in 12 percent of the accidents involving a truck and a passenger vehicle, and that doesn’t include accidents involving driver fatigue. Another study of 1,200 deceased owner-operators showed the average age at death was 55, nearly 20 years earlier than the typical American.
Other studies have found that, on average, truck drivers smoke, are obese, have high blood pressure and suffer from diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea and other serious ailments at a far higher rate than the average American.
If all of those numbers haven’t gotten you and your company’s attention, they have attracted the attention of the federal government. The feds, for example, have already mandated that truck drivers must get their blood pressure numbers down to 140/90 or they can’t drive commercially. Now, according to the CSA 2010 initiative described elsewhere in this newsletter, the feds are going to assess most if not all motor carriers and drivers, rate their “safety fitness” and hold them accountable for their performance.
One thing is clear to me: Unless this industry starts helping itself by helping its drivers get healthier, the government is going to continue to step in and get involved in every aspect of driver health. The CSA initiative is going to happen, so why not get ahead of the game and start developing a healthier, happier fleet of drivers at your company today?
How do you do that? Establish a health and wellness program for your drivers if you haven’t already done so. Make it easy for drivers to take part in the program and to monitor their health by providing such things as blood pressure kiosks at your terminals (call Andy Shefsky, 678-739-0928, for details). Most important of all, recruit drivers who are healthy or have health and wellness on the top of their minds and want to go in that direction.
That’s where we come in. For the last two years, our two driver recruitment magazines, Over the Road and Pro Trucker, have been heavily flavored with health-oriented editorial material. We’re obviously proud of that distinction because we’re providing potential life-changing – and perhaps life-saving – information to drivers. The healthy focus also allows us to funnel healthier drivers to you. Think about it. If you’re a healthy driver or at least a health-conscious driver interested in improving your health – and OTR and Pro Trucker are the only two driver recruitment magazines in the industry geared toward health and wellness – which magazines are you going to pick up at the truck stop?
Our readers have health and wellness on their mind. So what kind of driver do you want to recruit? Someone who’s interested in getting and staying healthy or someone who doesn’t give a damn? And what does a healthier fleet of drivers mean to your company? Better production. Lower insurance rates. Happier people. Less turnover.
OK, now that I have your attention, let’s talk about another program we recently launched as part of our ongoing Healthy Trucking Initiative: discount prescription drug cards. The cards enable drivers and their families to save, on average, 15 percent off the cost of brand-name drugs and 40 percent off the cost of generic drugs. If a driver is taking two or more prescriptions, the savings can easily amount to $100 or more a month. Uninsured or under-insured owner-operators could benefit even more from the cards.
Here’s how it works: We provide your company with as many cards as you need to cover all your drivers and their family members, and they immediately start saving money on their monthly prescriptions. Best of all, the cards are free to all of our advertising clients and Healthy Trucking Initiative sponsors. In the first two months of the program, we sent about 20,000 cards to 50 companies, which means thousands of truck drivers and members of their families are now saving hundreds of dollars a month on their prescription drugs. The program also allows participants to search online for all the pharmacies in their area and to compare the cost of specific drugs at different locations, with and without the discount.
Along with allowing your drivers and their families to save money, discount prescription drug cards also serve as an obvious driver recruitment and retention tool. During the recruitment phase, you can tell prospective drivers they can start saving money on their prescriptions right away without having to wait the customary 60 or 90 days for the company health plan to kick in. And you’ll be giving your existing drivers another reason to see how much the company cares about them and their families.
Last but not least, the discount prescription drug card program can also save your company big bucks. Most large trucking companies, for example, are basically self-insured. After major medical coverage, the company might pay out of pocket for its drivers’ doctor visits, X-rays, rehab and drug prescriptions. For a company with 4,000 drivers, the cost of prescription drugs alone can cost a $1 million or more a year. Thus, a savings of 15 percent to 40 percent could add up to several hundred thousand dollars a year.
Did we mention that this discount prescription drug card program is free?
Working together, we can make this a healthier – and more prosperous – industry. Give Andy a call (678-739-0928) today and let’s get started.
Marvin Shefsky is the CEO of Ramp Media Group and the publisher of Inside Trucking Online.
-- Marvin Shefsky, Publisher/CEO
(Marvin@otrprotrucker.com)
