Starting on the 20th of November.

could it possibly be how your loads are falling as far as appt...im asking an instructor now....ORD asked an instructor and he said that psders arent supposed to drive between 0200-0600 and its up to the instructor whether or not you drive during those hrs but if something happens that instructor wouldnt be an instructor anymore so basically its up to the instructor when you drive

 

Welcome to the real world of OTR Trucking...sitting all day and then Kaboom! Please try to accept the job for what it is. We only get ten hours off duty not driving for every fourteen hours on duty and eleven hours driving. When you are under a 600 mile load that picks up at 1500 and delivers a 0800 tomorrow you are suppose to be on time. When not driving you may be required to use the time to rest or sleep so you can stay alert and safe while driving through the night.

 

yeah it happens its hard to stay on a set shift trust me with my flatbed trainer i started the week on days and usually ended the week on nights i guess you just have to adjust and make sure you get your proper rest when you can my 1st as psd i drove out of the spf yard and into st louis rush hour traffic(instructor was very trusting) but if you feel unsafe you know what you have to do

 

Take it one day at a time. you will learn a lot about how your body responds to long days very quickly.

 

I don't want to sound like an ###, but its the job. I drove at night my second day on the truck. I never slept until the truck stopped moving for the night. If you get too tired, stop n get some sleep for about 30 minutes. Wait til your on your trainers truck....

 

Next time your driving late at night notice who is out there...Yellow, Fed, UPS...These guys solo at night running line-haul. They pull doubles and triples 250 miles one way, drop and hook and drive back 250 miles, night after night after night. For them it not as hard. As an OTR driver the shift can start at any time. I find that getting out and walking around wakes me up when I get sleepy-headed. Sometimes that is not enough and a 30 min power-nap can get you back in the seat mentally. Try listening to Coast ot Coast(am radio) AM signals bounce. Stay tuned to talk shows that help keep you mentally active. That dark lonely highway can cause tunnel vision and you must know when to pull off. The worst time for me is Dawn. After the sun rises It's much better.

p.s. This is the time to man up and do good, pop!

 

Dawn is the worst. Doesn't matter if I just woke up from a good sleep or I have been driving for 10 hours.

Pickup and delivery days are always the wild card... You may end up getting an unwanted break in a dock. So on those days I force myself to sleep whenever I can, rather than sit in that seat waiting for a customer.

Same thing after delivery. You may sit all day waiting for dispatch and then discover you've been awake waiting all day and now you've got a load that picks up and runs overnight.

Get off the computer, turn off the movie or TV and sleep. I save that recreation time for 10hr breaks that are planned enroute... Where if I want, I know I can get at least a solid 7-8 without any interruption. I can't sleep much more than that in one stretch.

 

Aight.... That's a lie. You cant drive while off duty. The QC will automatically put you back on drive line. You cant adjust it at all while driving, I've tried. You can go off duty driving, but the log department will change it back once they realize you have a load.