Night driving

I am a night driver and I drink lots of coffee and Mountain Dews.....Keep me going.....If I get tired I pull over (if I can get a place) and take a short nap or walk....works for me....but I am also a Owl at night...my eyes are WIDE OPEN.....

 

Let me add my two cents. I do all of my driving at night. The advice about Sirius comedy channels is a great idea. I call it, active listening, cause you're not getting lost in the sound like with music. Getting out of the truck every three hours (coffee, walk around, shoot the breeze with fellow drivers at a truck stop, call a fellow night owl on the phone, etc.) is a great idea as well. The one thing that works best for me, IN-SHELL SUNFLOWER SEEDS. Keeps your mind active by concentrating on cracking the shell. Doesn't sound like much, but, works wonders for me. No matter what you do through, everybody hits that point. When you do, sleep, no amount of caffeine or pills will help. As a fellow night driver, I would appreciate you taking a nap lol.

 

before you go to work? I prefer night driving myself, but sometimes it's impossible to get a decent amount of sleep in the daytime. That might be the problem. Try and get about 8 hours in the sac and wake up right before you go to work.

 

I found the best thing for me, was to completely change my life style around. I worked night shift for many years and found that it was just too much to spend my work week sleeping days and working nights, then staying up all day on my weekends.

Of course, everyone is different, but if you build your life style around working nights, it makes life much easier. Even with little ones. Spend your time with them in the morning, when you first get off work.

As someone else said, get a good eight hours sack time right before you go to work. Make this a daily habit, and it will get easier as time goes on.

Another thing you might consider, though this certainly is NOT for everybody, is to split up your sleep time. The "experts" say this is not a good thing to do, but who the hell ever believed the "experts" anyhow. Once the kids are old enough to go to school, instead of spending time with them when you first get home, go to bed and sleep while they are in school. Get up when they are due home from school, enjoy them, have a light dinner with them, then get your head down again for a few hours before going to work.

As far as "bedding down" in the day cab, some of our line haul drivers do the board between the seats routine, but for the life of me I don't see how they can sleep that way. No way I could "stretch out" there.

Good luck.

 

Great advice, to work at night you need to sleep durign the day, and keep the same schedule on the weekends.

And as for sleeping in a daycab, once you get tired enough, you will sleep standing up if you have to. It ain't comfy, but it can be done. Well, as long as you don't have any auxilliary controls in the cab, like the one daycab we had (at Central trans) that was a converted yard dog, with a lifting and air release 5th wheel.

 

to a speed that feels right to you and lets you maintain control. So long as you don't go too slow and are a hazard to other traffic. As far as the engine brake goes , you can use it now and then only if the roads are dry. Get into the habit of maintaining a slower speed rather than relying on the engine brake in high winds. You'll have more control at slower speeds. Yes, the wind will definitely toss your trailer around , especially when you're empty. Not much you can do except slow down .

 

i munch on carrots, if you keep em cool they feel refreshing

 

Is it possible to pick up a daytime load and still be a nightime driver?

Say pick up at 8 AM and sleeping right away and then driving and switch back the last day or whatever and deliver again in the day. This would be a scenario if you drove a load for 3 days or more.

Are company drivers usually daytime drivers?

Can you request nightime loads?