ABC News Report Last Night Regarding Sleep Deprived Truck Drivers

Don't know about other companies, but Prime is superb about watching your hours. Here the motto is "You are the captain of your own ship". Meaning, if you are sleep deprived, tell your dispatcher and get your sleep. Ive a few 'tug-of-wars" with dispatch, like when I've been sitting for 12+ hours at a loader/receiver or stuck at a yard, and when my truck is empty, o repaired, its at the 'end' of my day. But for the most part, I have the say in whether I drive or not. Dispatch may not be 'thrilled' with my decision to sleep, but in the end, they would rather I sleep than wreck. Bottom line, your the driver and its YOUR call.

Don't know about other companies, but Prime is superb about watching your hours. Here the motto is "You are the captain of your own ship". Meaning, if you are sleep deprived, tell your dispatcher and get your sleep. Ive a few 'tug-of-wars" with dispatch, like when I've been sitting for 12+ hours at a loader/receiver or stuck at a yard, and when my truck is empty, o repaired, its at the 'end' of my day. But for the most part, I have the say in whether I drive or not. Dispatch may not be 'thrilled' with my decision to sleep, but in the end, they would rather I sleep than wreck. Bottom line, your the driver and its YOUR call.

i have the feeling from what i have been reading overall, that many of the megas are getting that mentality. However do not think its for the drivers, i think its cause they do not want their logo on the news.

As far as the Abe story goes if I remember correctly, he had two 10 hour breaks back to back and said he sleep well the first 10 hours but couldn't sleep the second and could only manage 90 minutes of driving before stopping for sleep. He does not got what it takes to drive rigs. If I had his same situation where I slept good for my the first 10 then was up for the next 10 I could still drive thru the night the full 11 hour drive shift safely. I don't need 20 hours sleep like him.

As far as the Abe story goes if I remember correctly, he had two 10 hour breaks back to back and said he sleep well the first 10 hours but couldn't sleep the second and could only manage 90 minutes of driving before stopping for sleep. He does not got what it takes to drive rigs. If I had his same situation where I slept good for my the first 10 then was up for the next 10 I could still drive thru the night the full 11 hour drive shift safely. I don't need 20 hours sleep like him.

Yes that is the way he reported it. And even if half of it is true what it boils down to is his decision to take the load even though he admitted to being tired cause he had not had proper rest. But he sure was rested enough to set the camera up to record the conversation.

I Am not going to rehash the same stuff over and over I ready said on YouTube. All I will say is it was his decision to make and he made the wrong one. You don't drive tired no matter the reason. Never.

Don't know about other companies, but Prime is superb about watching your hours. Here the motto is "You are the captain of your own ship". Meaning, if you are sleep deprived, tell your dispatcher and get your sleep. Ive a few 'tug-of-wars" with dispatch, like when I've been sitting for 12+ hours at a loader/receiver or stuck at a yard, and when my truck is empty, o repaired, its at the 'end' of my day. But for the most part, I have the say in whether I drive or not. Dispatch may not be 'thrilled' with my decision to sleep, but in the end, they would rather I sleep than wreck. Bottom line, your the driver and its YOUR call.

i have the feeling from what i have been reading overall, that many of the megas are getting that mentality. However do not think its for the drivers, i think its cause they do not want their logo on the news.

Is this truly the case? With the exception of movers, trucking is a B2B industry and usually shippers and recievers go for the best price or service or both. A few of the common folk might huff and puff about it but they arent the ones paying the bills, would something like a beat-up news story really be on the radar?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/danger-forcing-truck-drivers-drive-sleep-deprived-exposed/story?id=25544862

Great story - thanks for sharing. Personally, I'm a little paranoid about sleep. I'm very conscious about getting my full 8 hours every night, especially if I've run or worked out whenever I'm not on the road. REMEMBER, though, that the media exaggerates almost everything.

Sure, there are truck drivers that probably shouldn't be driving, but I wouldn't call it an epidemic or anything like that. You'll find slackers or irresponsible people in any industry...