No where to park

Have a plan where you want to make it too,before you take off,than just plan accordingly throughout your shift.

 

I feel for you guys on elogs racing that clock I tried it and lasted barely a month..

 

It really aint that bad once you get the feel for it... I can get 4k miles in 7 days without having a single log book violation... In a 67 mph truck.

 

I probably went into it with the wrong mindset from the beginning.

I remember thinking to myself now I know why these guys are racing thru fuel stop parking lots and parking anywhere. You really need to think ahead for sure.

When the glider exemption goes away I’ll probably go away right along with it.

 

You could at least answer his question while your on your pedestal.

 

You'll get the hang of this OP. I'm still new (6 months experience) but when I was brand new on my own I would start looking once the clock hit 2 hours left on either my 11 hour driving or 14 hour clock, whichever came first.

I have never once had to park on an off or on ramp aside from rest areas which I don't count.

Someone told you to use some truckers book and not use the trucker path app....... Man use truckers path app. It has live updates for parking and gives you a list of most of the truck stops and Walmart's you can park at. No they're not 100% accurate because the app users have to submit the parking status (lot full, some spots, lots of spots). But for the most part you can get a general idea. That app has been invaluable to me, especially when I was brand new.

The earlier you can get off the road, the better. Some states like Iowa are GREAT for rest areas which means you have more leeway at what time you finish if you're finishing your day in Iowa. Other states (looking at you Tennessee!!!!) are bad and don't have many truck stops. This means you better park earlier in Tennessee.

Last, Saturday nights are generally the best nights to park because the regional drivers are all home. So at rest areas and truck stops, generally speaking, you have more leeway with parking later on Saturday night.

Use truckers path, pay attention to trends, listen to your trainer and you'll get a feel for all this eventually. Park early when you're fresh out on your own and screw what your dispatcher says- Meaning ALWAYS put finding a safe place to park ahead of what some moron dispatcher says whose never driven a semi (much less nationally) in their lives. Remember, they're going to sleep in a safe place when they go home, AND SO SHOULD YOU!!!!!

 

It's not bad at all. To be honest, I like elogs better. It saves a lot of time to me. I can touch the screen and go to bed. I never race in elogs. The elog exposes who really knows how to use the clock, trip plan, and who doesn't. It also will expose your company and their ability to load plan and dispatch. You'll see which dispatchers just throw loads on drivers and which ones actually plan it right. If you're an efficient worker, you'll never have to race the clock

 

If you cant find a place to park? Change the time you get up and start your day. If your day ends before 4 pm you will find plenty of places to park. Besides. having your day start earlier will mean the bulk of your driving will be done while others are still in bed. When I was driving, my day started at 4am (driving). 11 hours driven with a one hour lunch break gives you a 12 hour day (long haul). You park that truck before 4 pm and you will have no worries (othere than the kind soul whom takes the nose off your truck because he cant use his mirrors).

 

Some folks have poor night vision. Others just dont have experience staying up all night.

Ive been working graveyard shifts on and off since 18 when it was legal for me to work them. Even with all that experience I sometimes still have a hard time staying awake, especially right at Dawn. Working an overnight shift and driving overnight are different things, driving is harder!

I see a lot of fatigued trucks out overnight. Fatigue can sneak up on you you dont always necessarily feel tired.

I read an article on sleep driving. Drivers recall feeling fine at the time. But the next day, they remember faintly driving but also dreaming.

When I get new guys in the truck with me I talk to them about fatigue before I go into the back and retire for the night. Tired driving and fatigue are different. I can tell most of them are hearing me, but not really listening. I know they are thinking, "whatever i know when I'm tired." Maybe they do. But a fatigued truck will have 0 lane control, erratic speeds, and not notice signage. Worst cases I saw they were tailwhipping so badly I thought they would roll.

Fatigue symptoms usually are:
Jerking arms and legs
Being startled by passing trucks
Memory lapses in driving
Seeing flashes or shadows where none really exist (thats half your brain dreaming).
Heavy eye lids arent necessarily a symptom. Important for new guys looking to night drive to know that. That's why fatigue can creep up on some people.

 

Is there a date set for when that exemption is supposed to go away?