When to call it a day.

E log or not, I'm tired the truck is stopping. They don't like it. Let them drive the truck.

Things to make clear right up front, I don't drive when I'am going to put myself the truck, load or public at risk. This is one of the points I make clear. I have an application at Indian River right now, this is one of the things the are not liking, oh well its something I retain a right to.

1. The truck goes home always with me.
2. I have certain days I will be at home no negotiation, and they were all listed.
3. I retains the right always to decide what is safe for me and the truck, includes weather, traffic, and fatigue level. I will alway side with caution in the case of safety.

They are having problems with number 2 & 3, I told them yesterday I am not going to discuss these items they are absolutes and I will pass on the job if they have a problem with any of them.

 

11yrs out here you say ?
you just told on your self.

 

You would think they would not have a problem with these things. After all fatigued driving is one of the things they shut you down for.

I will be curious if they accept this and try to change you or just let you walk on by.

 

I can't speak for anyone but myself. For me there has always been a difference in sleepy and tired.

Having to drive in allot of heavy traffic, playing unloader, or heck just having to sit around doing the waiting game can make me feel tired and beat up. Some open road, and coffee and maybe some tunes will help me down the road. Even talking on the radio will help.

Catching myself in a situation where I'm doing the glassy eyed thing and not moving my vision is a sign to me that I'm sleepy. Those rare times I've pushed too far scare the hell out of me.

I have to agree with the posters that no load is worth lives . I captain my ship and make those decisions, ones I have to live with. I'd rather do the expatiation that the load was late because I had to pull over, than the load never got there because I got stupid.

 

this is just my opinion, all of us know we push the limits from time to time to make a buck,this is understandable.. but we all know even if we had our ten hr brake that we get the sleepys anytime from 3am-5am, due to our irregular scheduals! Now ,our bodys (eyes) will tell us hey it's that time,,your not gona beat it! if you pull over and take a 1/2 or a hour or two to rest your body and eyes,you can go the distance,,but you must give it a rest,your bodys telling you this!!! the truck,the load,the money aint worth your life, or possably the 4 wheeler thats on his or her way home from or to work,or the family thats on vacation,and your cdl that you worked so hard for aint worth looseing,,,,,,,and trust me my friends ,you dont want the loss of someones life on your mind,for the rest of your life,,,,,,,,,,,,,i'm talking from exsperiecne,the hardest thing iv ever had to do twice in my life is exsplaine to a family why their daddy aint comeing home anymore, no i'm ot a cop! i worked on the highways building the roads, i had one guy get sucked under a tractor trailer and another one kill buy a drunk driver,and both times being the superviser,,iv had to exspain this to the familys,that i knew personaly from company picnics,and the hardest part being a dad myself,trying to help the young kids understand,,,,,,,,,,trust me it tears a big hole in a mans heart!!!! so if your that tired ,PULL OVER AND TAKE A NAP!!!!

 

This is the exact reason Log Books and HOS are complete nonsense. Truckers need regular operating hours just like everyone else. People for the most part wont go to sleep because a book or a rule say they should. I can sit around all day for 3 days but if I am driving at 4 am I am going to be tired , period. This is not true for everyone but it illustrates the point of the lunacy of log books.

 

frago I agree to a certain extent. But remember we are not the ONLY jobs that have weird hours. How about the thousands of firefighters that work "battalion shifts."

And then there are the folks who work rotating shifts. Of course most of those rotate on a regular basis, anywhere from every month to quarterly. I worked one job where I worked two graves then came back after a "short change" and worked two swings, then came back after a "short change" and worked one day shift. I did that every week for 8 months. Of course I had more time off on my weekends that way, but was so darn tired that it wasn't worth it.

I know of one mine and plant operation that work 12 on and 12 off. And they rotate every two days! To my way of thinking, this is a serious enough situation that OSHA should step in and stop it. And I'm NOT big on government control. . .

 

You guys are so right. I have been working for a drilling rig moving company for 3 years and forced dispatch is all they know. They dont care how many hours you have they just want you to run.
And that is one reason I quit them today and start a regional driving job on Monday. I wouldnt want to put someone elses life at risk, nor my own, just because my boss told me he had to have me somewhere the next day even though I was dog tired and out of hours.
I wouldnt want to get called in on but if it saved a life then so be it. I called the police a week ago and reported a driver for driving erratically on I40. I dont know what became of it since he could run faster than me but I am glad I did it.

 

If I see anyone, car or truck, driving crazy, obviously sleepy, etc, I'm calling. Period. Not trying to kill your career, but it could be MY family that you kill.

I would also expect you to take my scuzzy hide off the road if I was stupid enough to drive like that.

 

To a big extent we are about the only ones out there controlled by a log book that says we are rested and now have hours and can drive.

I know there are other jobs that are indeed controlling like the mine, but a fire fighter is not one that gets up and has to sit in the drivers seat for an 11 hour run without a possible rest period.

We are subject very close to slave labor running the way the hours of service are anymore in my opinion. I no longer have control as to whether I am rested or not.