As every removalists business will know, not all moves involve someone moving house from one part of town to another, or a business moving to new offices just two streets away. Whilst these might account for the vast majority of the work they do, removalists are also asked to move belongings or equipment across vast distances.
Whilst they may occasionally encounter long distance moves that involve a business, the vast majority of them is when a family is moving home from one state to another. A prime example is a family relocating from Brisbane to Perth, or even from Darwin to Melbourne. Whilst the respective families might choose to fly from one destination to the other, the moving of their belongings, including their furniture, is usually entrusted to removalists.
This brings us to a health and safety issue for removalist truck drivers having to drive over long distances. The two examples we gave have distances that need to be driven of around 2,600 miles and 2,350 miles relatively. Both of these distances would be considered long haul flights, so they must certainly be considered extremely long distances to drive.
As such it is imperative that any removalist truck drivers who are required to drive long distances such as these, take steps to ensure that their health and well-being is not put at risk as a result. To assist with this aim, here are 7 ways in which removalist truck drivers can stay safe and healthy during long-distance moves.
Plan Your Journey Including Plenty Of Rest Stops: By planning your journey properly you remove the stress of finding your way and worrying about the timing of your arrival. You also want to plan when and where you can have rest stops on your route and ensure you plan for lots of them
Get A Good Sleep The Night Before You Are Driving: On the night before you are setting off on your long-distance drive, get to bed early and ensure you get a good night’s sleep by asking your loved ones not to disturb you. Never take a sleeping tablet as this can still make you drowsy the next day.
Take Plenty Of Healthy Snacks With You: Apart from any planned stops for meals, you should take a decent supply of healthy snacks. Avoid unhealthy foods like crisps and cakes and instead take fruit and energy bars which are not only good for, you, they are also easy to eat as you drive.
Drink Lots Of Fluid Along The Way: When undertaking any lengthy activity, including driving long distances, for your well-being you should ensure that you stay fully hydrated at all times. Whether it be still or flavoured water, energy drinks or fruit juice, make sure you drink regularly.
Sit As Straight As You Can: Sitting in a truck’s cab for long periods can cause issues such as back pain, plus your arms and legs can become sore or weary too. Try sitting as straight as you can and ensure that you adjust your seat to the optimal and most comfortable position.
Keep Your Drivers Cab Well Ventilated: If your cab is closed it means you are breathing in stale air, so you want to keep your cab as ventilated as possible. Either wind your side window down slightly or switch on the air conditioning so that you are breathing as much fresh air as possible and able to remain cool.
Wear Comfortable Clothing: Whilst you might have to wear overalls when physically moving items into premises when driving there should not be any need for them. Instead, wear loose, cool clothing that feels comfortable and unrestrictive.