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Bluelight Crew
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Tired truckies turn to drugs
Ben Schneiders
May 21, 2009
ALMOST a third of long-distance truck drivers have used stimulants such as amphetamines, research shows.
Work pressure is a key factor, it shows.
Ann Williamson of the University of NSW said use of stimulants was higher among drivers who were paid on how productive they were rather than by the hour.
A survey by the university showed drivers on stimulants worked an average 71.4 hours a week and those who were not averaged 65 hours.
The survey of about 200 drivers was made in 2005.
Professor Williamson has surveyed drivers since the early 1990s and has found the use of stimulants is widespread.
Her research was presented to an annual Transport Workers Union conference this week as it today launches a campaign against supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths over driver safety.
TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon said a lopsided number of road deaths involved trucks and this was linked to how drivers were paid.
"There is a link between remuneration and safety and as we know there's a link with all that and the economics of getting a lower cost," he said. "It costs money to maintain a vehicle, it costs money to change drivers over."
In the year to March, heavy vehicles were involved in 275 deaths in Australia - more than 20 per cent of all road deaths. But heavy vehicle registrations were only about 2 per cent of the total.
Other academics at the conference linked road deaths to fatigue, poor mental health and work pressure.
Mr Sheldon said trucking needed rates of pay that allowed enough return to discourage dangerous practices.
He accused Coles and Woolworths of not properly tackling the issue.
A Coles spokesman said the union's claims were without basis. "We take workplace health and safety very seriously," he said.
The Age
