Shorter Lifespan for Truck Drivers?

The Lifespan for Truck Drivers

Being in the truck driving profession contributes to a shorter lifespan for truck drivers - shorter than for others in other occupations. In fact, it has been said a truck driver's life span can have as much as 16 years cut off of a normal life expectancy as compared to others. In fact, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (in an article on truck driver life expectancy CDC provides this information) has said that the average life expectancy for a commercial truck driver is 61 years, which is 16 years lower than the national average. That is quite a gap.

Health risks that often come along with being a professional driver - such as the lifestyle of a commercial truck driver - contribute to the expected shorter lifespan for truck drivers.

Many truck drivers frequently engage in bad habits such as smoking cigarettes or taking stimulants and/or consuming excessive amounts of caffeine to stay awake. These things are often byproducts of the truck driver lifestyle and could even be considered "side effects of being a truck driver."

Statistics About the Life Span for Truck Drivers in Question

As discussed above, the shorter life expectancy of truckers isn’t really in dispute. Although, the specific difference has been called into question a bit. Some statistics don’t support the 16-year variance. Others have put it at more like 10 to 15 years and some have put it all the way at 20 years. The bottom line is that while the actual difference may vary, most agree that the shorter life span risk for truck drivers is real and significant.

Health Concerns

There is a broad range of medical issues that impact the life expectancy of truck drivers.

Dr. Eric Wood of the University of Utah conducted a study that reported half of all truck drivers smoke tobacco, 28% suffer from high blood pressure (compared to 17% of manufacturing workers), 25% had high cholesterol (compared to 16%), 10% had diabetes (compared to 5%), and nearly 15% had sleep apnea.

With all of these health concerns, you would think more than 58% of drivers were covered by health insurance but that’s what the stats show. Obesity is also a health concern because 55% of truck drivers are obese, having a BMI of 30 or greater (compared to 33%).

Mortality Among Unionized Truck Drivers

There was another study focusing on the cause of mortality in the unionized U.S. trucking industry that was based on roughly 54,000 employees of 4 different unionized trucking companies in 1985. As a result of this study, it was found that these truck drivers also had higher rates of lung cancer and heart disease than the average population.

This could be due to the fact that they’re more exposed to diesel and propane exhaust, in addition to the higher smoking rate. A measurement of the study says that the average age of death among drivers was roughly 61 years old. The median age of death for mean nationally in 1992, was roughly 73 years.

Since truck drivers face a higher risk of their life being cut short or their life expectancy being cut, they should keep a closer eye on monitoring their health.

Of course, the DOT physical is one standard that has been put in place to do just that. Thus, instead of looking at the DOT physical exam as a necessary evil of being a truck driver, try to look at it like a good way to catch problems before they become major.

Furthermore, even though only about half of commercial truck drivers are covered by health insurance, all should still have regular doctor visits – ideally, annually and not just when the DOT physical certification needs to be renewed. Do keep in mind that most of the time, your DOT physical provider can perform other – more routine – physicals for you as well.