Question for those who say you cant drive fatigued

There is a fine line between driving slightly tired and driving tired enough you should pull over. Most of us don't pull over at the first yawn, but i never drive tired. If i get an 11PM pickup, i tell dispatch, i will be leaving at 6 am. If they have a problem with that, they can repower it. I never drive tired regaudless of if my logbook say i can. Dont let disbatch boss you around. If your asked to drive tred let them know you need different appointments. Now, that being said, i know some industries are different. It may be as simple as changing industry. For flatbed, most of my loads alow me to drive mostly during the day. Reefer might be more night time contracts.

 

A good dispatcher will give you an idea of what the next day or two will require ... at which point he doesn't want to hear "I am tired" ... I guess it takes a while to build an efficient driver-dispatcher relationship though.

 

Yeah in the reefer world they make you sit around all day then when they are done loading they expect to just light you up like a bottle rocket GO GO GO DRIVER! Then when you get to the other end, more sit around and wait. Wonder if I will ever smarten up ...

 

The only person who can decide if it is safe to drive is you. Many can tell you it isn't safe but only you can make a go decision. The Walmart driver this weekend is facing felony charges for doing his job. He had a duty to refuse to drive if he was too tired to drive. I have no problem driving and then changing my logbooks. But I never drive when I am tired. Never. I pull over and sleep a couple of hours. If Safety and legal bump heads for me Safety wins every time. Safety is a higher standard. If you call your dispatcher and tell them that you cannot safely continue to drive and have to stop for a couple of hours of sleep, you are covered in the US by court case after court case. The courts take safety very seriously.

 

Twice as much pay doesn't mean much if you dont get there in one piece.

 

If you're afraid of dispatch if you call and say you're going to be late because you're tired, cut a valve stem, "oh no, need roadside, looks like I'm going to be late" nap time! Then find another job where you can be honest without fear of reprisal.

 

I couldn't agree more. The driver is ultimately responsible for the safe delivery of cargo and equipment. You will be the one sitting in a prison cell if you try and impress anyone with how far you can drive without sleep. If your tired pull over. Safety first