Keeping sleepy drivers off the road

When i was OTR i would always get sleepy in the evening around 2 or 3. but at night i was usually good till about 4AM. If i got to sleepy I would pull over and i didn't give a #### if the company liked it or not. i ain't gonna die for a load of toilet paper!

 

Thats exactly what I tell my husband. The most important thing in that truck is the driver...PERIOD.

As to the OP I had heard of a similar product for commuters that was attached to the driver some how and if their head started to nod then it would make some crazy sound. Not sure if this is the same thing you are talking about, but to me it sounds insane and even more dangerous than the tired driver alone.

All you need is your own head. If you're tired...shut it down. My life, my childrens lives, depend on it.

 

You have an advantage over most though. Powder Joints keeps you awake with choking from powder sucked down straight down windpipes and 'live' powder burns falling off the joints at every bump in the road

 

Absolutely agree here! I run linehaul at night, shift starting at 9:00pm. Sometimes I am very sleepy at night even when I slept really good. When Im tired I pull over and sleep for 15 minutes or so. Sometimes longer. My life and the lives of the people around me are more important than any freight and my company agrees. Sometimes your just tired.

 

This is where we always get into the "legal vs illegal log" debate

I often wonder who is more dangerous, the guy that ran 100% legal, said guy wakes up at 6am, gets load at 11am, and then used his entire 14 to get his 11 hours driving. Total time awake ... 19 hours

Or a guy like me, wake at 5 am, dispatch/load at 9 am in the morning, got drowsy about 2, took a 2 or 3 hour nap, and then completed his 11 driving. Stopping at 10 or 11 that night. total time awake...about 15-16 hours

I really don't think forcing a clock on us is the answer. I've worked nights most my life, and the "day" clock kills me.

I really wish the US, Canada, and Mexico would lend a serious look at the Australian model.

 

hey could u link Australian DOT hours of service? or what ever they are called there I'm not coming up with anything in my Google searches

 

There was nothing wrong with the HOS rules BEFORE they changed them to the 11/14/70.
One could stop and take a 2-3 hour nap with-out the worry that it would deduct from their 11/14.

 

God, if only they'd let us stop the clock again.

I get sleepy, I pull over. End of story. Late load or not.
My family needs me, just as much as I need them.

 

Something lik this would be good for some drivers or companies. Take teams. The company expects us to be movng 24/7. Usually that is not a problem. But when th time comes that one of the drivers gets tired, and the other is out of hours? Of course stop the truck, but now you have to listen to dispatch complain because your average speed has decreased. I got a nice phone call because my trainer took a nap, and it slowed our speed to 3w MPH from 6 am to 10 am. I would rather he be sleeping if he is tired, but they thought we should still magically maintain a higher MPH average. Guess out of hours doesnt always cover teams.

 

Which brings up my point! Most of the drivers that I research on major accidents (one's that everyone says is he/she legal at the time) the driver is legal and the driver just took off within 4 hours. So this makes me wonder if the drivers being forced to shut down for 8 or 10 (8 being if they are split breaking) are awake most of that break and then taking off and allowed legally to drive 11 hours in a 14 hour period. So lets say an average driver sleeps 5 hours so his last 5 hours of his 10 hour break he's awake. So he's been up 5 hours (right?). Now he is legal to "work" 14 hours. He has been up for 19 hours. Hmmm??

I still say a driver who split breaks is more safer! It makes you stop for a 2 hour break @ least (which for that driver that only slept 5 hours, could take a 2 hour nap and be fresh for another 5 hours of driving).

I really think companies need to stress to split break and TRAIN drivers on how to do it and we will see the log violations go down and the drivers safer and happier!