A member recently said he needs a healthy mix of sleep, work, and free time. He saw equilibrium as eight uninterrupted hours of sleep. Two other participants wanted details on DOT regulations, prescription drugs, and depression. My heart fell as I read these posts. For the requirements of transportation, particularly regarding sleep patterns, there is a serious shortage of knowledge. After reading blogs like these, I feel like a witch when I inform them that a trucker’s sleep pattern would not suit them.
The lack of sleep, irregular schedule, and isolation might make someone prone to depression even more depressed. However, I believe it is best to let them know before they invest thousands of dollars in entering the field and run the danger of being emotionally and financially in an even worse position emotionally and financially.
When people considering a career in trucking hear phrases like “10-hour break,” they assume that this is when you go to bed. Negative. You can shower, do laundry, eat, go to the bathroom, go food shopping, and sleep during that time. Would you rather relax with a good book or a good movie? Then, squeeze it in as well. The previous night, I stopped working at 8 p.m., did two loads of laundry, ate, and took a shower. It was closer to one or two in the morning by the time I unwound, watched some television, and went to bed. That means I got back on the road four or five hours later. I can take a longer break on certain days but not on others. Some days I can load up and sleep with a client; others, I can’t. I can pause for a two-hour break during my driving shift to snooze on certain days. There is no pattern to it.
Transportation Is Unpredictable
Demands vary depending on the freight division. For instance, Big Scott, a dry van driver, has more free time than I do as a reefer driver. Usually, he can travel for days and take a rest of around 10 hours. He sometimes has to change his clock to drive at night. This is because most of his clients are businesses that are only open during the day, such as Tractor Supply Stores.
He has more window appointments than I do since he mostly uses drop and hooks. He also does not wait as long for clients. My chilled clients, in comparison, often load around the clock with scheduled appointments. Some clients may only load frozen goods between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. and load dairy or meats in the morning. Unfortunately, you will not always be able to pick up or deliver as early as feasible, so you may leave throughout the day.
There are differences between regional, dedicated, and OTR trucking regarding the availability of sleep schedules. Most appointments may be scheduled at a certain time by some trucking firms. My friend’s dispatcher informed her that he did not want his drivers operating vehicles at night. Many others would think that is fantastic, but since I like the night, having to drive during the day might have the opposite effect on me.
Sleep Whenever You Have The Chance
Initially, new drivers are often worn out. Building up the energy to drive 500–600 kilometres daily, in addition to other responsibilities like loading and unloading, takes time. Driving at night may be exhausting. Thus the driver must be aware of his body clock. Sometimes it is better to plan an hour or two for sleep than to run as hard as you can to rack up miles. There is no harm or guilt in doing this as long as the appointment timings permit it.
For instance, I am aware that I will likely be weary after travelling roughly 300 miles if I had to drive all night. Could I continue? Perhaps, but if I can locate parking, why take a chance on a collision? I wake up in only two hours and am ready to go.
If I begin my shift at 2 a.m., though, the sun may be up by the time I reach the 300-mile milestone, negating the need for sleep. Knowing your body and getting enough sleep when you can are the key. That entails taking naps during your shift, dozing off while you load or unload cargo, and dozing off as you wait for your next load assignment. Even obtaining a hotel room sometimes during a 34-hour break or resting while repairs are being made at the shop might be helpful.
The 14-hour clock is a fabrication, and anybody who claims otherwise is deceitful. On certain days, I would have had plenty of time to enter and exit a customer, but the client would have kept me waiting for hours, forcing me to camp there overnight. Even as I pulled away from the door, slid the tandem, filled out the paperwork, and scanned it before parking, I still collected the dollars. No amount of travel preparation would have helped on several days like this one that lasted more than 20 hours.
I have also had appointments that required me to be at the client just before my 14-hour workday. This is the current state of affairs. Some motorists could claim they have never experienced it. Okay, so they are. I have been given ever-tighter delivery timetables that previous drivers said could not be met as I have acquired experience and proved myself. I finish them, but at a cost. Sleep is the price, which I also have to manage.
I recently had a trainee so excited about the training that he did not consider going to sleep until his ten-hour break. While waiting for clients, he waited for the dock door’s light to turn on. He spent a few hours in that driver’s seat before getting out to fetch the bills. The invoices are not ready; they said they would call, he stated as he returned to the vehicle. That may take an additional two hours, depending on the consumer. We received detention money the whole time we sat in that door.
I tried to repeatedly remind him that he needed to sleep, and I urged him to nap at night if he was too exhausted. He did park for two hours one night, and I was relieved. It demonstrated that he understood his limits and how to drive safely. He informed me he was napping at a client after he went solo. When I questioned him about why he was not waiting to get the bills, he said, “Are you an insane woman? I must go to bed. I no longer engage in it. He immediately discovered that sleep is something you grab when you can after being alone.
If you are exhausted, let dispatch know and request additional time before the next load to get some rest. Do not wait until you get a load that requires reassignment. Dispatch is aware that this is difficult, yet they still have superiors to report to. From the perspective of his supervisor, asking him to relieve you of some of the weight might make him seem uncooperative and lack contact with the driver. He is responsible for certain things, just as the driver is, even if he cannot see what is occurring in your vehicle. So be polite and inform him that you need time to catch up on sleep before the subsequent load. Please fill me in tomorrow rather than today. No issue.
Any trustworthy business will abide by these rules since they concern safety. Do not misuse them, however. You will surely be fired at some point if you repeatedly say to dispatch, “I am too weary of driving.” Consider this. The safety card can be used both ways, so you can use it if you need to. It is not a good idea to drive a truck if you are always exhausted. You have shown them that your ongoing tiredness makes you a risky driver.
Please think twice about working as an OTR truck driver if you need 8 hours or more of uninterrupted sleep each night, cannot transition from day to night driving, or cannot take cat naps to make up for sleep. At the very least, research the best freight, routes, and businesses for you.
One of the wackiest businesses I have ever seen in trucking. Drivers’ experiences might vary greatly, even though they work for the same firm, go through the same training course, and share the same dispatcher, freight, and equipment. No two drivers will ever do tasks in precisely the same manner or get identical mileage, loads, or driving assignments. This explains why so much erroneous information is available about any transportation firm or subject.
Whatever the case, it is vital to always put your physical and mental well-being first. Moving on is advised if you can not obtain what you need from trucking since it is dangerous to stay in this place if you can not sleep or control your depression.
Keep yourself safe, rest when you can, and be aware of your limitations.