Sleepy Driving NOT worth it!!

As I stated in another thread recently with out logs you end up in a situation like in my country.
Here drivers are allowed 14h driving per day , there are also all the rest periods etc stipulated.
There is however no law requiring a log be kept.
The laws may as well not be there.
They only serve the insurance companies to enable them to refute claims.


As the saying goes "Rules are made for the guidance of the wise and the obedience of fools".
The problem being that there is no scarcity of fools.
Not only the drivers but also the controllers/dispatchers/customers.
With out logs they would do as they do here.
They would pressure the drivers beyond reasonable expectations.
After a while they start to think this is the norm.
Our OTR drivers are expected to sleep , shower and everything else in no more than 5 hours per day 6 to 7 days per week.
A couple of 24h shifts each week is common.
My company would never survive if we did not do specialized freight.
I can not be so inhumane or reckless with peoples lives.


Rules are created to control the lowest common denominator and prevent them from killing all of us.
Unfortunately these rules are necessary.
Now if you are not one of the fools it is a real PIA.
This is what you get for being surrounded by a ship of fools.

 

Sounds like the attidudes of the SA 'leaders' are as Neanderthal as ever. Where's Jimmy Hoffa when you need him? In the short term; those drivers are an accident looking for a place to happen. In the long term; their lives will be shortened. A national STRIKE is needed.

 

Don't even get me started on those in power.
Leaders is not a term I would use.
Odd thing is the party in power (18 years) is made up of an alliance of 3 organisations.1 the largest trade union , 2 Communist party and 3 a political party.
They cant tackle real issues , they are to busy destroying businesses and any progress that the previous guys built.
Strikes are a national sport.
If it was an Olympic event we would take Gold , silver and bronze.
Not a discussion for this thread.


Our OTR trucks run close to 125000lbs so accidents can be terrible.
There are fewer than you would think given what happens here.

 

usually i rely on coffee & energy drinks for tonight driving too....but once u start goin lonng periods without showers....they tend 2 have a less effect....

 

I used to drink tonic's that were full of vitamins to make them legal when they were just massive caffeine doses.
Much like energy drinks , just much worse.
The problem is you eventually become almost immune to the stuff even when taking dangerous amounts.
Now days if I even have a cup of coffee after 3pm I cant sleep for about 10 hours.

Also worth mentioning is that when you are kept awake for too long on stimulants you become very dopey.
You may not be falling asleep but you are defiantly not with it.

 

I have a wife, two girls and a boy at home that someone will have to tell they won't see daddy anymore. But, more than that, the thought of someone having to tell a family that mommy, daddy, thier son, daughter, newborn baby, ect won't be coming home because I didn't have the common sense to know I shouldn't be driving because I'm too tired is reason enough too pull it over when my eyes start burning and I can't sit still any more. In my veiw its as bad as driving drunk. Some people can drive longer, some cant, but YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR TIRED!!!! get your ##% off the road and sleep. Period.
b

 

I'm like Knucklebuster. I sleep when your body says sleep. I work with the logbook the best you can. But I'm not gonna say I haven't been sneaky to get the job done and get my rest. The gov't doesn't have a clue how to stop being fatigued. They have a general idea, but your body doesn't care what that piece of paper says. Only you know how to get down the road with regards to sleep.

There's all kinds of drivers out there right now with undiagnosed medical conditions. You look at all the obese drivers and I can guarantee you they have health problems. People just don't get diabetes and sleep apnea over night. There's about a one year grace period between onset and getting treated. There are alot of them drivers out there. You see them alot in the rest area's in the daytime. They ain't night drivers either. They get their rest. They just do it a different way. EOBR's are gonna mess things up for these drivers. Many are good capable drivers. But the way they get the job done is different. I didn't know that stuff until I became one of them. They are the nappy time crew.

Running nights, I'd push myself to the limit many times. But I knew when enough was enough. Chewing on ice or nibbling on something will wake you up while for a short time. A 30 minute nap will do you wonders.

If you drove the same time every day would be one thing. Many of us work swing shifts. That'll screw anyone up. Sleep when you can sleep. Drive when you can drive.

The important part is to know your limits and what you can get away with and what you can't.

 

i was runnin my 3rd round trip to the east coast in a row..(auto parts) and was passin some one they flash there lights for me to come over and i remember changin lanes and thnk god for guard rails.. the only thing that kept me from hittin tresss on interstate 80 in pa at over 80 miles an hours.. .. thts no bull crap or made up changed the way i drive forever..

 

we all have done is some more then others and some of us never learn just part of the game called trucking

 

Those drivers worked for Domino's Pizza making the commissary runs. My brother-in-law and sister were friends of theirs. The passenger died in the accident and they are not sure if it was the impact or the fire that killed him and he was asleep himself in the sleeper. The driver died the day before yesterday. It's sad, the company pushes these guys hard. They load and unload thier trucks and run all night and through cities stopping at one store after another, so they are not getting the sleep or rest they need. My brother-in-law said that the guy driving was driving on the shift of the guy in the sleeper.