Is it reasonable?

Is it considered reasonable, as far as considering safety and human sleeping patterns, in the trucking industry for dispatchers to ask a driver to work 9am-9pm one day, take 24 hours off and work 9pm-9am the next on a regular basis.

Is it reasonable for a dispatchers to ask a driver to work 6am-6pm one day, tell them they're going to work 2pm-11pm the next, then at 2pm change the load to 3pm-5am?

Just wondering.

And if you say yes, then cocaine and tranquilizers would make me anyway a safer driver than trying to do variable schedules without any help.

 

No it isn't reasonable . Nobody should accept working under those conditions . Regardless of available hours regulations state you shouldn't drive when fatigued . The Walmart driver that caused the fatal accident that led to the foundation of PATT was 100% legal driving at night after a day off .

 

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Swing shift and variants of it, have been part of every type of work in this country for years.

Not just truckers.

While you may choose another line of work that is less susceptible to this type of scheduling. You need to get used to it, it's a way of life for most people.

Noticing your age. You've been part of a highly structured lifestyle for many years, with dependable schedules. Our wonderful education system.

Which by the way, does nothing to prepare you for the realities of the real world.

Short story on the not so smart drug method.

Coming in from work (oilfield), myself and the rest of my crew were told to be ready to leave again in 4 hours. After 3 days on the job.

Short naps for everyone, then a handful of pills. 30 minutes later, the job canceled.

Thankfully somebody had a few grams of Hash. And we all managed to get some rest.

 

Seems to me that alot of the companies pretty much push it.

I left one because of their insistence that I run when fatigued.

I am waiting another month before checking the DAC. I did not leave them hanging and returned the truck under dispatch back to the yard after refusing the load.

 

I think if you want regular hours you might consider a job in retail sales or fast food.

 

I can handle the hours.

They wanted me to be up all day. Load at night, drive all night. Deliver next morning and while on my ten hour break, load and drive to the next delivery.

 

That's not what your post said. You said off at 6pm and back to work the next day at 2pm.

Your remark about drug use... not wise!

 

I think you need to review EXACTLY what my posts have said.

 

Well I'm with Schneider and I got fired Friday for basically refusing to drive tired, based on a load change that would have me working until 4am instead of, the original assignment, 10pm. I woke up at 8:30am and the load wasn't changed until right before I went to work at 2:30pm. And it was a Wal-Mart load!

I could work swing schedules a lot easier if I wasn't driving. There were many times when I was driving home fighting sleep and doing all the little tricks and really struggling. Then I get home and feel fine basically. It was weird.

Oh, and by the way, growing up I did the basic schedule, 7am-10pm. When I started this job I worked anywhere between noon and 4am until the new boss came along. I didn't have a structured schedule at all, but it wasn't completely random either.

First part, what?

Second part, is seems perfectly logical to me. If you want people to be up half a day and then get 8 hours sleep so they can then run a 14 you've got to either find a house cat or allow downers. If you want them to work day shift one day and night's the next, you're going to need uppers.

I'm completely serious when I say I would a safer driver if I were allowed to take drugs when doing variable shift work weeks then if I had to somehow overcome my own human biology.

 

Is it considered reasonable, as far as considering safety and human sleeping patterns, in the trucking industry for dispatchers to ask a driver to work 9am-9pm one day, take 24 hours off and work 9pm-9am the next on a regular basis.

Yes, reasonable.


Is it reasonable for a dispatchers to ask a driver to work 6am-6pm one day, tell them they're going to work 2pm-11pm the next

Yes, reasonable

, then at 2pm change the load to 3pm-5am?

Yes, reasonable. So long as you could do the driving portion in less than 11 hours.

I will also say, that if you are given advanced notice of your work schedule, you are a very fortunate truck driver.

I have always tried to maintain a strict policy of not driving between the hours of 2am and 6am. But, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, especially in certain divisions of trucking such as reefer.

Whenever you are dealing with perishable foods, and time sensitive freight, it has to go when it has to go. There are strict pickup and delivery times and the trucking company is often takes huge rate penalties for late deliveries.

I don't know if this applies to the reasons for your scheduling, but it sounds to me like someone is keeping you busy, or atleast trying. And after reading all the complaints of drivers who are running 1000 miles a week or less, I would definitely say that your should consider yourself fortunate.