The Weight of the Wheel: How Stress Steers Safety

By Steve Keppler, Co-Director

Scopelitis Transportation Consulting, LLC

A recent study of commercial drivers by Geotab found that 68 percent of drivers reported that work-related stress negatively impacts driving, and 78 percent believe that stress and mental health contribute to road dangers. Furthermore, research conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute reveals that risky driving behaviors, crash involvement and crash rates increase for drivers experiencing job stress, suffering an emotional or professional setback, legal difficulties, financial stress and those with generally lower life satisfaction. We also know driver health conditions like elevated blood sugar, hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea are prevalent in the CMV driver population and can be linked to or exacerbated by stress. What does this tell us about what we need to do to address driver stress and safety outcomes?

Stress can come from many places and as an industry we need to take a holistic approach to driver and risk management and not treat drivers like a commodity. Though we as an industry have made great progress in coaching and training on regulations and safety, we need to do a better job on the health and wellness side, as the data clearly shows it does impact on driver performance. Carriers often don’t know what is going on in a driver’s life, or what is important to them on a work, health or personal level. Knowing drivers’ motivations and their idiosyncrasies helps carriers to proactively avoid unnecessarily adding to their already stressful lives. This holistic view is especially crucial when considering initiatives like CVSA's Operation Safe Driver Week, which aims to improve road safety through education and enforcement, but also benefits from an understanding of the underlying factors impacting driver behavior and supporting drivers in addressing them.

As we know, many drivers are alone for large portions of their workday. While this is often the nature of the job, carriers need to intentionally foster social engagement and positive relationships with their drivers. There is a correlation between individuals with strong social connections and lower rates of depression, anxiety, chronic diseases and other mental health issues. When individuals have supportive relationships, they are more likely to have positive mental states, can better focus and engage in healthy habits, and make positive lifestyle choices, thereby reducing stress.

Carriers with a proactive safety culture who set clear expectations and demonstrate support of drivers will help to reduce driver stress. Carriers need to be transparent, open and honest and communicate their approach and what metrics they are using to measure and improve safety performance. Positive reinforcement works. Mentoring and coaching work. We know this, and the data backs it up. Yes, it takes time to do, but safety is not a cost, it is an investment. 

We are humans. Humans make mistakes, and we should expect them. If drivers are too focused on what bad things could happen to them if they make mistakes, this adds stress and degrades their performance. Learning from failure allows us to grow and can also be taught to others.

There is a correlation between safety and stress. Being intentional about safety will reduce drivers’ stress and improve their performance and well-being. Health and safety don’t happen by accident. They need to be planned for and practiced. Let’s do a better job reinforcing this with drivers. We want them to come home safely to their families.

NOTE: If you want to learn more on this topic, watch this recent Webinar hosted by FleetOwner that STC participated in along with Geotab, VTTI, and Ingrid Brown, a professional driver.