Managing fatigue as a linehaul driver

I'm an OTR driver, just wondering how does loads work in LTL world? As far as getting a load and "load boards" and such? I know it's different than on my end by how I'm not sure. Thanks

 

No problem. First off get some good sleep (I know thats obvious but its the simplest). Secondly don't chow down at the TA or Petro with heavy food. Grab breakfast instead. That heavy food although tasty will make you tired. Don't run the heater on full blast in the winter time. You can get real drowsy in no time. Once in a while I've had to get out of the truck and just take a quick stroll at a rest stop and get the blood flowing. Also it helps to get on the phone and do a little BS'ing on the cell phone with some driver friends that are running the same schedule. Hope this helped.

 

I was lucky when i was on the extra board. The runs were still only at night, none of this being on call 24 hours a day. I would take a small nap after my turn around point and that seemed to help me immensely. I don't know what I would do if I was on call with no rhyme or reason of a schedule. if you're tired, pull over and take a 30 minute nap. If you're laid over at a hotel, and only there for your 10 hours, lay down regardless and stay there. Eventually you'll go to sleep, even if it's only for a few hours.

 

When you are bouncing around on your clock, your body will never get enough sleep. There are some things you can do to try to help yourself, but face it, you are going to be tired much of the time.

If you have trouble sleeping in the daytime, get your bedroom as dark as possible. If you don't have black out curtains, at least get yourself an eye mask. Use some type of "white noise." Often a fan is enough for this, or play boring music just loud enough that you know it is there.
If you are a family man, particularly with little kids, it makes it that much rougher. If you can have the house to yourself while you are sleeping, you will be a whole lot better off. (I had the misfortune during one of my jobs, of living in a modular home. With wife and two kids. Things you never even realize when you are up and about, will drive you crazy when you are trying to sleep. My biggest peeve was kids running in the house then going into their bedrooms. Think CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP SLAM! Then ma yelling at the kids, "hold the noise down, dad's tryin' to sleep.)" I never found a solution for that one. . .

Working a steady shift, no matter what it is, is so much better than what we as truckers experience. Even for regional or OTR, your sleep is going to depend on what your load is and what your delivery/pick time is.

I knew a guy that had to give up his steady night run. He was having so much problem staying awake, he would pull over and stop, then sleep for hours making him late for his turn or his terminal. The company finally forced him to give up line haul and go back to local work. In his case, there was absolutely no excuse though, because he worked a straight night time shift. He just wouldn't take the time to get rest in the day time, because he was trying to run some type of small business. . .

 

Know your body and prepare. There's gonna come some point when you hit the "wall" and you gotta know when that is and stop. For me it's 04:30 to 06:30 or sometime thereabouts. No matter how much sleep I got or how long I been adjusted to night shift I am sleep cycle-wise when that pre-dawn time comes the sleepy time comes with it. I know this so I plan a break for then. Get out, walk around, go to the bathroom, wash the face, go freshen the thermos and mug. Someplace with bright lights and people. Once the sky starts turning lighter I'm OK again. First yawn means it's coming. Start looking for a place. Second yawn means better find a place fast. Third yawn means PARK IT - even if you have to hit a ramp. Night flight ain't no joke. The poster that said don't eat heavy is right. Gallon zip lock with veggies. Heavy foods burn calories digesting them and give off tryptophan (the stuff in milk and turkey that makes people sleepy) and night shift your body burns twice as much energy as day shift, and be prepared too; you'll be famished after your sleep. Eat lite before and during your shift and heavy after it's over. Also be aware the emotions don't tend to run right during crossover days (day to night and back). Don't have any serious discussions with a loved one til you been crossed over for a couple days.

 

Oh man, it's like you're looking through a window right into my life! Thank God the kids are back in school...

 

How true this is, and it is something I didn't even think about mentioning. An excellent point there Aminal! I too used to have that "daybreak sleepies." With me, it was right about dawn, at whatever time dawn was. Even when I was working in a jail, (before trucking, my career was law enforcement. I was a jail deputy for a couple of years,) where I couldn't see outside, it seemed that sleepies would hit right at sunup.

 

Some of my least favorite loads as a PAM driver were pick up at Conway at 2 - 4 in the morning and have to have it 400-500 miles away by 10am. No time to stop. Had to RUN.
Thank goodness I no longer drive OTR.

 

Invest in a set of good earplugs too if you are in the truck or even at home. Truckstops can be really noisy sometimes and home if the kids are around.