Transportation sector is the backbone of Indian Economy and that road transport contributes to almost 90 percent of the country’s passenger traffic and 65 percent of the freight. This sector is labelled as an unorganized one though the economy is based on it. The truck drivers play a major role in the freight transportation industry and make it run smoothly. The question is, “Are the truck drivers getting the fair share of the economic growth?”
The major challenges faced by truck drivers in India:
Pressure
Truck drivers have more pressure meeting their target and are responsible to deliver the cargo on time. They travel long distances within hours. For instance, Imran, a driver from Delhi, travels from Delhi to Kolkata in almost seven days. He does 2 to 3 trips in a month. He says, “It’s not an easy job to be a driver, as I am always on the road to earn my bread, I get very less time to spend with my family.”
Improper Sleep
Drivers need to cover longer distances and have a target. To achieve this, within the given time limit, they drive miles without taking a break and proper sleep. Drivers are also forced to work for more than 15 hours a day, which is more than the mandatory working hours. This affects their health and is one of the main reasons for accidents to take place on highways.
Payment
Earlier, availability of cargo was a major concern for the truck owners but now its availability of truck drivers which is a concern for those including large fleet operators and single vehicle operators. According to our research, truck drivers earn around Rs. 10,000 to 15,000 per month or approximately Rs.1.50 per trip per km, the payment for which is also not on time. As a result, drivers do not get much in terms of fixed income. This is one of the main reasons that young people get discouraged and there is a shortage of drivers in the transportation sector. Alam, a truck driver from Chennai says, “It’s very difficult to manage all the expenses from salary, as they pay very less. It becomes very difficult to look after the family and manage everything within such a small amount.”
Improper Food Facility
Since drivers are mostly on the road and cover miles to reach or deliver consignments on time, they don’t have proper food. They eat on roadside eateries that provide low quality food and which in turn affects their health. We have interviewed few drivers to know much about their lifestyle. One among them was Adash Khan, from Haryana. He travels from Delhi to Haryana, makes 3 trips in a month and he earns just Rs. 8000 a month. He says, “It’s a very stressful job as we have to deliver the consignment on time and for that we have to travel miles without proper sleep and food.”
Highway Robberies
Highway robbery has been on an increase in India. According to the report in Times of India, there are more than 82,000 cases of theft across the country on highways and out of this 64,000 (almost 80%) cases are in Uttar Pradesh.
Highway conditions
Indian road transport contributes almost 90 percent of the country’s passenger traffic and 65 percent of its freight. India has a network of over 90,000 kms of National Highways but at many places it is not well maintained. During the year 2015, overloaded vehicles caused 77,116 accidents and 25,199 road accidental deaths involving trucks. It constituted a share of 15.4 per cent and 17.2 per cent respectively in total road accidents and fatalities in the country.
Poor Sanitation
Truck drivers, as they are always behind the wheels and on roads, take rest in the roadside dhabas with no other options left out. There is no regulatory authority to look after this issue.
A few companies have taken initiative to overcome these challenges as part of their CSR activity. The government also needs to take steps to reduce the problems faced by transportation industry or truck drivers in India. Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd., has launched a new project called ‘Driver Seva Kendra’ (Driver Empowerment), an effort to reduce accidents which happens in India due to lack of sleep of truck drivers. According to the company, about 1,39,000 people die in road accidents each year out of which 26,678 people are killed due to sleep deprivation while on roads. Agarwal came up with one of the best solutions to provide a place for drivers where they can rest, eat and sleep.
Ideas to improve driver’s conditions:
Hours of Service: Government should come up with new rules and regulations for truck drivers and need to restrict their working hours. This is already implemented in some of the Western countries.
Health and Hygiene: Truck drivers face major health issues as they are always on road. They do not have access to proper food, rest and sanitation. Government or companies, as part of their CSR budget, could come up with solutions such as free health checkups and good recreation centres.
Overloaded trucks: It has been noticed that many accidents in cities take place due to overloading of trucks. Many lives have been crushed by the weight of these huge monsters. The government needs to take strict action against these trucks by implementing restrictions in truck payload. This will help to reduce the number of accidents that take place in the city and will also save the lives of drivers and general public.
It’s not an easy job to be a truck driver in India. A truck driver’s life is full of danger and insecurity. There are no proper rules and regulations made for them regarding their health, working hours, payment, poor infrastructure etc. There seems to be lack of strong initiatives from government to transportation sector in India. All these factors are discouraging the youth to take up the job as truck drivers thus adding to the challenges of this industry. Social minded innovations by entrepreneurs, large companies and government could change this scenario so that truck driving can be looked upon as a desirable occupation.
Freightbazaar is India’s largest most reliable and integrated online platform to facilitate convenient and efficient truck hiring process between shipping and truck suppliers.
Authors: Bhaven Shah, Co-founder- Freightbazaar.com, Kajal Wadadare, Marketing – Freightbazaar.com
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UP-Bihar-top-in-crimes-on-national-highways/articleshow/41397759.cms