Question:
No matter how much sleep I get the night before, sooner or later, I get tired. It might be 2 hours after I wake up or it might be 10 hours after I wake up. I get tired! Period!
I use the Hoss' "2 yawn rule". I'm rolling down the road, out in the middle of nowhere.
Yawn #1 hits (big, deep yawn)
I start looking for a place to park it.
Yawn #2 hits (just as big of a yawn as #1 was)
Within 15 minutes, I'm PARKED! Usually a 2-3 hour nap does it for me. Then I'm back in the saddle again.
It is possible to doze off behind the wheel of a big truck. I've done it twice! It scared the sh*t out of me!
That's when I 'developed' the 2 yawn rule.
Since I started using this 'rule', I haven't dozed off since.
Stay awake, stay alive!
*******************************
"Got the bird dog on...
Dodgin' the scales...
80 miles an hour and a step outta jail..." From "Rollin' Home, Pirates of the Mississippi)
*******************************
"I've always been different with one foot over the line.
Winding up somewhere, one step ahead or behind.
It ain't been so easy, but I guess I shouldn't complain.
I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane." (from Waylon Jennings)
**************************
Member: Happy Dweller Society
Owner Operator Division


Answer:
I remember the 1st time I dozed off while drving....
I was on a 2-lane back road, It was Late Night/Early Morn & the fog was soooo Thick I could barely see 2ft in front of me.
I must have been weaving like KRAZY, b/c when I woke up enough to look in my mirror, there was a 4wheeler behind me Flashing his headlights & honking his horn....Trying to get me to straighten up so he could PASS.
Ever since then, I pull over at the SLIGHTEST sign of Drowsiness or feeling Tired.(even if I just woke up 2 hrs ago.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
***A Late Load is Better than No Load.***

Answer:
I think Hubby knows he's tired when I tell him he is. Seriously, he stops whenever he feels the need to although I'm not sure what the "signal" is for him.
I know for me, it's when my eyes become heavy and start to close for a sec. I know if he and I have slept about the same amount and HE'S driving if I"M that tired, he must be even more so. I've never had him argue when I tell him it's time to stop either.
Of course, we all know for most drivers the REAL signal is when a pre-appointed goal is reached whether it's 10 hrs. or 600 miles, etc.
A mind is a terrible thing to have.
Answer:
I know I'm way past my bed time when I agree with you, Hoss. I mean how often is it when a right thinking conservative, wascally wepublican, that would be me, agree with you a left wing democrat, that would be you. Well I think He// just froze over, because, your 2 yawn rule(yawwwwwwwwwn) really does make sense. This is a good bit of advice for the newbies out there, as well as the old timers out there that think they know it all. Congrats, I agree(yawwwwwwwwwwwwn) OOPS there's that wascally second yawn, time for bed.

Answer:
The yawn rule may be a good idea. Another thing I found that was a sure fire sign to shut down, was if I started missing gears, or misread signs.(Missed scale house signs twice, thank god they were closed)

Answer:
When my brain starts turning into a vegetable it's time to shut down.
Seriously, years ago, I use to run 24 plus hour days many times. I remember 36 hour days. Believe it or not, you actually get use to it and your mind/body adjust to long hours.
I've never even came close to falling asleep at the wheel though. Some people can fall asleep at the drop of a hat. For instance, in a chair watching TV.
If you fall asleep easily, you need to be aware of your risk of falling asleep behind the wheel.
This is why many drivers do not drive at night, all night long. They cannot stay awake at night. Their body clocks start shutting down at night.
You know when your getting too tired to drive, you can feel it. You cannot focus your eyes, your eyeballs feel like their drifting independently of each other.
If you push yourself to the limits, you begin to feel like your drunk. Your speech becomes slurred, your brain slows down to a crawl (vegetable), and you cannot walk a straight line when you get out of the truck.
Another indicator your getting too tired to drive, is when you start getting irritable and every little thing begins to annoy you.
Trucking companies have gotten much better with delivery time frames today then years ago. 40 hour days where not uncommon back then.

Answer:
HOw do I know when I'm tired?
Well, let's see. There was the time a few years ago when I was driving my 4-wheeler from Austin to Atlanta, and I was trying really hard to make it to the next rest area, but my eyelids felt like there were ten pound weights attached to them, and it was all that I could do to fight to keep them open.
Apparently I closed my eyes for a second or two, because the next thing I remember was being a few inches away from going under somebody's tandems. Yep. I think I was kinda tired that day.
I immediately pulled over into the emergency lane to take a nap, and then I couldn't sleep!

Answer:
The 2 YAWN rule yeah ok whatever.
Check with your doctor at your next physical , he will tell you that YAWNING has little to do with tiredness and is not a real sign of being tired. Ever notice that you can yawn after 8 hours of good sleep.
WARNING SIGNS of getting TIRED or FATIQUED
1) Cannot recall last few miles that you have driven
2) Hard time focussing
3) Cannot keep your head up
4) Starting to drift
5) Daydreaming
6) Misjudging traffic or mis road signs
7) Vary your speed for no reason
HOW to STAY ALERT
Get a good nights sleep ( go to bed stay out of the games room in the T/A).
Keep the temperature a bit cool in your truck
Avoid using CRUISE CONTROL it removes a driving process that helps you keep active
Take a break every few hours , get out stretch have a light snack
Sit with good posture not slouched over
Wear sun glasses / driving glassesso your eyes do not tire from the glare
If you cannot stay awake PARK IT take a NAP.

