The longer the working day, the greater the tendency to use drugs among drivers who work on Brazilian roads. The estimate follows data collected by the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT).
Among drivers who work 4 and 8 hours a day, only 17.39% said they use chemical substances. Among drivers who work shifts longer than 16 hours, this number reaches 50%.
The research “Operação Jornada Legal 2023” was carried out by the National Coordination for the Defense of the Work Environment (Codemat) and the National Coordination for the Promotion of Trade Union Freedom (Conalis), in partnership with the Labor Inspection and the Federal Highway Police (PRF) . The study was carried out at the end of 2023, in all regions of Brazil.
The relationship is direct between drug use and workload and the use of these drugs is imposed by the labor exploitation model, according to Paulo Douglas Almeida de Moraes, coordinator of the MPT’s Road Transport Working Group.
The study shows that 60% of drivers who sleep less than 4 hours use drugs compared to just 23% of those who rest more than 8 hours a day. Among users, 50% use cocaine, followed by amphetamine and methamphetamine.
Around 77.2% use chemical substances to keep them from sleeping and, during the analyses, 13.45% of drivers had a positive toxicological test for the disease.
Brazil is a pioneer in toxicological testing
The use of toxicological testing began two decades ago in Brazil in the police. In 2001, the test began to be used to identify people who use psychoactive substances in professions subject to adverse situations and which could expose society to risks.
“Brazil is the first country in the world with large-window examinations for public security agents, all police forces,” says Renato Fernandes, head of toxicology business at Grupo Fleury.
In 2007, the test began to be used in the Municipal Armed Forces, when they observed that agents who had problems with internal affairs tested positive for drug use. Over the years, Military and Civil Police, Firefighters and all Armed Forces began to include in competition notices the requirement of denial for drug use.
For Fernandes, Brazil was the first country with international recognition with technical reference in an anti-drug policy, by the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
In 2023, 75 thousand healthcare professionals will be involved in exams and 800 thousand admissions occurred in the year using the test.
