Keeping Truck Driver Back Pain in Check

There’s no way to get around it – the job requires sitting for hours on end, and the human body simply wasn’t designed to do that. However, there are several steps you can take to reduce and even eliminate back pain while working those long hauls and it just takes a little fore though on your part. Paying close attention to diet, in-cab comfort, and rest area habits, you can keep that pain in your back (and your ass) from keeping you off the road.

Eat right for healthy muscles

This could be the hardest one to stick to, but stay away from high sodium and fatty foods. It may taste incredible, but there’s nothing like good fried chicken to draw moisture away from your muscles and cause cramps and back pain. If you can’t stomach the idea of reducing fats and salts, at least increase your pure water intake. Fruit juices are a close second, but straight water without the additives and flavors can go a long way to flushing your muscles and keeping you limber.

You may also want to add a multi-vitamin or at least a magnesium supplement to your diet, which will promote good blow flow and muscle elasticity.

Proper cab settings

It’s the sitting still for hours on end that’s doing your back wrong, so making sure your cab is as comfortable as possible should be your focus. The steering wheel should be adjusted in conjunction with the wheel so your arms rest comfortably on it without having to hunch over, so pull the seat forward if you have to. Keep the seat at a level where your calves just barely overhang to reduce pressure on them, and you are sitting up straight with less stress on your spine. Don’t set and forget your seat adjustments- fine tune them to get the right feel.

Mirrors are part of your walk around check, and you want them working so you don’t have to lean forward or at odd angles to see what you need to see. Your mirrors should be set so you can simply turn your head (from an upright posture) to eliminate undue stress on your neck.

Rest stop exercises

You don’t have to make a fool of yourself by doing a Jane Fonda workout every time you stop, but even walking around the rig a few times to loosen muscles and get your blood flowing will do you a world of good. Stretch out your arms and legs, and use the grips on your cab to stay steady when stretching your back. A few minutes of this at each and every pull over will do you a world of good and keep you comfortable and healthy when you climb back in the cab.

Back pain may always be a consideration of truck driving, but if you keep it in mind, you can keep on the road longer without long terms health effects. Do yourself a favor and do right by your back.

Truck-Stop Accommodations

Truckers look forward to locating truck stops to purchase fuel and to get necessary repairs made. Drivers especially look forward to finding available parking spaces at the end of their shift. They know that they can look forward to getting rest or a good night’s sleep. A commercial driver's quality of life on the road often depends upon truck stops and their amenities. Truckers depend upon them for fuel, repairs, food, rest and safety.

Many drivers have pulled into them late at night only to find that there were no available parking spaces. This has forced them to continue driving in search of suitable places to park even though they may have been totally exhausted. Currently, there is a shortage of suitable safe places for drivers to park. Many drivers have been forced to park in unsafe places after being unable to find available parking space at truck stops. As a result some of these drivers have been robbed, injured or even killed.

Truck Stops are vital to the trucking industry and provide a vast array of comforts for commercial drivers. Truckers know they can eat, shower and relax and enjoy other amenities. Drivers often have favorite facilities which they frequent and they often try to get there early enough to get an overnight parking space. Initially, truck stops were small operations which replaced local filling stations on highways. However, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 which established an interstate highway system in the United States. The interstate system has affected every citizen if not directly as motorists, then indirectly because every item we purchase has been on the Interstate System at some point.

Looking for trucker accommodation or truck stops is one of the important things on your to-do list when you set off on a long road trip. While some travelers are content with fast food and retail outlets along the way with the occasional pit stop, trucker's accommodation in the form of a motel is always the more comfortable option. These are open to even those who are not driving a truck.

What you can expect from trucker accommodation:

A trucker accommodation or  truck stop caters to professional truck drivers offering a spacious parking area and comfortable, reasonably priced accommodation and hot food after a tiring stint on the road. Many of them also offer an onsite gas station to make it easy to refuel, entertainment facilities, convenient locations on the highway so that one can easily spend some time in the nearby town and special pricing for guests. Truck stops also offer ATMs, high speed internet facilities, laundry, maintenance in the form of a truck wash and truck scales.

 Affordable facilities:

At most trucker accommodation hotels, the fuel costs less than in the area. The convenience store on site usually has everything that a traveler might look for. One of the things most truckers love about truck stops is the interesting conversation with other truckers who stop there.

Sources of information for trucker accommodation:

One of the best sources for finding trucker accommodation is via the internet, besides the obvious one of asking fellow travelers and other friends who may have traveled the route before for recommendations. Truckers usually receive discounts on various facilities like showers, complimentary breakfasts, free parking and more depending on the hotel. But these truck stops also welcome other travelers to enjoy their hospitality.

Proximity to the highway:

Whether you are looking for trucker accommodation or a truck stop, you will probably prefer the hotel to be close to the highway. The last thing you want to do is navigate a large vehicle through busy city traffic especially after driving all day. Most truckers avoid driving inside the city unless they have goods to deliver. They would rather find a safe place to park their vehicle and find a warm bed and food enabling them get a good night's rest before they set off again the next day.

