Option to Trade bio monitoring for more driving hours?

"It's already possible to drive almost 14 hours a day (depending on on-duty not driving time). "

Almost? How many exactly and how? A summary of the hour limit reg at safedriverhours.com say there is still an 11 hour driving time limit with a 14 consecutive hour driving window. But it also says "- A driver who exceeds, and/or a motor carrier that allows a driver to exceed, the driving time limit by 3 hours or more be considered to have committed an egregious violation.." What? 3 hours or more? What about less than 3 hours? Is that a non-egregious violation?


"And if the sensors show that breaks are being taken and the driver devotes this time to deep relaxation, but it isn't accomplished, then what?"

If the time is devoted to deep relaxation, it is scientifically, physiologically impossible for it to not be accomplished. When you pause for 5 to 10 seconds before taking a deep breath, blood leaves your lungs with very little oxygen, triggering the low-oxygen survival reflex of relaxing the body so the heart can pump blood with less effort, conserving the oxygen "on board." Relaxation continues when you take a deep breath, and a few breaths will supercharge your brain and body with rejuvenating oxygen, and carry out carbon dioxide and other cellular garbage. This pause repeated every 45- 60 seconds, in the absence of visual and auditory distractions, can quickly induce deep relaxation and brain waves close to those of deep sleep. Here's one of many informative articles: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/11/09/weird-benefit-power-naps/


"A 5-10 minute break actually means 15-20 minutes or more in decreased driving efficiency. Time is needed to slow the truck down, find a place to park, take 5 minutes out of the truck, and then get back on the road and get up to highway speeds. So any way you look at it, you have lost at least an hour, more likely an hour and a half per 11 hr driving shift."

A 5 minute break on the shoulder doesn't require setting out the hazard signals, does it? But that could be part of the exercise if it is. With a roadside stop you lose just 2- 3 minutes to braking and accelerating. There should be more fuel tax funded rest stops for truckers to alleviate the crowding in commercial truck stops.


"Just throw something out there in the name of safety and it should fly right? Or how about let's do it for the children, that usually works also.
The small sensor? You are suggesting something similar to an actigraph, but why not make this as thorough as the Essex study commissioned by the DOT. We could use a Polysomnography during sleep (Only 22 wires hooked to you), an Electroencephalogram (Only 17-21 more wires), Electrooculogram (Sensors at the corners of your eyes), Electromyogram (Sensors on your chin), nasal sensors to verify airflow, respiratory sensors on our chest, an O2 sensor on your finger, PSG (with EEG and EOG only) while driving , infrared ear sensor for temperature and Electrocardiograph probes."

No, the sensors you cite are for someone with a sleep disorder. And it would be a gross invasion of privacy to use sensors during drivers' during sleeping hours that could reveal when they are having sex. All that is needed to monitor breaks is temperature sensor or two in the sleeper mattress to verify that they are lying in it, and perhaps a sleep mask with a temperature sensor in it, hooked to data recorder with USB connection for transferring data to a computer(very inexpensive).


"This ignores one of the conclusions of several studies including the aforementioned Essex study, which concluded time of day was a more prominent factor in decreased performance than hours of driving (time-on-task). It also ignores cumulative fatigue across days of driving until your 32 continuous hrs off. It also ignores the study's conclusions that it's the principal sleep period as the larger factor with intermittent rest periods being almost no factor. It also ignores the study's conclusion that breaks and rest periods actually increased their sleep times in their principal sleep periods and that mid-trip breaks failed to show a statistically-significant recovery effect."

I would agree that "infractions" on the regular sleeping period would be the prominent factor in decreased performance, but I'd like to know the study's definition of "break." I Googled for this study and didn't get anything on first page of results. I'd give high odds it was not exercise of deep relaxation.

