- The Engen Kempston Truckstop in Goodwood hosted a wellness event providing truck drivers with essential health screenings, including eye exams.
- Truck drivers face health challenges on the road, making accessible health services critical.
- This initiative, part of Engen’s month-long wellness campaign, aims to enhance both driver health and road safety.
The Engen Kempston Truckstop in Goodwood served as a vital health hub as it hosted the Engen Driver Wellness campaign on Thursday 31 October.
This event was part of a month-long initiative aimed at emphasising the importance of truck driver health and wellness, which plays a crucial role in overall road safety.
“October is dedicated to highlighting driver health, and we are offering this service at 29 locations across eight provinces,” said Samantha Walt, media and communications consultant.
“Last year, we conducted health screenings for 1 188 drivers during October, and as of now, we have already tested 800. We anticipate surpassing last year’s total because our footprint is slightly larger this year,” says Walt.
Truck drivers, often on the road for long periods, face significant challenges in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Andile Yame, one of the drivers present, shed light on these difficulties: “Most of the time, we eat unhealthy food or don’t eat at all because we cannot easily access shops with our trucks. It is also unsafe to leave the truck unattended in unfamiliar places.”
Long-distance truckers are often away from their families for weeks at a time, relying on the water they carry and struggling to access nutritious meals. This makes health screenings and support services like those offered by Engen particularly important.
Spectacles
Adnaan Emeran, Engen’s Lubricants and Commercial Marketing and Business Development Manager, underscored the urgency of these health initiatives. “Data from The Guud Companies show that 49% of truck drivers tested require spectacles. By 11:00 on the day of the event, two drivers were identified as needing glasses and received them on-site. It’s worth noting that 90% of all goods consumed in South Africa are transported by road,” said Emeran.
Simlindele Manqina, Engen’s Manager of Transformation and Stakeholder Engagement, emphasized the programme’s broader impact. “Our primary goal with Engen Driver Wellness is to enhance driver health and road safety by offering accessible health screenings at convenient locations. The mobile clinics, staffed by qualified healthcare professionals, also provide counselling and distribute condoms.”
