The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is taking a closer look at how driver health issues impact operational risk and cost for motor carriers.
On October 14, the ATRI launched two separate surveys for motor carriers and truck drivers to “identify the impact of driver health on trucking operations and costs to further underscore its importance to the industry.”
“We already know driver health can affect safety. The next question is how much it may also be affecting operational risk and cost,” said Project 61 Founder & CEO Jeremy Reymer. “ATRI’s research will help fleets better understand the relationship between driver health and outcomes such as healthcare costs, workers’ compensation, productivity, turnover, and medical qualification.”
As part of the survey, drivers will be asked to anonymously to share basic health information (e.g. time duration of their medical cards) as well as their experience with maintaining health and wellness while on the road.
Carriers will be surveyed on fleetwide averages for medical card durations, insurance costs, and operations key performance indicators.
“Truck drivers face unique health challenges, from finding healthy food on the road to remaining physically active. As a result, they are more likely than workers in other industries to experience negative health conditions that can reduce quality of life and life expectancy. In addition to these well-documented personal repercussions of poor driver health, the U.S. supply chain depends on the well-being of drivers to deliver freight safely and efficiently,” the ATRI said.
The deadline for completing the survey is Friday, November 13, 2026.
You can follow this link to access the motor carrier and the driver versions of the survey.
