What's the best way for team drivers to split the work?

I drove teams several years ago. Back then we'd drive for 5 hours and sleep for 5 hours. But, I never seemed to get enough rest and after three weeks on the road I was beat.

It always seemed to me a better way would be to split the day up into two shifts, noon and midnight. That way you're working the same hours each day and can fall into a sleep rhythm. Also each driver spends some time driving both day and night and both have a rush hour to deal with. So what if half of my shift is spent sitting on a loading dock? Maybe next time it'll be your turn. That stuff will all work out over the long term.

It's also my feeling that the truck should stop for an hour each day for the drivers to spend some time taking care of themselves, shower, shave, brush teeth, etc.

If there's anything wrong about this please tell me what it is. I want to do a good, safe job moving freight efficiently and expeditiously. That means taking care of my needs and getting enough rest.

Is there a better way?

 

It's my feeling that if both drivers work their shifts it may not work out even on miles for any single trip or even over a number of trips. But, over the long term, I think it'll work out to pretty close to even as long as one driver doesn't consistently stop needlessly.

 

This is why I suggested splitting the day at noon and midnight. Both drive day and night and both have a rush hour to contend with.

For example, I start driving at midnight, drive for three hours and arrive to be unloaded. But, they cannot get to us right away. So I spend the next 4 hours waiting to be unloaded. Now it's 7AM and I still have a few hours, so I drive out and head towards our next pick up. It takes about an hour to get there and another hour to get loaded. Then I drive out and Fuel the truck and weigh the load, say another hour. Now it's 10 AM and I've only driven about 5 hours. I could drive another hour, but it may be tough finding another good place to swap out. Either way, when it's the co-driver's turn he'll have a shift that'll likely be all driving. Maybe that doesn't seem fair, but it could be him sitting on a dock next time and me doing more driving.

Also, noon is a good time to park and take care of personal needs like grooming and such. At midnight it's hard to find a parking space. So, why shouldn't both drivers take their personal time at the noon shift change?