Drugs have become a problematic issue for the transport industry, with a number of truckies resorting to illegal narcotics as an energy booster and fatigue fighter.

Truck drivers use drugs as stimulants for occupational reasons and this behaviour is relatively easily remedied. For example stopping at rest areas and taking power naps are an alternative that can reduce sleep fatigue and thereby lower the risk of crashing.

Although drivers take drugs to combat the problem of fatigue, there is no way of drivers knowing how the drug will affect your driving until it’s too late. Drugs alter a person’s normal healthy functioning of their body and mind and this can have a negative effect on their driving.  Drugs alter a person’s physical skills such as their reaction times, co-ordination and vehicle control, as well as affecting their mood, perception, information processing and risk taking behaviour. Being intoxicated or drugged significantly increases the chances of an accident.

Truck drivers generally take two types of drugs, stimulants and depressants. Stimulants to keep them awake and depressants to allow them to fall asleep. 

Stimulants, speed up the messages between the brain and the body and include drugs like speed, ecstasy and pseudoephedrine. The biggest threat of these drugs is that they are made illegally so they’re strength and true content are often unknown. They often contain poisonous substances such as rat poison and can cause dangerous side effects. Immediate side effects can include vomiting, dizziness, confusion and damage to organs.

Another problem with stimulant drugs is that you will never achieve the same results as the first time. Each time the body takes this drug, the dosage will have to increase to achieve the same effect.  The addictive nature of these drugs means that you will continue taking it doing long term damage to your body.

But as a truck driver the effects these stimulants have on your driving have serious consequences and include:

• A false sense of confidence
• Increase in risk taking behaviour, exercise less caution
• Your perception, both visually and intuitively is distorted, creating difficulty in judgement
• Driving ability and co-ordination will be lessened.
• Combined with lack of sleep, you will actually feel more exhausted, affecting your reflexes and concentration.
• Increased risk of crashing

And contrary to the desired effect as the stimulants begin to wear off you may experience more fatigue than when you first took the drug.

The long term effects are even more devastating and include Impotence, high blood pressure, heart failure, chronic sleep problems, extreme mood swings, compulsive repetition of actions, paranoia, anxiety, depression, irritability, suspiciousness, unwanted weight loss, panic attacks or seizures.

Depressants. These have an opposite effect on the brain as stimulants as they actually slow communication between the brain and body, which in turn slows the rate of breathing and heart rate of the taker.  It’s effects on ones driving ability is obviously negative as it slows your reflexes and impairs your balance and coordination. As a drivers vision and perception is altered, so is their ability to think or react logically, causing a major hazard when driving. Poor perception and coordination making driving any vehicle dangerous, a problem only compounded when behind the wheel of a hug and powerful heavy vehicle.

The dangers of taking depressants for truck drivers are that it disturbs their normal sleeping patterns, causes irritability, loss of appetite and weight loss, nervousness, anxiety, sweating and upset stomach, body chills, increased body temperature and tremors, lower blood pressure and eventually dependency.

The driving ability of truckies on depressants is altered in that they have a slower reaction time and distorted perceptions. Their vision can also be impaired and their ability to concentrate is altered. If drivers are not able to coordinate the reaction when driving the likelihood of crashing is increased.

By having a good sleep before a long journey, drivers can prevent becoming fatigued. Consuming drugs and illicit substances to keep awake and then to fall asleep will only make the problem of fatigue worse. Drivers who take drugs as a quick fix to fatigue are not only endangering their own lives, but those of all other road users as well, an action authorities will not be taking lightly. The recent Austrans operation has proved that police and authorities will be taking a firm stance against drink and drug driving, so truckies better heed their warning before it’s too late.