The effects of fatigue on truck drivers in cargo transportation: a literature review

Road accidents have been treated as a public health problem, since they overload the health system of countries, bringing a high social cost because the main victims are economically active young people. In Brazil, between 2007 and 2018, 38,040 people died in accidents in which at least one truck was involved. It is estimated that fatigue is involved between 20% and 50% of se-rious accidents in the world. Fatigue can increase the frequen-cy, amplitude or variability of errors a driver can make while driving. Thus, the main objective of this study is to carry out a comprehensive literature review, seeking to synthesize the ev-idence related to the factors that influence the fatigue of truck drivers. The review worked with 56 selected articles and iden- tified three main factors that can influence the manifestation of fatigue, namely sleep, work and health. Research has indicated that fatigue refers to a decrease in a driver's abilities due to fac-tors such as lack of sleep, excessive physical exertion, extended working hours, and others. In addition to the potential impact on driver's care, insufficient sleep is a risk factor causing a wide range of health problems. Working conditions and stress related to the profession not only have the potential to negatively impact the health of truck drivers, but also put the protection of others on the roads at risk. Future research should investigate methods for aligning work conditions with technological advancements, in-cluding the use of fatigue monitoring and prevention systems.