UF Study: Truckers At Risk For AIDS From On-The-Road Sex

January 12, 2000

GAINESVILLE — AIDS has joined traffic accidents as an occupational hazard for the nation’s long-haul truckers, a new University of Florida study finds.

The findings suggest that high-risk sexual behavior is common among long-haul truckers in the United States, who may be at risk for HIV infection primarily because of unprotected sexual intercourse with multiple sex partners,” said Dale Stratford, a UF courtesy professor in anthropology who did the research. She also is a behavioral scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The risk is compounded by occupational conditions, which motivate truckers to drive long hours, often using drugs to stay alert,” she said. “Sex, alcohol and drugs are perceived as quick, effective stress relievers during downtime on long, lonely trips.”

The study showed that deregulation of the trucking industry has required truckers to deliver cargoes more rapidly, intensifying the pressures they face. Truckers frequently drive longer hours than the law permits to make delivery deadlines, with nearly every driver in the study stating that he kept two logbooks, one for the Department of Transportation and another for himself and his company, she said.

The findings reveal an important health-care concern because heterosexually transmitted AIDS is increasing rapidly in the United States, Stratford said.

Nearly one-third of long-haul truckers surveyed at four Florida truck stops reported having frequent on-the-road sex with prostitutes, but few ever used condoms, the study found. Results of the research, funded by the CDC, are published in the Dec. 14 issue of the journal Social Science and Medicine.

Although studies from developing countries suggest long-haul truckers play a significant role in transmission of the human immunodefeciency virus, little information is available about the more than 3 million long-haul truckers in the United States, she said.

The UF study was based on surveys and interviews with white male truckers at a north Central Florida truck stop and three South Florida truck stops in 1995 and 1996. The truckers came from all over the nation and traveled cross-country routes.

Truckers’ encounters with prostitutes or “lot lizards,” as they called them, took place in motels, brothels or their vehicles, she said.

“We were particularly concerned by comments from truckers that lot lizards’ solicited sex from truckers because they needed money for drugs,” she said. “Needles could be found near party row’ at truck stops, and crack cocaine and other drugs were used by truckers and lot lizards’ together.”

When truckers categorized themselves into groups, 20 of the 71 described themselves as “highway cowboys” or “supertruckers.” Usually younger and more risk-seeking, those men reported the most sexual encounters and time spent on the road, the study found.

“For most of the highway cowboys, their trucks were their homes for all but a few days of the year,” she said.

The group also reported a higher rate of drug use, relying on a mixture of methamphetamine and cocaine for driving and partying, and marijuana, crack cocaine and alcohol for sleep, she said.

The 31 truckers who labeled themselves “old hands” were more experienced drivers who “knew the ropes” and had moderated the risky sexual behavior of their youth, Stratford said. All, however, reported drinking one to four beers daily, often to come down from methamphetamine, too much caffeine or driving-related stress, she said.

The remaining 20 truckers surveyed were either “Christian truckers,” or “old married men,” who credited their religious beliefs and marriages for avoiding HIV-related risks, she said.

Public health programs must take into account truckers’ mistrust of government, she said. “If we were to set up a testing site on the road for HIV and AIDS, I think we’d get very few customers,” she said. “But if it included general testing for hypertension, smoking and AIDS, it would probably be much easier to reach a large number of truckers.”