 

Why do you say that in response to that question? You think it suggests I am completely ignorant of regulations, or the idea that parking on the shoulder is so dangerous that it should be avoided except in cases of serious emergency? For your information, I spent many hours studying the regulations, and have passed several online tests on general knowledge, air brakes, and combinations with average score of 87+ points. Do you consider pulling over on the shoulder so dangerous that when you know you have a flat tire you drive on, allowing it to break apart and throw chunks at other vehicles on the road? I'd be a great driver.. I've been a hyper-miler for years, always looking ahead for traffic signals or slow traffic for which I need to slow down in order to avoid coming to a dead stop. Many times I've been passed by stupid big rig drivers who I pass at the signal without stopping.

 

"Perhaps if you drove and used the regs you would know them and how to ues them. There is nothing in the regs hich give a daily maximum one can drive.
Consider that a driver starts driving at midnight, and drives for 11 hours then takes ten off. That means he can drive again at 9:00 pm for another 10, three of which are on the same day he started (9-midnight) for a total of 14 that day. Once you factor any on-duty time for that day you should see where my statement makes sense. The second day he would have 8 hrs that morning (Midnight -8 AM) followed by 10 off (It is now 6PM) and then another 11 hrs driving (6 that day from 6-midnight) for 14 hrs driving that day at midnight. Again factor in any on-duty time and my statement should make sense. If you had 15 minutes on duty at the beginning and 15 minutes on duty at the end of each driving shift you could legally drive 13.5 hrs each of these days, hence my statment.."

A) This schedule has no semblance of a regular sleep period, by which anyone would suffer chronic fatigue. B) You flunk on the arithmetic- 9:00 pm + "another 10" would end at 7:00 am, not 8:00 as you say.


"You can devote all you want to. When someone cannot sleep or rest, it may be physiologically impossible for it to be accomplished. This can be true for the entire period or part of it."

Almost everyone could at some time be so mentally agitated about some personal situation that it impairs their ability to perform the relaxation exercise, and this would indicate that they are also too agitated and distracted to drive safely.


"Nothing wrong with power naps, drivers (And others) have been using them for eons, but surely you are not suggesting one can slow his truck down, park it safely, get in the bunk, take a 10-15 minute power nap, wake up, get motivated, and be back at highway speed in 30 minutes or less. "

I am. I figure 1.5 minutes to come to stop, 1 minute to get in bunk, 15 minutes in bunk, 1 minute to exit truck, 2 minutes for quick walk-around inspection and enter truck, and 2 minutes to accelerate, for a total of 22.5 minutes. And of course, any time out of the seat should extend the driving window. I'd like to see your time breakdown.. especially for "get motivated" and what that consists of.


"Didn't mention hazard signals and did not include them as a factor.
First off any driver that just merely pulls over on the shoulder of a highway for a non-emergency break of any duration is as close to a complet idiot as can be.
Second if you believe all you loose is two to three minutes to break from highway speeds and accelerate back to highway speeds, I suggest you take some real life experience and call us in the morning. When you pull in to a rest area, that will add to the total time, not as much as going to a truckstop, but stil more than ignorantly parking on the shoulder of a highway.
Nope, the sensors I mention were used totally for observation of drivers without a sleep disorder as they were specifically excluded. However they did identify 2 of the drivers as needing sleep studys"

You have some statistics on trucks and/or drivers hit by another vehicle while parked on the shoulder? I've seen many big rigs parked on the shoulder. There's a story in the news almost monthly here about some big rig rolling over on an exit ramp, but can't remember last story about a truck or driver on the shoulder being hit. I failed to express the fact that it was completely idiotic to think truckers would ever agree to use those kind of sensors.



"It would seem that this would also be a gross invasion of privacy to use sensors during drivers' during sleeping hours that could reveal when they are having sex."



"I am almost certain their definition of break was considerably longer than your 5-10 minute breaks, or even your 15-20 minute breaks."

Yeah,,, maybe they even counted a coffee/ donut break.

Best regards[/QUOTE]