journal
No matter which way you look at it, the automation of long-distance trucks is still some years beyond our horizon. We need truck drivers, and yet worldwide their working and living conditions are some of the worst of any professions — which is why we opened an Exploration of systemic ways of improving the collective humanity of truck drivers.
Read the introduction to that Exploration here, and browse some bright examples below of people already doing inspiring work in the field.
In the Middle East, Bridgestone offered “truck drivers free health checks at select truck stops across Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Improper health conditions could lead to a lack of concentration, which in turn can have catastrophic consequences for truck drivers, motorists and passing pedestrians.”
In California, a family-run truckstop serving traditional Punjabi flavours becomes a community-centre for Californian-Indian and other American truck drivers alike. In a profession with job requirements often demanding long periods of social isolation, a space for family, friendship and community is particularly impactful.
In South Africa, Volvo’s Iron Women school teaches women to become heavy-duty truck drivers in an attempt to combat road traffic accidents and the shortage of truck drivers.
In Moscow, a group of post-grad researchers developed a communications app for the Russian trucking union, with the long-term ambition to use it as a data silo populated by the dashcams that all Russian trucks have installed. Read more in our interview with one of the project members, Arthur Röing Baer.
