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October 12, 2017
Witness
WHEELS
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Call to ban energy drinks for truck and taxi drivers, just like alcohol ALWYN VILJOEN AS part of its activities during transport month, Mercedes Benz SA hosted fleet operators from KwaZuluNatal at a Truck ing Wellness presentation in Durban. Themba Mthombeni, opera tions director at Trucking Well ness, told the truck operators the wellness programme has guided over 20 000 drivers to take con trol of their physical and mental health. He said MercedesBenz com mercial vehicles is a principal partner of the nationwide pro gramme and to date they have es tablished 22 clinics on SA’s major routes, backed by 15 mobile clin ics serving truck stops and fleet businesses on secondary routes. Judith Bester of Trucking Wellness said medical checkups by experienced nurses and coun sellors are available gratis at all
these stops, from 6 pm to mid night. She said the programme has since 2000 evolved from just fo cusing on combating aids to now providing drivers with 14 basic building blocks to maintain healthy lifestyles and relation ships. Nutrition is one of these blocks and Bester said the data from the 37 wellness clinics show drivers consume too much sugar and do not drink enough water, while many rely on the slow poi son of sodas and energy drinks to stay awake behind the wheel. She explained to the assem bled fleet operators how sugary drinks spike their energy levels for a few minutes, only to then drop these levels into a lethargic state, which can lead to crashes. “In my opinion, fleet opera tors should have a policy of no energy drinks, just as they have for alcohol,” said Bester.
Jenny Russell of Diabetes SA in Durban echoed Bester’s warn ings on the slow toxin that is sug ar and added starch to the list. She said every overweight per son who gets little exercise and eats mostly starchy food — in other words most drivers — were at risk of developing diabetes. Russel warned this chronic disease is already the number two killer in KwaZuluNatal, where on average six amputa tions a day are done because of diabetic complications. She called on fleet operators to equip their drivers to check their glucose levels daily and their eye sight annually. “Diabetes is very dangerous and a chronic condition, but the symptoms can be greatly reduced by eating a lot less starch and no sugar, and monitoring your glu cose levels,” Russel said. Spokesperson for Mercedes Benz commercial vehicles, Sibu
Caring for the health of SA’s drivers, (back, from left) Thuthuka Xulu from the National Bargaining Council; Ravesh Sunthkamar, City Logistics; Feizal Kolia, Unitrans Durban; Dave Govender, Crossmoor Transport; Selby Siyaya, Freightmax; Ryah Pokhun and Shaylen Padayachee, Crossmoor Transport; Umesh Sewsunker, Unitrans Durban (front) Sanele Zumani, Barloworld Transport; Mandisa Zondi, National Bargaining Council; Joseph Zondi, Garden City Commercials; Caiphus Manetshana, Unitrans Durban, Themba Mthombeni, Trucking Wellness. PHOTO: LOUISE SCRAZZOLO siso Mkwanaze, invited fleet and taxi operators in KwaZuluNatal to send their drivers to the Truck ing Wellness clinics, or arrange for a clinic to come to them. “We often hear the adage, ‘without trucks, the economy
stops’, but it should be without healthy drivers, the economy stops. We invite all fleet opera tors, from taxis to trucks, to check on our web and then send their drivers for a medical check up. It is free and the drivers can
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