Sleep deprived drivers

That's true,you're too tired just say no.Ive done it.Dispatchers or the company WILL NOT dictate my hours.

 

I was a hard runner but got worn down to a nub. If I get the nods I pull over. Ya can't deliver the load if your titz up in the ditch.

 

Though I agree with the OP that HOS rules suck. I must say I have never had a bad night sleep in a truck not even when I was running teams and had the top bunk with the most uncomfortable mattress in the world it was still better to me than most nights at home or at the office (when i used to work in one) for that matter. I have never had an instant in which I thought I was going to fall asleep at the wheel and if I ever did I stopped and took a nap.

 

I'm sure they would be happy to, no wait, they're on vacation.

 

Back in the early 70’s I worked for a company & was usually home every night. Worked 5 days per week. But in the summer time I would get worn out. They could dispatch us on our next load 8 hours after we clocked out each afternoon. And that took place many times.


Some days I would leave out at midnight, come in off my last load at 6 to 7 PM, be dispatch 8 hours later during the summertime. them I might be dispatched out at 8:00 AM, get in on my last load at 6 to 8 PM, be dispatched out 8 hours later.


You never knew from one day to the next what time you would got to work the next day. Through the winter months it was a bit slower yet most weeks everyone made a pretty good pay check.


During the slow months if you ran out of hours they would want you to lay over, & if you came on in you would be punished. During the busy months if you ran out of hours they wanted, would tell you to come on in, & if you refused to you would be punished.


To me that kind of driving was harder, more tiring, than cross country driving. And I feel sure there’s still companies like that all across this country. I was hauling bulk cement, & during the busy season we were also back hauling fertilizer, ingredient’s to chicken feed mills, pebble lime to paper mills. Several times I was gone all week long spending the night in a hotel, hauling fertilizer from early morning to dark thirty. It was not unusual to put in 14 to 18 hour days during the busy summer months.

 

I briefly scanned this and just want to say I'm in training pulling reefers for Knight. I'm 2 weeks in. I've never been more tired in my life either. Yesterday I waited 6 and a half hours to be unloaded at fry's and took a 5 hour nap during. Drove to the terminal after and at 4 am slept till 9 am. I am still tired. Impossible right? Another thing I took for granite was stretching my body and laying down apparently. I'm going to make it. Keep pushing through.

 

You did the smart thing by sleeping when you can, instead of waiting and waiting....

 

Training trying to sleep while the truck is moving. Newbie stress all that will make you tired. You have to learn what your body can and can't do. Know your body's warning signs and don't try to exceed them. Some days you can run 11 straight and some days after 3 hours you can't keep your eyes open. Also too much sleep can make you tired too. Its all a learning process not only with keeping it between the lines, but learning what your body can and can't do. Don't expect to have it all inline b4 you get out the trainers truck. It takes a long time and even us vets have days we can't sleep or going to a new place will stress us out and make us tired.

 

Drivers make more $ in Germany ....America cares more about catering ti the rich ,our laws ,regulations polices and such are carefully put in place with rich corporations in mind .....US drivers are taking the hit in the ars ,trying to support their families pulling cheaper frght and suffering ,while the fat cats get off the hook not paying to have their product shipped means more $ to line their pockets ( the drivers $) but at the same time we can't be obvious by having too many trucking deaths

 

Either you are making money for yourself or you are making money for someone else. It's a fact of life.