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When I used to look for summer jobs, I always thought it would be instructive, if not entirely profound, to drive truck. I knew a few kids who had satisfied the CDL paperwork and suddenly boasted routes up and down I-5 transporting garlic and tomatoes. But the convenience of service jobs abounded, and I never got around to climbing aboard a rig; however, the romance of the job lingered until various high school classmates and then a member of my family joined the fleet and could properly devastate my illusions of the itinerant life. I had envisioned my career on the road as similar to an Altman film (more Nashville than Short Cuts), but the reported facts held me in a snare…
For the people I knew, driving truck involved abject loneliness, emotional eating, and a codependent relationship with The Flying J. I didn’t even really get that you just slept in your truck, which perhaps lessened the glamor (I have a thing for hotels–the cheaper the better). So to better understand my beloved truckers, I began reading trucker blogs, such as Adventures in Trucking and Truck Driver Blog. I wanted to know how they kept themselves awake, conscious, sentient while driving such distances–I certainly have issues with road stamina, but could I improve it if trucking were my career? According to statistics, maybe not:
- A 1995 National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) study found that of 107 heavy truck crashes, fatigue was a prominent factor in 75% of the run-off-the-road crashes, with 68% of long-haul drivers and 49% of short haul drivers suffering fatigue-related crashes. Working long shifts not only radically increases the risk of performance errors due to lost alertness and drowsiness, but it also impairs a trucker’s ability to gain proper restorative sleep even when they have sufficient off-duty time for sleep. (Federal Highway Administration or FHWA, 1997)
- The rist of a crash effectively doubles from the eighth to the tenth hour of driving, and doubles again from the tenth to the eleventh hour of driving alone. (FMCSA, 2000).
I’m not sure how many of you out there drive truck for a living, or know people who do, but I’m sure most of us have dealt with road fatigue. How do you stay awake? I have to listen–almost exclusively–to country (maybe it’s the conspicuous narrative) and then if that doesn’t work then some piston-esque energy drink and lots of deep breathing. When the breathing gets shallow and long on the exhale, you’d better pull off the road and get your Flying J on.
Comments (10)
Comment
My dad is a truck driver, and he can drive for what seems like days.
I used to be able to do eight hours straight (in a car), but these days I’m annoyed and ready to stop after about two hours.
posted by Eric on 7-24-2007 at 5:39 am
driving a truck has always been a secret dream of mine too! for years i thought i’d take a year off after college or sometime and just, be a truck driver. this blog didn’t remove my longing completely… but i’m definitely going to add the trucker blogs to my feed.
posted by katie on 7-24-2007 at 7:16 am
To stay awake, I find some song that I barely know, and try to memorize all of the lyrics. I keep replaying the song until I get it all right. An hour can pass pretty quickly on a 4 minute song.
posted by Josh on 7-24-2007 at 9:32 am
For staying awake, I find that eating sunflower seeds helps. Must be the dexterity required of your tongue.
Even though I don’t anymore, smoking helps as the nicotine is a stimulant.
Don’t listen to talk radio as it just turns into a white noise.
posted by Dusty on 7-24-2007 at 10:00 am
I grew up in the 70’s with all of those trucker movies, CB radios (do you remember them 10-4 good buddy and rubber duck), plus trucker and songs.
However, it was all I could handle to drive from San Diego to Yellowstone and back several weeks ago, even though I stayed at hotels in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. The books on CD helped a lot. I finally heard Sea Biscuit and King Kong (my favorite driving book is Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein), but I couldn’t do it for a summer…
posted by Daniel on 7-24-2007 at 10:47 am
Every year I drive from Texas to Pennsylvania without stopping except for the normal, food, gas, tinkle, etc. I do the first 24 hours, my wife finished the last two. I must be a freak, I have no trouble staying awake. There’s a motorcycle association called the Iron Butt Association that exists around covering a bunch of miles in a set period of time. On their site they have tips for not bonkin’ on long rides. Two of the most important: Don’t speed. It causes tension and burns you out. Don’t drink caffeine. You get a quick buzz but burn out even harder. Their starter ride is 1000 miles in 24 hours or less.
posted by Ralphie on 7-24-2007 at 2:45 pm
If I start to feel tired I stop. I don’t like to gamble on the road. Plus, it’s nice to be relaxed enough with my plans to be able to take a break.
posted by Jason on 7-24-2007 at 5:35 pm
Never heard the phrase “drive truck”
drive a truck, or drive trucks, yeah, but…is this an east coast thing?
Then again, I don’t say “watch a TV”
posted by John on 7-25-2007 at 12:41 pm
I don’t know that it’s regional…I’m from the Midwest and that’s where I first heard it. I just prefer saying it b/c it’s more hardcore…
posted by Becky on 7-27-2007 at 3:51 pm
Thanks for the mention! Staying awake? If you get enough sleep, it’s not a problem. Fatigue happens when drivers are forced to work and stay up all day and then expected to drive all night.
Driving a truck is never boring. With all the idiots (cars and trucks) to pay attention to, construction and just normal traffic keeps things ‘interesting’.
It’s not like we drive non-stop all day. We still take breaks when we need to. But driving 500 or more miles a day takes practice and a little discipline.
posted by Wayne on 2-19-2008 at 7:08 am