Sunday 10 February 2013

A Short Week to Reduce Fatigue?

So I'm doing a switch this weekend in Northern Ontario. I try to do that once each month because it gives me some extra days off during the week. I leave on a Friday night and get home late Sunday or early Monday morning. It's all part of my plan to reduce my own fatigue and spend more time with my family. It works pretty well if everything goes according to plan. Of course everything always goes according to plan in the trucking industry. Lol.

This weekend there was a major winter storm in southern Ontario so I didn't get away until late on Friday night. Terrace Bay is approximately 1270 kilometers 1 way from my home terminal. I arrived in Terrace Bay at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday and my switch arrived at 01:30 on Sunday morning. Normally I would complete the switch by taking 2 full 8 hour breaks between 3 driving shifts. But because of delays this weekend I have ended up having to split my sleeper berth time and take a series of shorter breaks between shorter driving periods.

Although I don't feel too bad right now the question is how will I feel tomorrow at 4 o'clock in the morning when I arrive at the terminal. Do I go straight home or take another nap in the truck? How will this affect my time off this week? I guess the answer will come tomorrow, and the day after.

But for now it's time to jump in the bunk and try to get a good solid 3 hours sleep so I can get up and drive the last 5 hours to the yard. *sigh*

"That's trucking". Lol.

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