What those risks are, and how to sidestep them
There is good and bad news about the health of the average HGV driver.
The bad news is: far too many suffer from problems such as heart disease, obesity, breathing difficulties, stress, back and muscular strains, and diabetes.
Wow. The good news though is that all these problems can be avoided by taking simple precautions. Let us start though by looking at some of the reasons why these health issues crop up in the first place.
Most HGV drivers, particularly those who drive long distances, spend most of their time sat in the same position in a cab. This means that they will be burning up fewer calories than people with a more active lifestyle, and this can lead to obesity and cardiovascular disease. In addition, because of lack of exercise many of the different muscles of the body can stiffen or even seize up, which is a perfect recipe for back and other muscular problems.
Add to that the fact that no matter how new a vehicle is it is likely to be subject to a certain degree of vibration, particularly if it has a diesel engine. This vibration is not good for us; it can cause tiredness, digestive problems, headaches, and joint inflammation. These can lead to not only short-term pain but also longer term issues such as problems with the bowels, the blood circulation, breathing, and muscles.
It's easy really. Studies have shown that as little as 15 minutes of exercise a day can make a huge difference to the health of someone who drives a truck for a living; half an hour is even better, preferably taken over two or more sessions. This does not mean you need to carry a mini gym in your cab; a brisk walk or a jog can work wonders. A foldaway bicycle kept in the back of the truck could be not only good for your physical health but it can relieve stress as well, particularly if you pick somewhere scenic to exercise.
Don't think, however, that you can get out of the cab after several hours of being immobile and then go dashing off down the road to fulfil your exercise quota. Sudden intensive exercise is certainly not good for us. A few loosening up exercises beforehand can keep you from suffering cramp or muscular strain.
Okay, that's the exercise for whilst you are working covered; but what about your free time? Developing hobbies involving exercise can be great for your overall health as well as keeping you slim and active. Swimming is great exercise, particularly for your back, and there are few things more pleasant than joining a rambling club or even the national Ramblers Association and getting out for a day in the country with like minded new friends; it costs next to nothing and you will discover many beautiful parts of Britain that you probably never knew existed.
Sitting in one place for most of the day is not a good way of keeping your weight down but the diet of the average professional driver doesn't help either. Pies, Fast foods, instant meals from petrol stations, packets of crisps and salted nuts can be very tasty but they usually contain all sorts of ingredients whose names we cannot even pronounce, and whose effects on the body are hardly beneficial. We are all familiar with the all-day breakfast at truck stops; fried eggs, bacon, tomatoes, black pudding, with lashings of tea and thickly buttered toast can be very welcoming but they contain a lot of calories and saturated fats, and are a long term recipe for obesity and furring up of the arteries.
And when did you last see a truckstop with a salad bar and display of fresh fruit?
The answer is simple; pack it yourself. Get an insulated sandwich box, keep it clean, and have a constant store of fruit, nuts, granola bars, cheese, and perhaps yoghurts, if you like to snack little and often. If you want something more substantial then well filled sandwiches (make sure the bread is wholemeal, and not that awful white bread which contains just carbohydrate next to no vitamins or minerals) containing meats or fish with salad will do you far more good than a plate of heavily processed sausages and chips at a wayside cafe.
Fizzy drinks like Coca-Cola can give you short-term lift but it soon disappears, unlike the masses of sugar that most of these drinks contain; plain simple water with perhaps a squirt of lemon juice is a far better drink during the day. Remember that coffee is good for keeping you alert in the short term; after the caffein wears off, though, your energy levels can sink leaving you tired and perhapps irritable - which is not good for your mental health, let alone your ability to drive safely, so use it sensibly.
Happily the days of lead in petrol are behind us but road fumes still contain a range of pollutants that can adversely affect our health longer term. These include toxic nitrates, tiny carbon particles that can clog up lungs, and a class of chemicals known as Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are created when fuel is not completely burned. PAHs are particularly dangerous since they can enter the body not only through the lungs but also through the skin, and they have been linked to a number of cancers and autoimmune diseases.
You can do little about fumes from other vehicles; but the major problems you face may well come from the vehicle you are driving yourself. Modern engines are designed to reduce pollution significantly (provided of course that the manufacturers have not successfully fiddled their emission tests!) But it is still essential to make sure that routine maintenance and emission checks are carried out regularly.
If you drive an old or poorly maintained vehicle your health may well be put at risk by it; so perhaps you should either ask your employer to improve the vehicle you are driving, or look elsewhere for a job with a more conscientious company.
Other vehicles may of course be belching out unacceptable levels of pollution. You can however plan your routes to avoid most of these. The worst exposure you are likely to get will be in a busy city with slow-moving traffic; motorways run most of the time through the countryside and you should use these as much as possible, not only from the point of view of air cleanliness but also of fuel efficiency.
Facemasks can help to reduce the amount of particulate matter that gets into your lungs; a simple cloth one is better than nothing but a proper surgical mask is far better. Many people are wary of wearing these because they believe that it makes them re-breathe their own carbon dioxide; but this is an urban myth and studies have shown that even surgeons wearing them for eight hours a day whilst performing highly complex tasks have shown no ill effects. You should be careful though if you wear spectacles or sunglasses, since they can cause fogging up of the lenses, which could cause a major issue if it happened at the wrong time.
We mentioned Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); these are also present in cigarette smoke, as are many other carcinogenic compounds. There is little point in avoiding road fumes if you are driving in a cab full of cigarette smoke; if you do smoke (and at the risk of sounding like a preacher, I do hope you give it up) it is better to do so during a break in the open air, rather than when you are driving.
You sit in a cab hour after hour whilst your spine and most of your muscles are pretty well immobile. You then arrive at your drop, climb out of the cab and then start some heavy physical labour to unload your cargo. A perfect recipe for back and muscular strains!
it is essential that before you start doing anything physical after being sedentary for a fairly long period you loosen your muscles up a little bit with a few simple exercises and stretches, if only for a minute or so. It is then very easy to forget about good lifting techniques; it is always essential to lift using your arms and legs, and not your back. If you are handling heavy objects you should always have a well secured hand truck in the back of your vehicle; and if they are really heavy then mechanical lifting equipment may be necessary.
Don't attempt however to use heavy lifting equipment yourself unless you have been sufficiently trained to do so; if it is provided by the company that you are delivering to it is far better from the safety (and insurance) point of view that their own trained staff use it.
Statistics indicate that around 25% of employee absence from work is caused by muscular strains, most of which is to the back. Read all you can about good lifting techniques and make using them a habit.