When I’m talking with drivers about health-related concerns, one of the biggest complaints I encounter is that non-truckers just don’t understand what life on the road is like.
And I think there’s some validity to this complaint. Yeah, I work with truckers every day, but I don’t know what it’s like to try to cook a healthy, balanced meal in the cab of a big rig or get out and exercise after driving 600 miles. I’ve never faced the threat of losing my job based on a physical examination. All I can do is learn from the experiences of those who have been there, done that.
Which is why TA’s StayFit program is really a step in the right direction. The company is taking into account what real drivers have to say by sending out office employees to sit and talk with them. This isn’t just some committee of minimum-wage hacks taking notes at a truckstop; according to Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations Tom Liutkus, it’s the company’s “senior management team.”
In speaking with trucker friends who already try to eat healthy and exercise on the road, it seems the response to TA’s move is overwhelmingly positive. One even went so far as to say, “Someone is finally listening.”
If truck drivers are going to be healthier, they need the proper tools to do it, and they need to understand that it isn’t a battle they have to fight alone. We at Truckers News give props to TA for joining the fight in a major way.