Can you drive at night?

It’s a romantic notion, “night driving” until you pull into a truckstop at 7 AM and realize in 10 hours you’ve got to start driving again and you better get to sleep fast. Everybody else is getting their coffee and starting their day and you’ve got to close the curtains and convince your brain that it’s the middle of the night and go to sleep. If not you’re going to be in for a real rough late afternoon. LOL

if you’re a true over the road trucker, there is no set schedule. You drive the hours as needed to get the load there on time. Sometimes it’s the middle of the night, sometimes it’s early morning, sometimes it’s anytime.

That said, myself, personally, I like starting my drive about 3 to 4 in the morning. By 8 AM when the suns coming up I’ve already driven a good 250 miles and psychologically it seems like you haven’t done much. Just something about those hours. For me it’s a quick way to get my day started quick and get some miles out of the way early.

 

Shuttles

 

Driving overnight you will enjoy empty roads, closed weigh stations, and more courteous truckers. The rude drivers seem to usually only run during day light.

The problem with driving at night is sometimes you still have to drive during the day. And that confuses your body. I have had this problem, and two years later I still have that issue.

If you can get a job where you drive exclusively at night, then it can be a great thing. You put your body into a rhythm and you sleep reliably during the day; it makes the night driving more enjoyable when you are wide awake.

When I drive at night, and try to sleep during the day, I wake up a lot like when I get hungry. Because my body is confused. So when I wake up I have to eat something to sleep again. It's because my body isn't on a sleep schedule. It never knows what to expect.

 

Another thing about night driving . Is when u go to sleep during day dont ever park next to a flatbedder because u will be awaken by loud banging on chains and squeeking winches

 

I am not 100% sure this is right in all situations. I used to yank a reefer. I was never able to tell the difference day or night when it comes to rude and stupid. At night there were just fewer of them. Also, the roads while there are fewer vehicles, come with a greatly enhanced risk of an impaired driver. Over my years as a driver, some of the most horrific truck/car crashes that proved fatal I have seen happened at night especially in the wee hours of the morning. One more point about scales. You are right, however day = mostly routine DOT. Night =more targeted enforcement. I once saw gosh it had to have been 10 or more DOT officers working a normally closed at night scale around 3 in the AM. Busting drivers for HOS violations.

Drivers that generally drive at night already know these dangers as well as understand how lights can tire the eyes easier. It is the green drivers OR that driver that drives typically during the day that can get into trouble very easily.

 

There's just as many rude, stupid idiots out at night. The only difference between night and day driving is less four wheelers at night.

I've been running nights for the last 9 years, and never thought much about it. Then over winter, right before Christmas, I had to do two weeks of daytime work. I actually enjoyed it. I run locally, spending a lot of time between Allentown and Harrisburg, PA. I think there was actually LESS traffic during the day. At night it's a line of trucks running noes to tail heading to the city on Sunday and Monday nights. Tuesday and Wednesday they are all heading west. During the daytime, there's obviously more four wheelers, but far less trucks. It was kinda nice.

The one thing I've really noticed lately is the night owls have WAY less courtesy these days. They'll hang out in that left lane, drag racing Swifty for miles without a thought or care in the world. In those two weeks I ran daylight last winter, I didn't see such stupidity.

I can't speak for other areas of the country anymore though

 

The overnight driving offers a less stressful driving atmosphere which makes people less aggressive.

It's just my opinion. I haven't been on the road as long as many of you. But my experience so far comparing 3, 4, 5 trucks that pass me and drive up the road before cutting back over to the right... as opposed to 0 trucks doing that during the day, and instead just diving back over right on my grill suggests I might be correct.

Also when I blink my low beams to signal you are clear to move back over. I get far more courtesy flashes overnight.

And not to mention the light shows! Some guys can blink their lights in patterns when you flash them to tell them they are clear you get a Christmas tree light show!

I think it has to do with the overnight empty roads just being less stressful to drive because there aren't 800 trucks slow passing other trucks and getting in everyones way.

 

It is my most sincere wish and hope that you can continue to have this opinion. I can not find fault with anyone for expressing their opinion of the driving atmosphere they operate in. I don't agree about the less stressful thing however, there is plenty of stress to contend with. I think you just have not taken notice of it. While I try to shy away from that "I have more years I know more than you do" in discussions on these boards. I will say this! The two main stressors I had while driving at night was those 4 wheelers. You could almost count on some person to lock up behind you and just stay there. Just about every night I had one. Remember I have problems with my retinas that bright lights caused me pain. This is why I never looked at a passed truck in my right California mirror, that flash of high beams could almost blind me. When some car got behind me like that I had two choices, slow way down or just stop. Another stressor is that drunk. Most anybody that has much of any nighttime driving can tell you when the bars all closed. I remember once leaving Atlanta headed south on I 75 for Florida around 2 AM and the drunks were all over the interstate and in the medians. I had several close calls with these idiots.

Driving at night has its pluses, it also has its minuses too. That driver who doesn't see or won't see these differences is asking for trouble.

 

When it's up to me, I start out around 1 am and get parked around noon

I agree with the above post with respect to weirdos trying to stick to your truck at night.

I've had them follow me onto the shoulder and stop behind me and wait then try to follow me again.

 

I'm with you i love nights because naturally I'm a night owl staying up til 4-5am and wake up at noon every day if i could. Lately it's been opposite. Start 3am ish and done by 1-5pm