Truckers in diapers?: Cosmo’s odd take

by James Menzies

There’s an article making the rounds this month, as much for its unusual source as for what it contains. Cosmopolitan, the women’s magazine that’s better known for its ‘10 Great Ways to Improve Your Sex Life’-type articles, featured the perspective of Arielle Pardes, a former professional driver.

What a great platform from which to educate a largely untapped labour pool – women – about the career opportunities that exist in the trucking industry. And for the most part, it was a fair and balanced representation of the good, the bad and the ugly that pro drivers – male or female – will experience when embarking on a career behind the wheel.

There were, however, a couple items in the article that caused me to do a double take. None more so than this one: “You learn to get by on a shower a few times a week (or less) and hold your bladder for as long as possible, because every minute you’re stopped at a rest stop is lost income. Some truck drivers even wear diapers to avoid stopping at bathrooms – not kidding.”

Really? In 15 years of covering this industry and interacting daily with professional drivers, I’ve yet to meet a diaper-wearing trucker. How can I be sure? Well, true, I’ve never asked, but let’s call it a pretty good hunch.

Yes, bathrooms are few and far between and stopping for breaks will cost you a couple bucks when paid by the mile, but if you need to wear a diaper to make money in this business then you probably need to ask yourself some questions about who you’re working for and why you’re doing this.

That far-fetched line alone probably chased off many more potential recruits from this industry than the rest of it could have drawn in.

The other point I took issue with was ‘Forget about working out or eating well.’

“You’re sitting all day driving, then you’re sleeping,” Pardes writes. “That’s your life for as long as it takes to get home. Forget exercising; you’re barely standing up throughout the day. The only way to make money is if your truck is moving, and as long as your truck is moving, you’re on your butt.”

I know it’s incredibly difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle while driving over-the-road. But it’s not impossible and I am frequently inspired by pro drivers who have committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle despite all the challenges associated with doing so as a professional driver.

Check out pg. 18-19 of this issue of Truck News for some great on-road workouts that can be done in and around the truck, pretty much anywhere you find yourself parked.

Truck stops and fleets are doing their best to make healthy meals and snacks available. It’s becoming increasingly rare to visit a trucking company that doesn’t have a fruit bowl out for drivers. Online communities have been created to share tips on cooking healthy meals inside the cab.

There has never been more information and resources available for professional drivers who want to lead a healthy lifestyle. It can be done.

I never thought I’d be using this space to counter an opinion piece in Cosmo. Tune in next month when I share 10 tips for truckers on how to enhance your sex life. None of them will involve diapers


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  • I also wear diapers and have been a trucker for twenty years. I also have a medical condition that requires them.

  • Also been a truck driver for 13 years, and I’m in diapers as well. It’s a taboo subject. It’s not like you disclose what underwear you wear to people in the normal course of conversation, so why would one who wears diapers do so?

  • I recommend a moderate to heavy absorbent diaper for example on i70 west of Denver CO for the drive all points west of Denver but do not multiply the layers you use because the diaper sap can limit the ability to move your legs while sitting.

  • I wear diapers while driving and now while I sleep. I have an adult onesie that marks my diapers while interacting with the public they sell these items at abuniverse.com

  • I’m in my 30s and I have to wear diapers from getting hit by a drunk driver. I don’t have to tell what happened but I will anyways at 18 I was hit by a lady who’s alcohol level was 0.97 4 hours after she hit me, she ran and was later arrested dec 2 2000 In battle creek michigan. I was standing in my buddies front yard when she hit me. Over period of a long recovery I’ve gained most usage of my body back but I still have urinary issues. I weigh 142 lbs and it’s hard to keep my weight up but I do it but I also exercise and I eat alot. Also I drink alot to stay hydrated which effects me sometimes because I leak through but I have several brands of protection on my truck from tranquility depend and megamax from northshore. I don’t speak for anyone else but diapers are apart of my lifestyle and sometimes it’s frustrating but I learned to cope with it.

  • Well all I can say is it’s true, I’ve been wearing diapers as a truck driver for a long time not by choice you can say what you want to but the truth of the matter is you can sit at a customer with no bathroom for hours upon hours and a lot of customers wouldn’t think about letting you use their bathroom another thing is a lot of companies will complain if you stop for 5 minutes they’re always watching you on the computer and harassing you with something like this I seen you stop twice what was the problem that’s what these companies mean by putting a computer in your truck so that they can harass you to a point where you can’t use the bathroom eat or even pee freedom of the open road get a life it’s not going to happen I’ve been at this for 36 years and it’s just getting worse