NEW DELHI: Nearly 84% truck drivers don’t want their family members or relatives to take up driving as a profession and about 53% of them are unhappy with their work, a new study by SaveLife Foundation has found. It also claimed that over one-fifth of the drivers in this survey admitted taking drugs to ease fatigue and sleepiness while on a trip.

The report indicates that there would be a serious shortage of drivers, if this trend continues. An industry estimate suggests that by 2022 the driver and truck ratio would have fallen to 450 drivers for every 1,000 trucks. The survey findings were released on Friday by MoS (road transport and highways) Gen V K Singh and highlighted the plight of truck drivers across the country. Nearly 48% of the respondents rated their working condition as bad. About 41% of truck drivers fear they could be the target of insults and bad language while dealing with police or other law enforcing authorities, the study has found.

According to the report, paltry and irregular income, no social security cover, poor family life and low social reputation are the main reasons why truck drivers are unhappy with their profession. Citing the stress that comes with spending nearly 12 hours a day on the driver’s seat, most of the respondents said they feel fatigued or sleepy.

“On an average, each driver drives for about 11.9 hours in a day. In terms of average distance covered, a truck driver covers about 417 km daily. About 49% of the respondent drivers said they drive vehicles even if they are feeling fatigued or sleepy,” the report titled “Status of Truck Drivers in India” said. The sample survey covered truck drivers from Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kanpur, Vijayawada and Guwahati.

City-wise, proportion of drivers using drugs while on trip was more than 50% in Kolkata, Kanpur and Delhi-NCR.

SaveLife Foundation CEO, Piyush Tiwari said the report has highlighted the need to address the concern of drivers, who play a key role in the country’s economy and logistics sector. “We need to add dignity to the profession by taking necessary measures including a comprehensive policy to extend social security benefits to the drivers and strict enforcement of working hours norm,” he added.

The report claimed that nearly 93% of the respondents confirmed that apart from salary, they do not get any social security. Most of them get paid between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 a month, which is even lower than the minimum wages in several states.

In the survey, nine out of 10 respondents confessed they did not undergo any formal training before getting a driving licence, 62% drivers said they appeared for a practical test. Overall, more than two-third (67%) of the respondents said they get overburdened with assignments and hence they resort to speeding to deliver their assignments on time. About 41% of the drivers said they were carrying vegetables, food items and perishable goods which need to reach the destination quickly.

The report has also brought out the health risks that drivers face because of the long hours spent behind wheels. It has revealed how 77% of the drivers reported having backache and 58% reported joint, muscle and neck pain. The third major health problem they faced was constipation, gas and stomach problems.

“When asked to report the key health-issues faced during trips, almost 96% of them (Delhi-NCR respondents) reported back aches while 64% reported headaches and dizziness,” the report said.



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