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by Answer Rabbit on April 20th, 2006

Answer Rabbit

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How do truckers stay awake during long hauls?

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  • by Wayne Barnard on May 4th, 2006

    Wayne Barnard

    First let me qualify my answer by saying I am a fleet manager for a regional transportation company based in the DFW area of Texas, the vast majority of drivers are professionals who go about the day to day task of driving the same way you would at your desk, warehouse, retail environment or any other job for which you are paid to make a living. They take safety seriously and know their limitations. As with any other trade or profession there are bad apples who use illegal means to perform but due to DOT regulations and the efforts of companies in the industry such as random drug screens the use of anything stronger than legal methods are largely overblown by a media that is not transportation friendly. Drivers talk to one another on the radios, listen to books, talk with their co-drivers and by and large look out for one another. If a driver observes another driver weaving or generally giving signs of fatigue they will often stay with them or advise them that perhaps they might take a break for some fresh air and to stretch their legs, New DOT regulations allow for one shorter break during a drivers service period before requiring them to have a 10 hour off duty period before resuming driving. The new regs allow a driver to be on duty for 14 hours and only actually drive for 11 of those 14 hours. The hope for the new hours of service is to get drivers body clocks back closer to what is considered a normal 24 hour day to reduce fatigue. I hope this provides a little insight as to how the drivers go about bringing just about everything you see around you to you each and every day. If you have it a trucker probably brought it to you. Take care and everyone be safe.

    Comments

    • Great answer, Its good to see answers from people have much experience in the field

      davoomac

      by davoomac on May 4th, 2006

    • Definitely from someone who knows and has been there!

      kristy craig

      by kristy craig on May 4th, 2006

    • Absolutely correct. (I work in trucking, too.)

      Merry Walker

      by Merry Walker on May 4th, 2006

    • I'm glad you pointed out that w/o truckers, we wouldn't have our necessities available! Not many people think about that.

      PuppyLuvr

      by PuppyLuvr on May 11th, 2006

    • In 10-20 years time, fleets will be automated (yes, autopilotted) by computers and/or androids. Fatigue will be a thing of the past because human truck drivers will. Also, delivery times will be shorter because autopilotted trucks can and will run nonstop

      Tondoteottotote

      by Tondoteottotote on June 13th, 2006

    • In response to one of the commnents on this answer I feel it necessary to point out that there is currently no testing of any nature for autopiloted trucks. The 10 to 20 year time frame quoted can be nothing more than uninformed speculation on the writers part.Research is being done in California for autos that could be directed by a wire in the roadway which would take control of the vehicle through comunications with the cars on board computer,but no such research is being conducted on commercial vehicles The greatest changes for the trucking industry is the trend towards automatic transmissions to reduce driver distraction and improve fuel economy, and the push towards truck only lanes to remove the interaction with automobiles which will further reduce truck / car accidents.The next most ifluential improvement to trucks will be the use of disc brakes on the tractors to reduce stopping distances, these are currently in use in Europe and have proven to be very effective.

      Wayne Barnard

      by Wayne Barnard on December 8th, 2006

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