Answer:
Add a couple more.
You have tunnel vision. All you can see is the nose of your truck.
You don't check your mirrors as often as you normally would.
You can't remember the last song on the radio or the last mile marker or exit.
You feel like you have been driving for hours and realize you've only gone 20 miles.
Time to park it.
Time's fun when you're having flies - Kermit The Frog

Answer:
From my original post:
No matter how much sleep I get the night before, sooner or later, I get tired. It might be 2 hours after I wake up or it might be 10 hours after I wake up. I get tired! Period!
Originally posted by Flatbed:
The 2 YAWN rule yeah ok whatever.
Check with your doctor at your next physical , he will tell you that YAWNING has little to do with tiredness and is not a real sign of being tired. Ever notice that you can yawn after 8 hours of good sleep.
No sh*t Dick Tracy. Notice I said 2 BIG yawns? I no longer drive long enough to get so tired that I.......
1) Cannot recall last few miles that you have driven
2) Hard time focussing
3) Cannot keep your head up
4) Starting to drift
5) Daydreaming
6) Misjudging traffic or mis road signs
7) Vary your speed for no reason
That's why I have the "2 yawn rule" for myself.
*******************************
"Got the bird dog on...
Dodgin' the scales...
80 miles an hour and a step outta jail..." From "Rollin' Home, Pirates of the Mississippi)
*******************************
"I've always been different with one foot over the line.
Winding up somewhere, one step ahead or behind.
It ain't been so easy, but I guess I shouldn't complain.
I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane." (from Waylon Jennings)
**************************
Member: Happy Dweller Society
Owner Operator Division

Answer:
If I can NOT remember the Last MM I just passed.
If I start misreading exit signs & billboards.
If I tune my radio to a station(genre) that I normally do NOT listen to & I find myself Actually LIKING the music, I KNOW it's time to pull over.
BE SAFE & HAPPY TRUCKING
SMYLE!
[This message was edited by choclit snda on November 09, 2003 at 13:17.]

Answer:
Have you ever watched yourself drive towards thew shoulder and almost unable to get your body to react in time. I have. That and dozing for a second behind the wheel will scare you beyond belief. I've also been so tired I couldn't get my head to turn and look at the mirrors. I have at one time driven many miles not knowing exactly where I was.
No more of that for me. My eyes start to close just once and I stop. Even if it's just for a few minutes to get coffee and wake up so I can get parked safely or now change drivers. One case of heavy eyes and I'm stopping.
"There is just something about fresh winter snow and a river. The day is bright even if it is cloudy, the water is friendly even if it is cold and the fish are there even if they are not biting."
Member: Happy Dweller Society
Team Driver Division

Answer:
never get anywhere.
Take care and be safe
To be safe you must be aware
US ARMY

Answer:
Gee HOSS the 7 points I posted where meant for the NEWBIES to realize if they noticed any 1 of the 7 happening it was time to take a NAP.
Anyone would hopefully realize that you do not wait for ALL 7 to occur.
Glad you do not drive long enough anymore for all 7 to take place I never did.

Answer:
I should Mention this:
What we are discussing here is not only driving for long hours but also being awake long hours, not driving, then have to drive.
It's very important to fully understand "your" limits. If your brain is telling you, "enough", listen to it, it's telling you something important.
Many new drivers entering trucking will face these circumstances. There are going to be times your not going to be able to sleep. Lying in the bunk just stairing [sic] at the ceiling. It's happened to all of us at one time or other.
Let your dispatcher know you didn't/couldn't sleep.
Sleep depravation is something all drivers need to understand and learn about. None of us are robots, "push a button and go to sleep".
I've had a great deal of experience with very long hours but I started out "slowly", building up over time longer and longer hours. This is not something you can learn overnight. It takes a long time to learn your limits and just how far you can go without sleep,(without drugs).
What ever amount of sleep you lose, you'll need to make up at some point. I've slept as much as 15 hours straight to make up sleep depravation.
This is why it's important to let your dispatcher know you haven't slept. You'll need to slow down your dispatch to have the time to sleep and make up for any lost sleep.
Learn to pace yourself and be mindful of driver burnout. Sleep depravation and burnout are very dangerous combinations.
I was lucky with my first OTR job. I didn't have a dispatcher like you have in the freight industry.. We run our own time schedules, we could either run very long hours or shut down anytime we wanted/needed to. We had a lot of flexibility in how we ran. In the general freight business, drivers don't have that kind of flexibility.
In today's environment, much has changed. There is 4 to 5 times more traffic on the road today 24/7. People drive crazier today, they don't pay attention to what their doing. That means you need to be a lot sharper today and well rested.
Obviously I don't run like I use to. I'm glad I acquired the experience from my past, I wouldn't trade that in for anything. I learned a great deal in pushing the body and mind to the limits from my past. But in today's driving environment, you constantly need 4 eyeballs, a fast working brain, and fast reflexes almost every mile you drive.