ok say you have set in el paso tx for 3 days--you and you co-driver are both on the same sleep cycle now--(OF COURSE--HOW COULD YOU NOT BE BY NOW!!!!!) OK the qualcomm goes off in the 4th night at 2:00 am--what do you do---neither one of you are really able to drive --either by lack of sleep or hours--what do you do now??????????? Do you go out or stay and risk being moved to the bottom of the load board and get your o/o upset? O/O what do you think we should do at this point--take the load and go out on lack of sleep and hours and risk our lives and your truck or stay and wait???????
what to do?????????????
- Thread starter 2pioneers
- Start date
DougTravels
Not a Member
I'd fudge , Do 4 let Co sleep for 4 then have the Co do 6 then rewrite so u can go 11/11
inkasnana
Expert Expediter
I'm kind of confused. You stated that you have sat in El Paso for 3 days. That's more than enough time for a 34-hour restart, so being out of hours shouldn't be a problem. As for the lack of sleep, have which ever one feels the most wide awake start driving, buy some coffee and M&M's (they always wake me up 
) and drive for as long as they safely can while the other sleeps, then switch.
) and drive for as long as they safely can while the other sleeps, then switch. 
MentalGiant
Seasoned Expediter
Or just buy a whip and one drives and the other stands by with whip in hand, when the driver looks like he/she is about to nod, well, you know what to do.
Probably won't like my answer either. I agree with Leo and available hours shouldn't be a issue if you have been there three days. If you are still questioning it, wait until daylight when both are rested and head to the house.
With a employee mentality, you are better off with a 9 to 5 job.
Sorry, just my observation.
With a employee mentality, you are better off with a 9 to 5 job.
Sorry, just my observation.
miker
Seasoned Expediter
I agree with this, after 3 days you should be ready to go at anytime , that's just the nature of this business.
Sounds like you're having a tough time getting any kind of compassion, and looks like you wont' be getting any here either.
After sitting 3 days in a place known to be difficult at times to get out of, wouldn't the beep with a load offer provide enough excitement and energy to shake the just-being-woken-up tired feeling?
Of course neither a carrier nor a fleet owner would want you or anyone risking their insurance rates, stats, equipment, reputation, etc., to drive when the driver himself felt it was unsafe, but at the same time, they wouldn't necessarily want you for a driver any more either.
After sitting 3 days in a place known to be difficult at times to get out of, wouldn't the beep with a load offer provide enough excitement and energy to shake the just-being-woken-up tired feeling?
Of course neither a carrier nor a fleet owner would want you or anyone risking their insurance rates, stats, equipment, reputation, etc., to drive when the driver himself felt it was unsafe, but at the same time, they wouldn't necessarily want you for a driver any more either.
MentalGiant
Seasoned Expediter
Stop drinking soda pop, you won't feel so tired all the time. I use to drink soda pop by the gallons, and it didn't matter if I was rested for a week, couple of hours being hehind the wheel, I would feel the tiredness creeping upon me. Now, I feel more refreshed most all the time, even when I haven't had much sleep. The caffeine in the soda pop, especially if drink a lot, does funny things with your enternal clock. Doesn't mean you have to stop drinking coffee or soda pop, just watch your intake of it.
I personally have stopped drinking soda pop, for the simple fact, my blood sugar was getting high. And again, that could had a lot to do with me feeling tired all the time.
Even with a few hours sleep, I feel refreshed, which before it never felt like I had any sleep at all. Caffiene can be your friend and it can be your enemy.
I personally have stopped drinking soda pop, for the simple fact, my blood sugar was getting high. And again, that could had a lot to do with me feeling tired all the time.
Even with a few hours sleep, I feel refreshed, which before it never felt like I had any sleep at all. Caffiene can be your friend and it can be your enemy.
are12
Expert Expediter
Unfortunately, I agree with Leo and Dave on this one.
When Jim and I are sitting, we, pretty much, stay on the same pattern as if we were driving. Since I drive the night shift, I am usually up most of the night and sleep during the day. The only downfall to this, I am usually up most of the night, even when we are home.
Of course, when I am home, I do not sleep my whole day away and am ready to go back to work so I can get well rested again.
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
5 Hour Energy.
For team drivers who receive and need to roll on load offers at any time of the day or night, sleep management needs to be a top priority; for both productivity and safety reasons. The example provided above and the replies from teams provide expediter wannabees with some real-world food for thought.
One thing not mentioned is the idea of forfeiting some of your log book hours in the interests of getting good sleep and staying safe. Diane and I regularly do this.
Say we were the ones that, after being well rested in the daytime and having log books reset, received a good load offer to immediately roll at 2 a.m. It would be legal for either one of us to drive for the next 11 hours. It would also be legal for one of us to drive just four hours -- from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. -- while the other one slept, and then turn the wheel over to the driver that had a full night's sleep. That driver can then drive a full shift while the other one rests.
Just because it is legal for one co-driver to drive 11 hours straight, it does not mean you have to.
Sleep management is best done all the time, not just when you are running. A team that has been sitting long enough to reset their log books and is not able to safely accept and roll on a 2 a.m. load offer is a team that has more to learn about self discipline, time management and sleep management.
New people coming into the industry should understand that, for many at least, the transition from regular-hours work to the irregular hours of expediting is not instantly made. It took Diane and me a month to figure out what worked and what did not, and when they changed the hours of service rules for the worse, we had to figure it out again.
The most important thing for newbies to know is there is no need to push yourself. You can go out of service any time to get the sleep you need as you adjust to the new realities of expedited freight transport.
One thing not mentioned is the idea of forfeiting some of your log book hours in the interests of getting good sleep and staying safe. Diane and I regularly do this.
