Slater and Gordon Lawyers Toowoomba Principal Katrina Pedersen calls for mental health support for truck drivers

A stigma around mental illness is stopping employees from one particular industry from seeking help for disorders like PTSD and anxiety as a result of their work.

A tragic stigma around mental health is preventing people from reaching out for support, particularly for long-haul truck drivers who witness harrowing accidents and fatalities on the road.

Truck drivers in dire need of mental health support are being urged not to rest on their laurels when it comes to seeking outreach.

Slater and Gordon principal Lawyer Katrina Pedersen said long-haul truck drivers are some of the most susceptible to mental health disorders like anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing, and rendering assistance at serious crashes.

“Early intervention for mental health is vital, it can save and change lives,” she said.

“It’s typical of the workplace culture for truckies to try to keep working and push through.

“As a result, it’s often years after a traumatic incident that they elect to pursue treatment for PTSD.

“At that point their mental health has affected their ability to work.”
Ms Pedersen said what truck drivers often don’t know is that they are entitled to genuine support from their employers.

“Like all workers, our valued truck and transport drivers are entitled to support,” she said.

“In Queensland, if you have an injury at work, regardless of whose fault it is, if it happens in the course of work they have an entitlement to make a statutory claim which provides access to income support, access to medical treatment and in some cases retraining.”

Ms Pedersen said that in her own career she had seen the impacts of mental illness, and the toll being away from work can have on a person’s mental health.

The importance of seeking support cannot be understated.

“Everyone has a right to come home from work safe, and mental health is as important as physical health,” Ms Pedersen said.

“Employers should be actively encouraging their drivers to check in with themselves and providing robust and continuous mental health support.

“Employers need to work at reducing the stigma around mental health to encourage conversations around it, and early intervention.”