DEKRA report links work stress, alcohol and drugs to dangerous driving among professional drivers

The DEKRA Road Safety Report 2026, titled 'Working in Road Traffic', examines how professional drivers can turn to psychoactive substances such as alcohol, amphetamines, cannabis or cocaine to relax, escape stress or boost performance. DEKRA traffic psychologist Dr. Thomas Wagner warns that using substances as a strategy to cope with highly demanding work is both ineffective and dangerous. The report says combined use of alcohol and cannabis is particularly problematic because it can further worsen the negative effects on driving behaviour. Among other things, perception, reaction time and decision-making ability can be impaired.

In a survey commissioned by the Brussels-based European Transport Workers' Federation, 60% of truck and bus drivers reported regularly feeling tired while behind the wheel. The 2021 study also assumes a high number of unreported cases because many affected drivers fear possible consequences. 24% of the bus drivers surveyed and 30% of the truck drivers said they had fallen asleep at the wheel at least once in the past twelve months. 57% of bus drivers and 51% of truck drivers wanted to pull over due to fatigue during the same period but were unable to do so. According to various studies, sleep deprivation can increase the risk of accidents eightfold, and many drivers try to combat fatigue with stimulants such as caffeine or turn to alcohol or other drugs to stay alert.

A review study from the Universidade Estadual de Londrina in Brazil, cited in the DEKRA report, examined psychoactive substance use among truck drivers. In the self-reports, alcohol was most frequently cited as a coping mechanism, followed by amphetamines, cannabis and cocaine. The authors led by Prof. Edmarlon Girotto identified younger age, longer trips, night shifts, long-distance routes, short rest periods, limited work experience, productivity-based income and a history of being involved in accidents as influencing factors. Young age and smoking were primarily associated with alcohol use, while poor working conditions such as night shifts and long drives were particularly linked to amphetamine use. Chronic and high-dose THC consumption can impair safe driving because of prolonged periods of intoxication and elimination times, and Wagner notes that users often do not know how much THC they ingest from a cannabis joint; after cannabis use, driving difficulties primarily involve staying in lane, regulating speed and following right-of-way rules at traffic lights or intersections.

Excessive alcohol consumption is also more common among truck drivers than in the general population, according to the report. In an Italian pilot study of 335 truck drivers, 24% reported drinking alcohol during work hours or breaks, and more than 21% exceeded the threshold for unhealthy alcohol consumption. Interviews with 343 truck drivers in the Netherlands found that more than 56% of respondents who consume alcohol had occasionally driven while hungover, and they assessed their driving style as significantly less relaxed, less safe and less responsible. Wagner says the use of psychoactive substances can be linked to poor working conditions such as fatigue, and Livia Spera, Secretary General of the ETF, demands that Europe address professional drivers' working conditions, focusing on realistic route planning and compliance with social regulations and their effective enforcement.