Application of Questionnaire Concerning the State of Conservation of Trucks and Highway BR-163 in the State of Mato Grosso - Brazil

Grain transport losses occur due to road conditions, trucks' state of repair, types of bodies, overload, loading and transport speed. These losses, besides affecting the economy, are also considered waste of food, environmental and social aspects. The objective of this work was to collect information from the drivers, through the application of questionnaires, on the type, age and state of conservation of trucks, car bodies, roof covers and tires, as well as conservation conservation of BR-163 highway in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The study was carried out on the BR-163 highway, which is the one with the highest cargo flow for maize in the state of Mato Grosso. Interviews were conducted with approximately 500 truck drivers transporting grain cargoes of maize, in order to obtain information regarding: (a) State of conservation of the highways where they travel; (b) which part of the highways the greatest grain losses occur; (c) which grain is the most lost in road transport; (d) whether the truck driver has received any specific training to avoid grain losses; (e) whether the trucker adopts any procedure to reduce grain losses; among other information relevant to the study in question. It was observed that 59.70% of the trucks are owned by the companies, the other 40.30% are owned by the driver or are not tied to any company. It was observed that 42.90% of the trucks were manufactured between 2011 and 2015, that is, they are less than 8 years old. Of the evaluated trucks 39% of the evaluated trucks are bitrens, 32% rodotrens. The predominant bodies in the transport of grain in bulk are of the bulk type and bucket, with great predominance for grain. The data indicate that 87% of the trucks and 84% of the bodies are in good or excellent condition. The grain that is most lost in transportation, according to the drivers, is corn and soy, which together account for approximately 40% of the losses. It is concluded that grain losses in corn transport are occurring mainly due to poor conservation of BR-163 in the state of Mato Grosso. Holes and trepidation are the main culprits.