Truck Driver Safety: Factors Influencing Risky Behaviors on the Road—A Systematic Review
DOI: 10.3390/app15179662
archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified
Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)
Summary
This systematic review addresses the critical safety challenges facing professional truck drivers, who are pivotal to global freight systems yet exposed to significant occupational and behavioral risks. Motivated by the high human and economic costs of road traffic accidents and the fragmented nature of existing research, the study aims to synthesize evidence on the factors influencing risky driving behaviors among truck drivers and their subsequent impacts on road safety outcomes. The review specifically investigates predominant hazardous behaviors, the internal and external factors driving these behaviors, and their consequences for incident frequency and injury severity. The authors conducted the review following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, with a protocol registered in PROSPERO. A systematic search across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore identified 8,226 records published between 2009 and 2024. After rigorous screening for eligibility—focusing on original research involving professional truck drivers and road safety outcomes—104 studies were included in the final synthesis. Data extraction was performed using a standardized protocol, with assistance from AI tools for organization, followed by manual verification. Study quality was assessed using a framework based on Joanna Briggs Institute and NHLBI tools, evaluating selection bias, measurement bias, confounding, and reporting bias. The majority of included studies (70.2%) were published in high-impact Q1 journals, with the United States contributing the largest share of research. The synthesis reveals that prevalent risky behaviors include speeding, fatigue-related impairments, distracted driving, and substance use. These behaviors are driven by a complex interplay of internal and external factors. Internal factors include age, gender, driving experience, and health conditions. For instance, older drivers exhibit risk-averse behaviors but face higher crash severity due to physical limitations, while novice drivers are more prone to high-risk maneuvers and fatigue. Male drivers, who dominate the workforce, engage more frequently in risky behaviors compared to female drivers. Health issues such as insomnia and chronic conditions significantly increase crash risk. External factors include occupational demands, such as tight delivery schedules and economic pressures, which encourage longer working hours and reduced rest. Regulatory constraints and social contexts, including education and marital status, also influence safety outcomes. The review found that these hazardous behaviors are consistently associated with increased crash risk and injury severity. The findings underscore the urgent need for evidence-based, multifaceted strategies to enhance truck driver safety. Effective interventions identified include fatigue management programs, driver monitoring technologies, and the promotion of positive safety climates within organizations. The study highlights limitations such as the exclusion of non-English studies and reliance on self-reported data, which constrain generalizability. Ultimately, the review provides a comprehensive framework for policymakers and industry stakeholders to develop targeted interventions that address the unique occupational, psychosocial, and environmental stressors faced by truck drivers, thereby improving road safety outcomes.
Key finding
Risky driving behaviors among truck drivers, driven by internal health and psychological factors as well as external occupational pressures, are consistently associated with increased crash risk and injury severity.
Methodology
review
Sample size: 104
Provenance
The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via author_sweep_intake on 2026-05-28.
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | author_sweep | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-28 |
| archive | success | openalex | — | — | 9 | 2026-06-06 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-04 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-04 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-04 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-28 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-04 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 15 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
Topics
Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.
Information type
What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).
- Empirical Findings: observational prevalence
- Theoretical Contribution: theory or model