Project Proposal Health and Wellbeing for Taxi and Private Hire Drivers

Impact Factors Vibration Sedentary role Isolation Environmental factors – eating, toilet facilities Hours of work Customer factors –violence, aggression, theft, drink/drugs, unpredictability Driving risks

Risk Factors Road vibrations over extended period can impact physical health Sitting for long periods has implications for posture, musculoskeletal damage, lack of exercise, blood pooling to the legs, vein damage. Isolation can cause stress, or inhibit normal stress management solutions Exposure to airborne vehicle pollutants, especially in large cities Manual handling of loads, luggage and wheelchair users. Limited options for healthy eating, exercise, variety, toilet facilities, hand washing, and basic good practice for health Potential for violence or confrontation, and/or psychological damage from the potential for violence Self-employed status limits support – no sick-pay, no redundancy, longer hours means more income, but no limits to hours Lack of interaction with colleagues can cause or exaggerate social problems Self-employment inhibits complaints about conditions or hours

Potential effects WBV (whole body vibration) damage Mental health problems, stress, anger, instability, incremental problems over time Prevalence of cancer –especially bowel and stomach Prevalence of CPD and other lung diseases Increased likelihood of drug or alcohol dependency Increased likelihood of liver and kidney problems, eg diabetes. Sleep disorders Musculoskeletal disorders caused by cramped conditions and poor posture, or handling of loads or wheelchair users Injury from motor vehicle accidents

Wider impacts Cost to health services Potential danger to other road users Negative media attention, possibly impact licensing authorities Impacts to individuals and families –Mental health –divorce, break-ups, breakdowns –Potential for violence or stress-induced issues –Unlimited hours of work for drivers can limit family time and quality of time spent with family –Physical ill-health or death of a member of the family –Financial consequences of ill-health – no sick pay for self-employed Damage to the perception of the trade – poor conditions deter new entrants, and limit applications from women and younger people

Potential partnerships involved PCTs, or Health Action Teams Licensing Environmental health (or similar) Unions, and Unionlearn Merseytravel/Merseylearn People 1 st Taxi Operators Mental health support agencies

notes At 3.30am in the city centre, a police officer has protective clothing, helmet, special training, baton, CS gas, radio, toilet facilities, regular breaks, phone, and works as part of a trained team. A taxi driver may have none of these, but be in the same place at the same time