Rehab for Truck Drivers: What You Need to Know

Spending your days and nights on the road, away from family and friends can become problematic. Long days sitting in a noisy cab (often alone) can also be draining. Trucker life can be a tough and lonely job. 

 

So why do truckers choose this life? 

 

The overall freedom and pay are sometimes what make a career in the trucking industry so alluring. Sadly, due to the long hours, boredom, and sometimes painful sedentary life, can also cause some to turn to drugs and alcohol for solace. 

 

American truckers, more than their global counterparts, seem to be more affected by drug and alcohol use. 

 

Let’s take a look at what the statistics tell us and how rehab may be a good choice for many who find themselves struggling with an addiction.

Truck Drivers & Drug/Alcohol Use

According to a starling study published on the American Addiction website in February of this year, ”A total of 36 studies between 2000 and 2013 show that truckers used alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, and cannabis to make it through grueling shifts. As many as 91 percent of the drivers interviewed in those studies drank while on the job; amphetamine use peaked at 82.5 percent, and cocaine use topped out over 8 percent.”

 

The study also quoted interviews where commercially licensed drivers (CLD) admitted to using alcohol, painkillers, and amphetamines on a regular basis. “Half of the drivers interviewed by the study’s authors admitted to drinking, although alcohol was the substance that was found the least often when the drivers were given drug tests. Thirty percent of the drivers confessed to taking amphetamines. Truckers in the United States had the highest frequency of positive tests for alcohol in the entire world, at 12.5 percent of American-based drivers.”

Help & Rehab Options 

Operating a 50,000-pound vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol is not an option, especially for the drivers and the other vehicles on the roads. Rehab, however, is a viable option to get help and re-assume a career that can be lucrative once more. 

 

Return-to-Duty Protocol, after a drug or alcohol test comes back positive, may include support from a rehabilitation center or drug/alcohol addiction center. 

 

Let’s start with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s Helpline. 

 

• SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
• SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

 

In addition to call helplines, there are many addiction centers, including the American Addiction Centers across the country where truckers can obtain help for whatever addiction they are struggling with confidentially. 

 

 

Depending upon your area, there are addiction centers that specialize in dealing with the trucker lifestyle and the stigma attached to drug and alcohol use that seems to be part of the “On the Road” culture. 

 

If you need help click on the links above or call the helplines to find support and rehabilitation.