Trucking takes years off your life.

man every job is bad for your health. Think about the stress of a manager, or the crazy life of white collars getting stuck in traffic twice a day on the way to work.Or peoples working in factories maybe with chemicals or hazardous materials. I love my job, i sleep at least 8 hours every night, and if i have to drive all night long i love the idea of driving on empty roads and seeing the sunrise after the dark night. I am almost always stress free, because i learned not to care if i am late due to traffic or other problems, and i am never late because of my fault because i learned to plan everithing leaving a good reserve of time. The only problem is food quality but it just takes some organization.

 

We do live a unique life out here on the road. I got into this line of work out of desperation a couple years ago and didnt have the best outlook and attitude towards it for awhile. after learning a few things, driving and business wise and taking some time off doing local food service, I realized on more than one level, otr driving is a pretty decent job. If u have a cdl, the last thing u want it to stand for is certified driver lumper lol. Its a grind just like a lot of jobs, but we get to listen to music and vulgar talk radio all day, go different places all the time, and sit on our ### with no one but big brother qualcomm and the DOT man bothering us for the most part lol. As far as eating goes, yeah it can be real easy to be unhealthy and gain a few pounds. that aspect depends on one's own level of self motivation and awareness as to what u put in your body. parts of it we can't control persay, but generally if u want to eat decent out here health wise, you can do it.

 

I would find being stuck inside under flourescent lights, watching the clock waiting for the end of the shift to come to be just as stressful. I think it would all depend on a person's outlook and likes and dislikes.

 

I don't know about that, there's plenty of old hands out there that have been at it a long time! I mean 70+ seniors that might have bad backs but otherwise look fairly healthy to me to have been doing it as long as 40-50 years! I rarely had problems getting sleep and sometimes it's tough when you have to change your schedule completely in a 24 hr period.

Even the few times I actually ran really well, sleep wasn't an issue for me. When I first started I loved falling asleep with the truck idling. I miss that. I think I slept better in the truck than I do in the bed at home sometimes lol.

 

Yes I believe it does take years off your life, Let's face it, truckers don't always get to eat the best food, we deal with a lot of stress, we don't get exercise every day. I have known many truckers who have developed health problems, and some who have died, I have know drivers who died in their trucks on the road. My father did this job until he died at age 52, from cancer.

It can a hard lifestyle, I don't run OTR anymore, I only work 4 sometimes 5 days a week, but a run really hard those days, 700 miles a day, 16 or more hours per day, no time to stop and relax or stretch your legs, I am pretty young now and in pretty good shape but I do worry about my health, I don't want to be doing this job when I am older.

 

Im not concerned that its taking years from me. Death is inevitable, so I want to make sure Im living my life how I want up until my final day. Tomarrow could be my last day for all I know...and if it is, it will be spent doing something I enjoy.

 

I've been doing this for 37 years...I'm in my mid 50's and feel like I did in my 30's....I have friends that are younger than me that work "regular" jobs and are in very poor health.

I don't think that this business is that hard on us.
Now if you go back to the old days when guys were poppin' pills and doing all sorts of terrible things to their bodies, It might have been a different story.

 

It isn't any harder than the pipeline work I used to do....many 18 hour days X 7 days for weeks on end.....The pay was great....and the oil companies paid for dinner...

 

I doubt that sleep patterns are the issue; certainly not THE major issue. Look at these other primary health factors which are common in this industry: smoking, alcohol use, lack of fitness, obesity, high fat and high sugar foods.... these are endemic to truckers at a rate, which I would guess, is higher than the national average. Therein lies the answer. Throw in an above-normal job risk across the industry, and that adds on a whole new layer of consideration to this issue.

The morbidity (injury) and mortality (death rate) rate of truckers can be largely controlled by maintaining fitness, cutting back on sugars and fats (don't go overboard on this, just use common sense), eating as balanced a diet as you can by the inclusion of lots of fruits and veggies, eliminate tobbaco, and getting enough rest so that you have a clear mind when controlling your big rig.

YOU are not a group statistic. YOU are a product of what you decide to do and the decisions YOU decide to make. And for your own sake, pursue trucking if that is what will make you happy; regret is a hard mistress to live with.