Day or Night?

Night driving definitely better, for me. first off, on the drunk drivers, well they usually are out on weekends, & in a few moments your are apart from them. not like in the daytime, when your around countless 4 wheelers, texting, talking, on their phone. much more aggravating than drunks ever were in my opinion. if going to a new shipper or receiver, I call the co & ask if there is truck parking before opening hours. if there is, I will drive at night, arrive before daylight & be right on the property when they open. less traffic, less wear on brakes, better m.p.g. the cruise stays on. peaceful drive e.t.c. if I miss a turn, or go past a drive, at 3:00 a.m. I can almost always find a easy place to turn around. try that in the day time. winter weather is different, black ice and all. I can see where one would want to drive in the daytime then. some may also have trouble seeing at night or just staying awake soooo night has my vote.

 

I generally like running days as its generally easier on my body. I just don't feel as rested if I sleep during the day and drive at night, and I much rather drive during the day in the winter when visibility is better. Other times I am happy to drive at night especiallyjust this past week when I had a midnight delivery in Philly off City Ave and the bazillion traffic lights. Had it been a daytime delivery, I might still be sitting there!!

 

Run at night until I get sleepy when possible. Less law enforcement and DOT to be bothered with.

 

i just drive. after all. it's money we're talking about. and that load needs to get delivered. and flatbed companies only work bankers hours.

i prefer sleeping at night. so i don't have to idle my truck during the day to stay cool. it's also boring at night. not to mention not being able to see the country.

the problem with sleeping at night though. is all the rookies out there that refuse to drive at night. which is probably most of the trucks these days. heaven forbid they should actually WORK at night.

when i started driving 13 years ago. you could pull into just about any truckstop at night and find a place to park. today, it's a joke trying to find a place.

 

Maybe if all you ran were four lane interstate highways but running narrow two lanes at night can be stressful. Especially if it's a real dark night and/or it's one of the state highways that they don't maintain that well. Paints faded, which really sucks a big one. Or if it's a newly paved two lane without white lines.....

Personally, the only benefit I think about running at night is just less traffic. If I ran interstates all the time then maybe I'd be more inclined to run nights. But as it is now, I prefer day time. Traffic is just part of the gig. You have to know when to hit the big cities to avoid the congestion. You can't get impatient or irritated if you roll into St Louis or ATL at 430 in the afternoon. Stop and take a break for a couple hours and let things thin out some.

 

I prefer night. Sometimes though, like the other posters mentioned, you don't have a choice depending on your pick-up and delivery times. For the majority of the run though you can opt to run at night. Also like GizmoMan said that is when all the construction and road closures are going on. Course in some places its 24/7!

It is more relaxing at night and personally I like the less traffic on the road. Especially the weekends out west in the summer when all the RV's are out!

 

My nickname was daylight ! If it was dark I would sleep unless the load required it. when the load says drive you drive no matter what time or what weather

 

Am I really the first to mention GLARE! It's not cool running those construction zones at night against all those fog lights seems every vehicle has these days except mine. And how bout the many lights on your rig that occassionally fail at night. They stand out like a beacon to a bored trooper. Easy money for them and CSA. points and possibly a lost job for the driver.

 

Inasmuch as I prefer night driving for the diminished volume of automobiles, I am also aware that I've NEVER hit a deer, pig or other nocturnal animal during the day, visibility is better and I do prefer looking at something other than lines on a highway and straining my eyes for roadside wanderers.
I can do without the traffic jams here in the northeast and the crazies who think the front space ahead of your cab is meant for filling or cutting through to make that 3-lane merge across to catch the exit ramp next to you.
I can do without the drunks at night leaving the bars at Oh Dark Thirty and taking to the highways too.

I guess what I'm saying is that there are pit falls to both and I couldn't say one is any safer (or crazier) than the other.

 

I drive when I have hours... Drive until they run out. Doesn't matter to me what time I start or run

But.... If I absolutely choose... My circadian clock says 6am to 8pm shift