The More I Drive, The More I Love Night Driving.

I am learning that I like night driving way more than daylight driving. In a governed truck, I hate getting surrounded by a pack of trucks, leaving very very little room for error. I guess I'm not one of these "solar powered" drivers!

😂. I admit I always like nights better. Easier parking during the day too.

And you miss the usual morning shower rush too! Sooooo many good reasons to love nights.

(I'm looking at you Memphis...... 🤬 )

😂. I admit I always like nights better. Easier parking during the day too.

Yes, night driving can definitely have it’s advantages, especially when going through big cities.

I do prefer day driving because one of the biggest reasons I wanted to drive was to see the sights. I’m always amazed at what a beautiful and diverse country we live in, and that is just as viewed from the interstates.

Yessss! Embrace the darkness. Mwa-ha-ha!

I find it a lot less stressful. Mostly due to the fact that finding parking is much easier, as Kearsey mentioned. Unfortunately, the Holiday delay flipped my clocks. I've paid for reserved parking twice this week already.

I have been doing much more daytime driving this summer. I like the truck interior cold for sleeping, but the APU doesn't get me cold enough if it is 90 degrees or more outside. Hopefully these hot ones may end soon, but I have my doubts with the continued triple-digit days.

Once the weather does cool off, I'll likely revert to my normal 0100 to 0300 starts. Every load schedule dictates the driving schedules, though. I prefer night driving, especially transiting any major metropolitan area.

Be careful of what I call "the hours of death": two hours before sun up and then the first hour past sunrise. I can't prove it with any facts or data, but I've always thought this is when the majority of truck accidents are happening. Take note when out in the western states (I-40 and I-80). Most crashes are on straightaways and the downhill grades. Drivers are falling asleep or are lulled into not exercising due diligence.

Overall I'm primarily a night person, I suppose in large part from all the years of military work. Most of that was after dark, but I did a lot of daytime conversion therapy shifts with our non-allies towards the final eight years overseas.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Yep, as mentioned, nights were my preferred time to drive. Let my co-worker deal with getting thru big cities lol Dallas,,,OKC,,,Phx,,,Albequeque.... Then when solo @ Legends, start after 12 am, til almost noon, wayyyy easier to find parking spots.....But if I had to I parked in weigh stations, wasn't scared to maybe get picked for random inspection (never did happen) My mentor at CRST, sent me a pic of them parked at a New Mexico weigh station, with a trooper car behind em...They had just gotten a level 1 done,and passed of course....Damn HM placards, get 'em everyt ime in NM

I am learning that I like night driving way more than daylight driving. In a governed truck, I hate getting surrounded by a pack of trucks, leaving very very little room for error. I guess I'm not one of these "solar powered" drivers!

I love night driving because I don't ever have to worry about weighing the truck and stopping at weigh stations. Get the load and go. My loads are usually 1 shift of driving, park, take to the customer at a later time after parking. If pickup and delivery times allow, I try to start driving after 17:00 and park by 04:00.

*****Paging Lil' Red, haha!*****

This is just for you, gal .... subliminally !!

Some companies even pay a shift dif for driving nights; at Tom's current, it's $100/week, and it's his preference; how he was hired on specifically, 6 years ago.

~ Anne ~

ps:

Yessss! Embrace the darkness. Mwa-ha-ha!

Refresh my memory, R.D. ~ Did Rainy train you @ Prime for starters? Sounds like the 'dungeon' factor, to me!!

I found my sweetspot to be between 3am - 4am start time. This gets me at a truck stop between 2pm - 4pm at the latest. Guaranteed parking and the day seems to go by faster. I'm not a fan of mid day driving. Early morning or graveyard is king in my opinion.