Insomniac's and HOS

Driving durring your 10 hour break will get you closer to your destination sooner....(grin)

Seriously though, not much you can do about this if trying to stay "legal". Bring some mothers and shine the wheels when ya cant sleep. That or become one of those arcade game junkies.

Still serious - when I cant sleep no mo, I drive. Sometimes human nature has a tendancy to over ride stupid laws.

 

I think that this needs to be addressed by the fools who think that monitering drivers time is safer. I have shut down when I still had hours left because I was too tired to continue. I know when I am safe to drive and when I am not. What good is it for me to have 3 hours left and keep driving when I am at greater risk for my safety and the safety of others? Respect yourself. Respect others and take responsibility for your actions. On the other hand if I am not tired why burn up 10 hours? I won't rest well and when I am legal to run I will be tired. What they have done with this new HOS is put you in a window that forces you to push yourself. Let us stop the 14 hour clock when we nap or shut down to eat or shower.

 

I agree completely. I drove before they changed the rules to stupid, so it was a bit easier for me. I have a problem where during the hours of 8 pm to around 11 pm, whether I have just woke up or not, I can't drive. Just couldn't stay awake. By midnight, I'd be good to go, and could roll all night. It's just astonishing that morons who have no clue can regulate those who do, and special interest groups can influence decisions.

I had gone to college for awhile last year (thought about becoming a graphic artist), and had to write a research paper for one of my classes. Subject of the paper was open, so I chose highway safety. I was astonished at what I found during my research, and the accident statistics that I found as well. The percentage of the time auto drivers are cited for things like drowsiness compared to truckers is unbelievable(94% of the time in fatal accidents where drowsiness is cited as a factor, the driver of the automobile is cited). I still have the paper, and would like to do something more with it, but I don't know what.

 

I'll work on that. I had been thinking of sending it to some of the trucker associations. I don't know about newspapers, but one of my local TV stations actually have news anchors in the morning that totally respect truck drivers. A lot of the rest of their crew do too. I was shocked to say the least, but very pleased.

They were all over a story from the winter when I-90 between Janesville & Madison, WI became a parking lot because of the road crews not keeping the road cleared well enough. The result was a 19 hour back up.

 

Or the worse thing is that stupid 14 hour window. It encourages you to keep driving so that you can make a deadline before the window expires. It really contributes to the driver's health to skip a meal or not get out of the truck.

 

I hate the 10hr down time as 6 is all I ever manage to sleep anyway if I can get to sleep wish the rules would let ME manage my down time as needed
oh well I have been drawing lines for along time and know how to make it look good

 

6 hours. Sometimes I can only sleep 4 and then have to hang around 6 more hours to leave.