Commercial truck drivers use interstates and other highways to deliver goods in New Hampshire and throughout New England. While you may appreciate receiving packages on time, you certainly do not want to die or suffer a serious injury in a collision with a semitruck.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed truck drivers to gauge their overall health.  Even though truck accidents happen for a variety of reasons, a trucker’s poor health may be a common cause.

Obesity

The CDC reports that long-haul truck drivers are two times more likely to be obese than individuals who work in other occupations. While excess body weight may interfere with a trucker’s driving abilities, weight-related complications, such as heart disease or diabetes, also may endanger other drivers.

Smoking

Not only are truckers twice as likely to be heavier than other workers, but they are also two times as likely to smoke cigarettes. Inhaling cigarette smoke, of course, may cause a trucker to develop emphysema, heart disease, cancer and other ailments. Depending on their severity, these medical conditions may make it virtually impossible for a trucker to drive safely.

Sedentariness

Long-haul truck drivers must spend hours behind the wheel, leaving 75% of them little time for physical exercise. While sedentariness likely contributes to trucker obesity, it may also lead to other complications, such as fatigue, anxiety and depression.

Commercial truck drivers have a duty to drive reasonably. To comply with this duty, truckers must keep a close watch on their physical well-being. Ultimately, if a driver’s poor health causes you to suffer a catastrophic injury, you may be able to pursue significant financial compensation from the driver or the trucking company.