Engen, in partnership with Trucking Wellness, continued to roll out the successful Driver Wellness campaign throughout the country. This week the campaign visited Engen Truck Stop on the N4 in Komatipoort, benefitting the community of Mpumalanga.

The Driver Wellness initiative is aimed at raising awareness around health issues that have a direct impact on road safety, by helping drivers to manage their wellness better. In 2011 more than 400 drivers were screened at four Engen Truck Stop sites. The Wellness Days run from Engen truck stops and some retail sites, targeting long distance truck drivers who are sometimes on the road for up to two weeks at a time. In Mobile clinics qualified nurses and counselors screen drivers and the public for blood pressure, diabetes, tuberculosis, BMI (Base Mass Index) and HIV/AIDS. They provide counseling and a referral service where required.

“At Engen, we believe it is pertinent to be part of these efforts to create awareness about the well-being of truck drivers in general and those that represent Engen on the road. Such initiatives form a substantial part of our Corporate Social Investment objectives and our commitment to be a responsible, caring company,” says Khanyisa Balfour, Corporate Social Investment Manager at Engen.

This truck stop is one of many around the country where drivers rest overnight after spending long hours on the road during the day. “It is reassuring to note that most drivers are screened for their personal wellbeing and for the safely of fellow road users” added Balfour.

MEC for Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport, Ismail Vadi said: “I have no doubt that this year’s campaign will be just as successful as the last one and I want to thank Engen for supporting the global UN campaign for road safety. Drivers will now be better prepared to cope with road stress and the effects of a life on the road away from the normal comforts of home and the campaign will ensure that we have better informed, healthier drivers on our roads.”