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Extreme weather events and rising temperatures driven by climate change are a growing human rights risk affecting drivers' rights, safety and dignity. 

Severe physical exhaustion, dehydration and cognitive impairment resulting from extreme heat can significantly increase the risk of road accidents

Fatigue is a cumulative risk arising from long hours, irregular schedules, disrupted circadian rhythms, interrupted breaks, poor road conditions and inadequate rest areas – and in road transport it is systematically built into the job. 

Cost-cutting passes from transport buyers to suppliers and

Complex subcontracting chains create significant human rights risks for truck drivers, generating a race to the bottom on costs and a lack of visibility in fragmented, multi-tier subcontracting chains. 

Multi-tiered contracting also often leads to ‘value leakage’, where each subcontractor in the

Isolation and lone working present significant safety, health and human rights risks for drivers. 

Truck drivers typically work alone for prolonged periods, often in remote or unfamiliar environments, with limited access to immediate assistance in the event of accidents, illness or violence. The ILO

High mobility defines road transport. Truck drivers operate across long distances, frequently crossing borders and jurisdictions, and work across highways, ports, warehouses and customer sites. 

The ILO Guidelines on the promotion of decent work and road safety in the transport sector recognise that

The sector's fragmented, mobile and cross-border nature undermines freedom of association and collective bargaining. 

The widespread misclassification and informalisation of drivers create a systemic barrier that legally prevents or inhibits workers from joining unions or engaging in collective

Modern trucking increasingly involves digital monitoring through telematics and in-cab cameras, introduced for safety. 

When these are used as tools to micro-manage drivers, they become a significant psychosocial risk and a source of chronic stress. It can also lead to data privacy violations, as

A systematic lack of safe rest areas and basic sanitation facilities poses a systemic risk to the road transport sector, directly endangering the safety, health and human dignity of drivers. 

This infrastructure deficit is particularly acute along major transport corridors, in border regions and near

Truck drivers are often the target of criminal activity by third parties, including cargo theft and assault – a risk heightened when a shortage of secure parking forces them to rest in unlit or unmonitored locations. 

Unrealistic commercial schedules that ignore that location and availability of safe

Discrimination is a systemic risk that falls hardest on migrant and non-national drivers, who are disproportionately involved in cross-border trucking. 

They face heightened risk of violence, harassment and discrimination at border crossings, rest areas, inspection points and along international