Website says science missing for claim of shorter driver lifespan

Do truck drivers really have a shortened life expectancy, as the U.S. Department of Transportation has recently stated?

That hasn’t been statistically proven, according to inquiries by TruckingInfo.com, the website of the U.S.-based Heavy Duty Trucking magazine.

At a conference on driver health earlier this month, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chief Anne Ferro said the life expectancy of a commercial driver is 16 years shorter than the norm.

She cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the source of the statistic, as did Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in an earlier blog posting.

But the two references cited by the agency do not support the statements, TruckingInfo found.

One reference was a note in the March 2008 edition of the Roemer Report, which cites a study by Toronto researcher Dr. Martin Moore-Ede showing "that truck drivers have a 10- to 15-year lower life expectancy than the average American male, who lives on average to age 76."

But Moore-Ede, the chairman and CEO of the international fatigue management firm Circadian, said that the item is incorrect. "The Web has kept on churning up this incorrect story for over 10 years now," he told TruckingInfo. "I have not done such a study (and) I am not a Toronto researcher."

The other reference is a report from a 2003 conference on truck driver occupational safety and health, sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It contains anecdotal references to truck driver life expectancy but concludes that the numbers cited merit further investigation. The first question to be answered, the report said, is whether or not they are accurate.

According to an FMCSA spokesperson, whether the 16-year deficit is accurate, "We know that a broad range of medical research points to the health concerns that significantly impact the life expectancy of commercial drivers."

Certainly evidence presented at the Baltimore conference bear this out.

One presenter, Dr. Eric Wood of the University of Utah, reported that his study of mainly long-haul drivers found that half smoke tobacco, 28 percent suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure) compared to 17 percent of manufacturing workers, 25 percent had high cholesterol (compared to 16 percent), 10 percent had diabetes mellitus (compared to 5 percent) and almost 15 percent had sleep apnea. Only 58 percent are covered by health insurance.

Lawrence Cheskin, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, reported that 55 percent of truck drivers are obese with a body mass index of 30 or higher, compared to 33 percent of U.S. men.

"When a commercial truck or bus is in operation, the responsibility for safety rests in the hands of the driver," FMCSA said in its statement. That is why the health and wellness of commercial drivers are critical areas of importance for the (agency).

"FMCSA is eager to work with the commercial motor vehicle and medical communities to encourage a healthier lifestyle and working environment for drivers. We believe that healthier commercial drivers will result in safer drivers and safer roadways."