Sharron Davies and Stuart Pearce spearhead Renault’s “Vandurance: More oomph for van drivers” campaign

“46% of van rivers never get their eyesight checked, even though 39% of them wear glasses”

Executive stress is not just saved for the boardroom; it also exists behind the wheel of a “white van”, according to new research by Renault Vans. “White van men” are one of Britain’s hardest-working groups, but they are not taking enough care of themselves, with half of them working more than five days per week, most having no time to stop for lunch, most suffering from backache and many stressed by their jobs, according to the research. However, most worrying of all, 46% of van drivers never get their eyesight checked, even though 39% of them wear glasses.

As a result, Renault says van drivers should take better care of their health and, to launch its health and safety crusade, the French manufacturer has put together the Renault Health Squad, which, at a series of nationwide roadshows, has been giving free health checks to van drivers. The Renault Health Squad includes a physiotherapist, fitness advisor and nutritionist, plus experts from BUPA and Vision Express. It has been stopping off at major cities this summer and can be found at Bristol (10 July); Glasgow (24 July); Southampton (11 September); Sheffield (18 September), following its launch by Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and ex-England football captain Stuart Pearce.

The “Vandurance: More oomph for Van Drivers” campaign was formally launched at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show, with “Nurse” Sharron and “Doctor” Stuart. Sandy MacRitchie, Renault Vans brand manager, says: “We pride ourselves on the fact that Renault Vans run and run and run, and now we want to make sure that our customers do too!

“That’s why we’ve devised the Renault Vandurance Roadshow, to take care of the country's van drivers and give them more oomph by tackling the health problems our survey has highlighted.” Sharron Davies says: “I’m delighted that Renault Vans is supporting drivers’ health. Having looked at the survey results, it is clear that van drivers are under a lot of pressure and don’t always have the time to look after themselves properly.”

The survey was based on interviews conducted with 300 van drivers aged 20 to 55-years-old from throughout the UK, of which 232 were male and 69 female. The survey found that:

• Van drivers work hard: 44% worked more than five days a week – those working longer hours each day were also the ones working more days. Average hours worked per week was 49 compared with a national average of 37.3 hours per week, according to the Office for National Statistics 2003
• 46% of male van drivers never visit the optician
• Backs are a problem, with 48% of van drivers experiencing some form of back or joint problems
• 73% of drivers do not reach the government’s recommended level of five portions of fruit and vegetables per day
• 40% of van drivers do nothing to address their perceptions of health – among those doing something to address their health, men’s focus is on exercise and women’s is on diet
• Even so, van drivers only take 2.7 days sick per year on average, compared to an average 7.8 days, according to the CBI’s 15th annual absence survey “Pulling Together”
• Van drivers’ most popular snack is chocolate, with 72% having at least one chocolate bar a day
• Van drivers’ favourite fruit is a banana
• 20% of male van drivers miss out on their breakfast
• Half of van drivers don’t make time to have a dedicated lunch break

“Nurse” Sharron Davies checks on the health of van drivers

“Van drivers’ most popular snack is chocolate, with 72% having at least one chocolate bar a day”

The Renault Vandurance Health Check
The Renault Vandurance Health Check is composed of three elements – an interactive heath screening questionnaire; a 15-minute health check with a BUPA health advisor, which includes blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar level tests and a lifestyle questionnaire; and a simple sight check and a voucher for a full free eye examination at specified Vision Express stores.

1. The Interactive Health Screen
The Interactive Health Screen is designed to aid awareness of health, particularly heart disease. The individual begins by inputting the following information: sex, age, weight, height, family history of heart disease, any previous history of heart disease or diabetes, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, the amount of exercise taken per week, the amount of fruit and vegetables consumed per week and the units of alcohol consumed per week.

A lifestyle risk score between one and 100 is then generated with a score of 100 being very poor and one very good. The algorithm behind the score is based on the Scottish Heart Health Study, and was developed by a cardiologist, Dr J M Cruickshank. Once a score is generated on the screen, the individual is invited to look at ways they could reduce their risk. They are able to click on the key risk factors and interactively see the results of reducing cigarette smoking, increasing exercise, and so on. At the end of the interactive session on reducing risk, a printout is generated for the individual, highlighting their score and giving them an action plan to reduce their risk of heart disease.

2. BUPA Health Check
BUPA is a broad-based health and care organisation with a growing international presence and more than seven million customers in 180 countries and 41,000 employees. Its main interests are health insurance, hospitals, care services for older people and young disabled, health assessments, workplace health and childcare services. It also provides recruitment services for healthcare professionals and has a network of nurseries for the children of working parents.

