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October 2009 |
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There are some T he cover story of this month’s edition is one which every transport operator – no matter how big or small - should take note of and act on for it highlights a situation which holds the potential for daily disasters unfolding on our roads. It relates to driver health and the results of an exercise conducted alongside the N3 at Mooi River and Bergville by the N3TC helped along by a number of partners – primarily the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health – where large numbers of trucks drivers were voluntarily tested for a variety of health aspects. While there were certainly some drivers who passed with flying colours, there were many – far too many – who were found to harbour hidden and silent health time-bombs – and all of them are actively driving trucks on our roads as those bombs continue to tick inside them.The one driver tested at Bergville was found to have a blood pressure reading of 182/104, making him a sufferer of cronic hypertension which, as pointed out in past articles in FleetWatch, is a silent killer. As if that were not enough danger to the man, his blood sugar level test gave a result of 22,7 mmol. The maximum acceptable medical level is 6,7 mmol. According to medical experts on the scene, this man should have been comatose but instead, he was driving a truck up and down one of South Africa’s busiest routes. He was immediately treated by being put onto a drip so as to bring the level down and was then given medication and counseling for the on-going treatment of both his blood pressure and sugar levels. To cap it all, he was also classified as obese which in itself, can lead to a host of serious ailments. All this combined adds up to this guy being a walking corpse. And what was he doing? I repeat, driving a truck! And he was just one – albeit a rather serious example – of many drivers who were found to be way off the mark in terms of their health. The point is that these drivers did not know of their dangerous medical conditions. Their companies do not have in place any driver health policy or programme instead relying solely on the compulsory medical test that goes with the bi-annual renewal of a driver’s PrDP. And, as is generally acknowledged, there is huge doubt around the validity of many of these PrDP medicals. One of the conditions stated in legislation for the issuing of a Professional Driving Permit is that it shall not be issued “unless a registered medical practitioner or occupational health practitioner has examined the applicant to determine whether or not he or she is disqualified from driving, and has certified the applicant to be medically fit”. Yeah, well if this is working, how come they are there, so many drivers who are medically unfit to drive? That said, I am also pleased to report that some of the drivers – mainly those who passed the tests – worked for companies which do have on-site clinics or send their drivers on regular health checks and encourage a healthy lifestyle. They are, however, in the minority and seem to be the larger companies. The vast majority rely on the bi-annual PrDP medical to ascertain the health status of their drivers. And this is just not good enough, for a lot – good and bad - can happen to a person’s health over a period of two years.I can hear some operators saying that surely it is the driver’s responsibility to look after and monitor his own health. Why must it be on the operator’s shoulders to baby-sit them? While I can, in a way, understand this view, it sort of loses some ‘voema’ when one reads the Duties of an Operator under Section 49 of the Road Traffic Act where it assigns the responsibility of controlling drivers to the operators. Section 49 is all about Driver Fitness and Vehicle fitness and again, while one could rightfully argue that the responsibility of ‘controlling’ drivers does not include controlling and monitoring their health, I reckon you need to read Section 49 in conjunction with Section 15 to get a real handle on the situation. If, for example, a driver is known to be medically unfit to drive and has not informed the MEC of this fact and continues to drive – and if you know of this condition – you could have any claims that arise from accidents while he is driving repudiated by your insurance company. So, best practice would be to extend Driver Fitness from merely ensuring your drivers have a valid driving license and PrDP for the class of vehicle being driven, to ensuring the actual health fitness of the drivers. Leaving the law aside, you have a responsibility, as a transport operator, to ensure your drivers are healthy enough not to present a danger to other road users. It’s also in your own best interest in terms of protecting and safeguarding your assets and staff. It’s a must and if anything gives muscle to this, it is the results that emanated from these two Driver Wellness Days held along the N3. Driver health is not just about preventing HIV/AIDS. A much broader, holistic approach needs to be adopted by all transport operators. Footnote: As an aside, FleetWatch was thrilled to see the insurance sector getting involved in the Bergville project for, apart from a few innovative companies – mainly brokers - this sector has over the years managed its trucking portfolio from behind comfortable deskbound positions. Little effort has been given to getting out there where the rubber meets the road and finding out exactly what the real risks are so as to help their clients better manage those risks. It’s the right way to go and FleetWatch welcomes this closer involvement of the insurance sector in the real world of trucking. Patrick O'Leary |
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