Almost every major highway has truck shops that are affordable and offer clean trucker accommodation with other facilities that give truckers a welcome break from their eighteen wheelers.

National Road History

The construction of the National Road took place majorly between 1811 and 1834 in other to extent to the settlements in the west. It was the first federally funded road in U.S. history. Land investors understood the importance of road network in the west and as such a group which George Washington was a key figure pushed for the building of roads to unify the country. By 1806, President Jefferson signed into law an act that would bring this dream to reality. This road was expected to unify Cumberland, Maryland till the Ohio River.

THE BEGINNING

After several bids for the contract, the construction of the National Road contract was first awarded in 1811 the first contract was awarded. Work began and construction was completed in stages in a space of over four decades. By 1818 the first section of the road was built from Cumberland to Wheeling. $6,000 was estimated as the initial cost of the road per mile. Around the years 1830s, the responsibility to run the roads was handed over to the states by the federal government which led to building of tollgates but the responsibility of road repairs was still in the neck of the federal government.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE

The construction of the National Road paved way for increase and development of settlements. As the traditional villages and town became opened to the world, some of these roads such as Cumberland Road became the Main Street in these settlements. The popularity of the National Road reached its peak in 1825 when song, story, poetry and painting were used to celebrate its emergence. As time went on, explorers, westward bound jam-packed the hotels and roadhouses along the road.

The introduction of railroads in the 1870s faded the popularity of National Road but this was soon reversed as Federal Aid became readily obtainable for maintenance and improvements of the road for automobiles to ply the route. This sprouted the development of the road as a coast-to-coast highway in 1926.

Some of the bridges on the National Road are historic. The Stone Bridge was so named due to its due to its design as a single structure of arch stone. The stone Casselman River Bridge which stands to the east of Grantsville, Maryland was built between 1813 and 1814. Its 80-foot span which connects Cumberland to Ohio River, is the largest of its kind in America.

Vandalia, Illinois was the stopping point for National Road in 1852. Though many wished it was extended to Mississippi River and beyond, the road became a victim of ‘power tussle’ over responsibility, maintenance, improvements, and legal clarification.

In general, the National Road was able to fulfill its dual role in aiding the economy by fast tracking the transportation of goods and also promoting trade nationwide. With ease, manufactures from the east were able to find their way to the west for closer business ties and expansion. The road helped the nation expand while drawing it closer together.

History of the Teamsters

The Teamsters Union goes back over a century as the largest private labor union in the US. Formally known as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, the union represents truck drivers and many workers in related industries as well. The reach of the Teamsters Union has been considerable over the years as it has helped to shape the history of the United States in terms of labor relations.

Before the turn of the 20^th century there were a number of small unions in the US that were formed in regional locations. With the advent of modern industrialization, the emphasis quickly shifted to bringing together many of these unions in order to have more bargaining power.

In 1903, the newly formed Teamsters National Union merged with the Team Drivers International Union to form the first iteration of what would be known as the Teamsters Union. Interestingly enough, the center of the union would remain deliverymen who were using horse-drawn vehicles until the mid-1930s when truck drivers took over the union interests.

The first major leader of note for this union was Daniel J. Tobin who lead the Teamsters from 1907 until 1952 and increased their membership from roughly 40,000 when he took command to over 1 million by the time his left office. This remarkable growth made the union the largest in the country. Dave Beck took over the union until 1957 until James Hoffa took command and led it until 1971.

Under Beck and Hoffa, the Teamsters grew into a centralized union that negotiated freight-haul agreements that brought with it national power as well. It is the sheer size of the union that gave them considerable bargaining power. However, over the ensuing years the union has shifted its focus towards family concerns and job security for its members.

However, it was the size of the Teamsters Union that also gave it a considerable amount of trouble as well. From manipulation of pension funds to pressuring small employers to working with organized crime, the Teamsters have had a turbulent history which has brought it under investigation over the years. It was the ejection of the Teamsters from the AFL-CIO in 1957 brought about a thirty year period where Beck, Hoffa and Roy L. Williams were all convicted of different crimes. The disappearance of Hoffa in 1975 was suspected of being by organized crime as well.

The Teamsters Union was re-admitted to the AFL-CIO in 1987 and the union gained new membership through technology, clerical and service organizations as their numbers in terms of truck drivers dropped considerably. By 1997, the Teamsters had managed to gain world attention again by striking against the United Parcel Service in 1997. However, declining membership and not being satisfied with the status quo, the Teamsters Union left the AFL-CIO in 2005 to form the Change to Win coalition with several other unions in order to retain their power.

There is little doubt that the Teamsters remain a powerful force when it comes to union representation. It remains to see what the future holds as economic forces and developing technology change the employment landscape.