Clare Tedestedt George tells of the dangerous conditions truck drivers work under and of the system which turns a blind eye to corner-cutting.

The balcony of my childhood home was frequently occupied by tradies, winding down after a long working week. The struggle of mortgage repayments, chronic injuries and the increasing costs of living, were matters mulled over during these Friday afternoon gatherings. Absorbing these conversations as a child, I gained a sense of how, in many ways, people can derive dignity from their work, but also how they can have their dignity totally stripped away.

An Emergency Call

As an adult, these conversations have become my work. It’s 20-something years later and I’m researching the employment conditions of workers in New Zealand for the Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Research at Auckland University of Technology. We get a phone call. It’s from a truck driver on the side of the road, desperate and wanting to end his life — he cannot see another way out.

He has mortgaged his truck against his home — three generations of his family live in this home. He is an owner-driver contracted to one company, dependent on that company for all his work. He has been ordered by the company to break the work-time laws for the second time this month. He has not slept for 30 hours and he is far past fatigued. He’s been told he either continues driving and makes the delivery on time or he will no longer be offered work from the company.

In theory, as an owner-driver he should have the ability to say no to this principal company and seek work elsewhere. The problem is that despite being self-employed his truck is painted in the principal company’s colours — branding he had to pay for. And he is, as required, wearing their company uniform — he paid for that too. He delivers exclusively for this company and he must now choose between breaking the law (and paying the penalties if caught) or keeping his job (contract). Union representation is difficult given his contractual status and he doesn’t know who else to call.

The Prompt to Research

There are many reasons why I’m thankful the driver called us that day. He lit a fire in my stomach about the injustices that were occurring in the trucking industry — which often go unreported. The increasing number of truck accidents on our roads receives media attention. Rarely a week goes by in which truck accidents do not feature in our news, often with the truck driver pointed at or blamed. Driver fatigue, speeding, drug use, or breaking work-time laws are frequently cited reasons when an accident occurs. Yet, when we take a closer look, it becomes clear that these are symptoms of much deeper issues.

I couldn’t get this driver out of my head. Uncovering these issues became my work and I spent the next five years in truck cabs, smoko rooms, living rooms, at trade shows, in court rooms, government agency offices, lawyers’ offices, at trucking companies, with the Police, with unions, and with all sorts of other people to hear their side — their stories.

Bringing truth to the surface required a great deal of time and patience. Few people I spoke to were willing to divulge information about the workings of the industry beyond the sort of information found in trucking company brochures or on websites. The industry is set in its ways, with long entrenched practices, and the status quo is carefully protected by the powerful select few who benefit from it.

Hidden Costs

Trucking is a competitive industry. Everyone fights everyone else to keep prices as low as possible. Truck driver pay rates are considered the industry’s low-hanging fruit in terms of cost-cutting, which results in continuous rate decreases.

Many drivers are owner-drivers, and so are in direct competition with one another and are all in high amounts of debt. This makes it near impossible for the drivers to operate safely. Often paid by the kilometre, drivers face a daily decision between safety and profit.

With rates plummeting year on year and payment structures that ensure compensation only when the wheels are turning, there will always be an incentive to maximise hours driven. This isn’t motivated by greed but the necessity to earn a decent wage. So, drivers stay at the wheel for days and weeks on end without rest. They speed to their destinations to squeeze in another delivery, or even sometimes just to keep their jobs.

Fatigue is assumed to be a normal part of the job. Drivers devise strategies for staying awake — face-slaps, or phone calls home in the middle of the night with a plea to “just keep talking to me”. They rarely take a break. And when they do stop, it is seldom in a safe part of town or where good and healthy food is readily available. Pies and Coca-Cola can be eaten with one hand while on the road and the fat, salt, and sugar taste so good when you’re exhausted and it’s 3am.

Crucial Questions Not Asked

This information has been missing from previous conversations about how to stop truck drivers from speeding or how to stop them taking drugs that keep them awake. It has been missing from conversations about how to change the eating habits of drivers or reduce health concerns.

System Change Necessary

For years different agencies and groups have attempted to change the behaviour of the drivers, targeting the individual when in fact the problems are far more systemic. The drivers don’t need to be told to eat more apples and fewer pies.

They need fair rates, safe working conditions, more time with their families and friends, less enforced isolation, more negotiating power and a safe platform to speak out. But these factors are missing, with far-reaching consequences.

Truck accidents are a serious problem, and it’s a tragedy when an innocent member of the public loses their life or is seriously injured as a result.

A story not often told but equally tragic is that of the drivers dying young at home in their beds, or the frequency of failed marriages or failed businesses, or the children who grow up never seeing their truck-driving parent.

I am not suggesting that all truck drivers are saints and that the truck-driving population doesn’t contain careless or rogue individuals. It does, and I’ve met some. But the majority of drivers I spoke with told me that what they want most is to return safely to their families, to keep other road users safe and to stay alive long enough to enjoy retirement. It’s not good enough that this will not be the reality for many drivers. And for what? Profit?

We Can Support Change

Without the truck drivers our country would cease to run. We would have no food on the shelves, no goods in the stores, no petrol at the stations. They put their health and their safety on the line to ensure the availability of the goods we expect. As consumers we demand faster delivery times, competitive prices for goods and have grown increasingly impatient on the roads.

I know it’s frustrating when trucks drive too close or speed past, but I hope this research has given a small insight into why this happens. When I see a truck on the road, it’s now a protection prayer and compassion they receive from me, not a middle finger.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 239 July 2019: 6-7