Four Issues That Can Affect Lorry Drivers

If you don’t work in freight or logistics, lorry driving seems easy.

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However, there several issues that cause drivers to suffer from anxiety, and they come far above what most have to put up with in their jobs. HGV insurance can help to protect the drivers and their employers against some of these issues.

Severe Fatigue

Spending several hours in the same position on a monotonous road causes fatigue. Lorry drivers often drive long distances at night when there isn’t much else on the road – an easy way to get drowsy without regular breaks.

Those that drive in rush hour suffer from the same fatigue by being stuck stationary for long periods in traffic, causing dips in concentration – which can be fatal.

Tricky Manoeuvres

Drivers need to navigate huge vehicles through small busy roads to meet a deadline. This requires a huge amount of concentration and energy. Doing this on a regular basis can cause extreme stress.

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Meeting Deadlines While Staying Safe

Regulations have been put in place about how long a lorry driver can spend behind the wheel. However, this creates more pressure to get goods delivered on time within unpredictable conditions and less time on the road.

Impacts on Health

Spending all day driving goods over long distances creates a sedentary lifestyle. This is very unforgiving on a driver’s health. Food options on the road tend to be mainly fast food.

Drivers on short-haul jobs are able to take food with them and get some exercise in at night. However, for long-distance drivers the story is very different – often lonely and isolated, sleeping uncomfortably in the cab to protect goods and break up the journey.

There are proven adverse effects of being alone for long periods of time away from loved ones. This can cause some serious mental health problems. HGV insurance can help to protect against some of the risks associated with driving freight vehicles.

The following article explains specific conditions that can be aggravated by this profession: https://www.alltruckjobs.com/blog/common-truck-driver-health-concerns/.

There are many companies that can provide competitive insurance such as https://www.quotemetoday.co.uk/hgv-insurance.

The importance of a lorry driver’s job is not always recognised by the public. Without them we would have no food, no furniture and no wine! Drivers need to be protected to ensure they can carry on with this invaluable role.