Driver health epidemic highlighted by failed driver fitness program

A driver fitness program hosted by a Maine trucking company only highlights the driver health epidemic plaguing the industry, a former trucker-turned-fitness coach said in a recent interview. 

Fitness coach Michael Lombard was once a truck driver, so he understands the difficulties of staying fit OTR. He says that the objective failure of the Maine trucking company’s driver fitness program highlights the “500 pound elephant in the room” – the driver health epidemic. The company appeared on a local news channel to broadcast their driver fitness programs, but in the report, it is clear not one driver was able to make it to the terminal for the mid-work day fitness class. 

In the interview on Out of Hours, a sister podcast to Sense Per Mile, Lombard and the hosts of the podcast touch on the realities of poor health in truck drivers, and suggest that perhaps a surgeon general type warning on trucking company websites or driver job listings would benefit the industry, and even motivate companies to implement programs that actually help drivers instead of just putting on a show as if they are. 

Watch the interview touching on the issues with health in trucking and what companies might actually be able to do about it, below.