SOME TRENDS ASSOCIATED WITH DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE AMONG TRUCK DRIVERS

Reckless Sex lives: The presence or otherwise of sexual partners has been found to be a predictive factor for all current alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cannabis/alcohol and alcohol containing concoction use. A UNAIDS Report of 2007 indeed established known association between increased high risk sexual behaviour and psychoactive substance use. This might be because current alcohol users tend to socialize more, possibly go out more with peers and therefore are more likely to be exposed to other aspects of outdoor social life which most times include friendship and relationship with the opposite sex. It is not uncommon hearing of some truck drivers having sex partners at most or every truck stop. Some go as far as having married partners in a couple of such places.

Lifestyle Factors: A dozen of the studies linked drug use to other lifestyle factors. Drug and alcohol abuse have been known to be prevalent among young and inexperienced drivers. They will more often opt for longer routes that often involved nighttime driving; they will most likely be keen on making more money ‘by all means’ including unauthorised jobs simply to keep up with their excessive lifestyles and finally, they will most often have been involved in an accident.

The Truck Stop-over factor: Several studies have also shown that practically every trailer-tanker driver use psychoactive substances when they stop-over with alcohol being the most commonly used substance. The usual stop-over points are motor parks located along the designated route of the trailer-tanker drivers. These truck stops have over time become a beehive of activities with all manner substances and alcohol and women of easy virtues readily available. Ore along Sagamu-Benin Highway, Ogere along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Kara along Benin-Enugu Highway just to mention a few are classical examples of such ‘red spots’. More efforts should therefore be made to increase education and regulation of substance use at the various motor parks or stop over points in Nigeria.

Peer Factor: The influence of peers in introducing truck drivers to alcohol and other psychoactive substances has also been established. A significant proportion of drivers were introduced to alcohol and other psychoactive substances by friends and colleagues.