Say we were the ones that, after being well rested in the daytime and having log books reset, received a good load offer to immediately roll at 2 a.m. It would be legal for either one of us to drive for the next 11 hours. It would also be legal for one of us to drive just four hours -- from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. -- while the other one slept, and then turn the wheel over to the driver that had a full night's sleep. That driver can then drive a full shift while the other one rests.
Just because it is legal for one co-driver to drive 11 hours straight, it does not mean you have to.
Sleep management is best done all the time, not just when you are running. A team that has been sitting long enough to reset their log books and is not able to safely accept and roll on a 2 a.m. load offer is a team that has more to learn about self discipline, time management and sleep management.
New people coming into the industry should understand that, for many at least, the transition from regular-hours work to the irregular hours of expediting is not instantly made. It took Diane and me a month to figure out what worked and what did not, and when they changed the hours of service rules for the worse, we had to figure it out again.
The most important thing for newbies to know is there is no need to push yourself. You can go out of service any time to get the sleep you need as you adjust to the new realities of expedited freight transport.
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Y'all can do it!!!!!
Theres two of you. Take the load.
Geez, just take the load, set the cruise and nap!! HEHE layoutshooter
Doggie Daddy
Veteran Expediter
Well I can say for certain that this never would of happened to us,because by the fourth night El Paso would have been a distant memory.
I could see giving up one day to see if there were a chance of getting out of a slow area,but definately not four.
I could see giving up one day to see if there were a chance of getting out of a slow area,but definately not four.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
What's the problem?
What do you think us solo people go through all the time... drop a load near the late afternoon, go to sleep around 9 and wake up to sit all day waiting for another load that comes at 8 pm then drive most of the night for a morning delivery. We solos have to be very flexible getting sleep - this is not a 9 to 5 world.
Time management is one key to this business, not just sleep management. It is sticking to a schedule regardless what is going on. This means getting up at the same time, eating at the same time and going to sleep at the same time. It does not mean staying up and talking to your co-driver all night.
This is a business not a paid vacation and should be treated like a business. If you are so inclined to go to state parks, camp grounds and so on and then have problems sleeping, maybe there is a problem with priorities.
Sometimes you can't sleep because you are in that work mode, other times you are too stimulated to go to sleep (to much on your mind, interested in what's going on around you, eating or drinking the wrong stuff at the wrong time). It is like a toddler, their brain processes things to learn even if they are very tired and they have to slow down to go to sleep. Adults are the same way but we have some control over this, we can make decisions to put things off and go to bed to try to sleep.
In some sleep deprivation training I took, they teach you a lot of tricks to slow you down and get you to sleep regardless of your surroundings or situation - ever try sleeping standing up. Some people are not suited for the road, they complain about the noise, the heat, the cold, the wind moving the truck. I met a couple a few weeks ago who have this great big RV expediting unit and they had it so well insulated that you can not hear hardly any noise of what is going on outside - unsafe.
I know one team, husband and wife who took my suggestion a few years back about this subject and they work in shifts, 12 on, 12 off all the time, even on the reset. the time overlaps and they have not really deviated from it. They took the attitude that this is their job, they are committed to working first, playing later and they are out 5 months home for one and back on the road for another 5. The real key to this is not thinking that they have to spend every waking moment together but that they balance out their time together. They do the tourist thing but it is with very little adjustment to their schedule, but as the lady said "we traveled all over with the kids, now we just want to make the money to enjoy later on".
What do you think us solo people go through all the time... drop a load near the late afternoon, go to sleep around 9 and wake up to sit all day waiting for another load that comes at 8 pm then drive most of the night for a morning delivery. We solos have to be very flexible getting sleep - this is not a 9 to 5 world.
Time management is one key to this business, not just sleep management. It is sticking to a schedule regardless what is going on. This means getting up at the same time, eating at the same time and going to sleep at the same time. It does not mean staying up and talking to your co-driver all night.
This is a business not a paid vacation and should be treated like a business. If you are so inclined to go to state parks, camp grounds and so on and then have problems sleeping, maybe there is a problem with priorities.
Sometimes you can't sleep because you are in that work mode, other times you are too stimulated to go to sleep (to much on your mind, interested in what's going on around you, eating or drinking the wrong stuff at the wrong time). It is like a toddler, their brain processes things to learn even if they are very tired and they have to slow down to go to sleep. Adults are the same way but we have some control over this, we can make decisions to put things off and go to bed to try to sleep.
In some sleep deprivation training I took, they teach you a lot of tricks to slow you down and get you to sleep regardless of your surroundings or situation - ever try sleeping standing up. Some people are not suited for the road, they complain about the noise, the heat, the cold, the wind moving the truck. I met a couple a few weeks ago who have this great big RV expediting unit and they had it so well insulated that you can not hear hardly any noise of what is going on outside - unsafe.
I know one team, husband and wife who took my suggestion a few years back about this subject and they work in shifts, 12 on, 12 off all the time, even on the reset. the time overlaps and they have not really deviated from it. They took the attitude that this is their job, they are committed to working first, playing later and they are out 5 months home for one and back on the road for another 5. The real key to this is not thinking that they have to spend every waking moment together but that they balance out their time together. They do the tourist thing but it is with very little adjustment to their schedule, but as the lady said "we traveled all over with the kids, now we just want to make the money to enjoy later on".
bludragon13
Seasoned Expediter
hondaking38
Veteran Expediter
my driver got to elpaso on friday 13 mar, was 3rd out in a cargo van..by saturday he was 1st out.. monday he got a 1510 mile load to kentucky.....must been a hot few days for panther in elpaso....3 loads in 4 days..
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
It's obvious that YOU are not the ones in El Paso. Is this a hypothetical question, or do you know someone with this problem?