The 15-minute free Renault Vandurance Health Check with a BUPA health adviser enables van drivers to talk about their health and lifestyle. It involves the completion of a lifestyle health questionnaire and a series of tests, including a blood pressure check – one of the most effective tests in preventative medicine, high blood pressure is associated with cardiovascular disease, stroke and kidney failure; a blood sugar level test which can indicate diabetes; and a cholesterol profile with measurements of three types of blood fat – LDL (bad) cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol and tryglycerides. High levels of any of the above are manageable through changes to lifestyle and the BUPA health adviser offers lifestyle advice as well as copies of any relevant fact sheets for the individual to take away.

Renault Vandurance is offering van drivers a 10% discount off a Key, Classic and Later Life health and wellness assessment, private medical insurance plus additional benefits when joining BUPA Cashplan.

“The fact that our employee walked away from the wreckage gives both the staff confidence and me as a transport manager confidence”

Research suggests as many as 2.5 million motorists are putting themselves and others at risk by ignoring their eyesight. To help raise awareness of the importance of having regular eye examinations, Vision Express is on hand at each roadshow with a Vision Screener. The vision screen equipment provides only a basic assessment of vision and does not assess health needs, it is not intended to replace a full eye examination. It is recommended everyone has their eyes examined at least once every two years. Vision Express will also use a number of other interactive exercises, including a check of ability to read a number plate, as required as part of the driving test. All visitors screened are offered a voucher entitling them to a complementary eye examination at stores and £20 off a complete pair of glasses. In addition there will also be the opportunity to enter a free competition to win a pair of glasses worth up to £300.

Crash confirms Renault’s safety commitment Renault Kangoo Van wins “Best Light Van” in the 2004 Commercial Fleet World Honours Yard foreman John Hodd is living proof that Renault has the safest vehicles on the road after he walked away from a motorway pileup with barely a scratch. Caught in a traffic jam on the M1 southbound, the Renault Kangoo Van he was driving was rammed by a BMW travelling at approximately 70 mph. The force of the impact catapulted the Kangoo into the vehicle in front and also shunted that car into stationary traffic ahead. Mr Hodd, who was on his way to his north London home following a spring day of work at the Luton depot of Deborah Services Ltd, couldn’t believe he walked away with only bruising, where the seatbelt pretensioners grabbed him, and a sprained knee ligament. For Steve Haigh, transport manager at the Wakefieldbased company, which is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of contract scaffolding and other services to a variety of industries, Mr Hodd’s death-defying escape was testimony to both his judgement to include Renault vehicles on the company’s fleet and the integrity of the Kangoo Van. Renault has the safest range of vehicles on the roads today – the Megane, Scenic, Laguna, Vel Satis and Espace have all notched up top five-star marks in the European New Car Assessment Programme crash tests in 2002 and 2003, and the Clio and Kangoo achieved four-star ratings in 2000 and 2003 respectively. As Roadsafe went to press Euro NCAP was due to announce crash test results for the Megane Coupe Cabriolet. Last year, the manufacturer won a Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Award for its commitment to road safety. Mr Haigh says: “The Kangoo Van was a write-off. A few years ago the severity of the impact would have resulted in serious injury at least and possibly death. The fact that one of our employees walked away from the wreckage gives both the staff confidence and me as transport manager confidence because it was my decision to put the vehicles on our fleet. “Both the front and rear of the Kangoo Van were severely damaged, but the airbags and the anti-submarining seats had done their job. For our employee to walk away with barely a scratch was absolutely unbelievable. He could have been dead.” Deborah Services runs a mixed fleet of around 450 vehicles based at about 40 depots and sites nationwide ranging from cars through car-derived vans, light commercials and minibuses to HGVs with many vehicles converted for specialist work. The company currently has around 80 Kangoo Vans on the fleet and many are used as “people movers”. They are replacing Ford and Vauxhall vehicles as the company moves to a solus Renault light commercial and minibus fleet also embracing the Master range. Deborah Services also operates a 160-strong user-chooser dual-badge car fleet, of which around 70% of the content are Renaults embracing the whole of the French marque’s line-up. Mr Haigh says: “The performance of the Renault vehicles in the EuroNCAP crash tests was one of the key influencers in our decision to introduce the cars and vans. “As an employer we must be seen to be pro-active in terms of looking after the health and safety of our employees. Apart from vehicles doing the job we want them to do, we also have a responsibility to our employees. In the past we have had one or two ‘bumps’, but no accident as severe as this four-vehicle multiple.”