Company Flipping Me From Day Driving To Night Driving Over And Over

I did some flipping from day driving to night driving during my stint on the road. But I drove for a mega (Schneider), and they didn't want drivers switching. Their reason was safety. I was a daytime driver because I wanted to see the country I drove through. Once the company tracked my normal driving pattern, they gave me assignments based on that. Whenever I took an assignment that differed from that pattern, my driver manager would call me to see if I felt safe driving at night. And, yes, I could do the night driving when it was necessary, but not everybody can switch back and forth. I was impressed with the fact that Schneider kept track of that and tried to keep me in a regular sleep pattern. Obviously, they didn't want me to drive when I normally slept because they didn't want me to fall asleep at the wheel. So, this is something to seriously consider on an individual basis. It's all about safety, so don't switch from day to night driving if you think it's not safe for you.

So, this is something to seriously consider on an individual basis. It's all about safety, so don't switch from day to night driving if you think it's not safe for you.

I would say for the first few months on the road this might be ok as you're first adjusting to your new career. After that it's time to step up and learn how to manage your schedule and your sleep patterns and drive that truck. Night driving is part of trucking. Getting sleep when you have the opportunity is part of trucking. Changing schedules, erratic sleep patterns, and long days are all part of trucking. These are examples of the type of thing that top tier drivers learn to do.

I always agree very strongly with Old School when he talks about people stepping up and pushing themselves a little bit. The idea that you "can't" handle a mix of day and night driving is just utter baloney. Of course you can. Everyone can. Is it super easy? No. Is anything about trucking super easy? No. If it was easy, anyone could do it.

If a person can't handle an erratic schedule then what can they handle? What about erratic traffic patterns and rush hour traffic in major cities? Are you going to avoid that? What about erratic weather? How about slick roads, tough backing situations, or changing schedules? Are you going to tell dispatch you prefer not to deal with those things?

Again, when you're brand new to trucking and you're in your first few months on the road it's perfectly fine to ease into things a little bit. But if you're going to thrive in this career you're going to have to step up and handle the everyday challenges of the job.

Read Old School's article:

Trucking Is A Competition Between Drivers. Can You Hang With The Big Dogs?

So Dylan, it sounds like you've been out there for a little while now. It's time to step up and learn to handle this kind of thing. Obviously risk management is all about knowing when it's safe to drive and when it's not. If the weather conditions are too severe or you're exhausted you have to park that thing. But don't look for the easy path with this job. There isn't one. The traffic, weather, erratic sleep patterns, slick roads, changing schedules, long days, and high pressure situations are all part of this job. You have to step up your game and rise to meet these challenges.

For instance yesterday I had to go pick up a load at 8 PM qnd have it back to the yard that night, finishing my run at 1 30 am. Today my load is from the yard starting at 10 PM and apt time time at location 460 miles out is 10 am.

Is the load actually not going to be to the yard until 2200? If it is there by about 1200-1400 I'd run it down the road 5 hours or more, do my 10 then run it the rest of the way. Or, this is an instance where if you can park at the consignee , I'd just run it all the way there and do my 10, plus then you'd have your full clock on the day of delivery to use on the unload and a follow up load. Either way you're day driving for the most part. Of course if the load really isn't to the yard until 2200 then your stuck running at night.

I've also managed to get unloaded 8-12 hours early by getting to the consignee for my 10 hour... And being very nice to receiving. This usually only works for smaller places though. Big DC's sometimes penalize a company for early deliveries. So find all that out before just showing up early.

My question is how are they flipping you?

I get a pickup appointment, and delivery appointment, anything beyond that is up to me. I do sometimes have to drive at night to make that happen, but I have no set schedule. Are you saying all your appointments force you to drive at night for a while, then days, or are they actually telling you when to drive?

For instance yesterday I had to go pick up a load at 8 PM qnd have it back to the yard that night, finishing my run at 1 30 am. Today my load is from the yard starting at 10 PM and apt time time at location 460 miles out is 10 am.

That is 20 hours of sleep time on the second load. I don’t see the problem unless You are like me and have trouble seeing st night. In that case those night driving glasses do help a bit.

My question is how are they flipping you?

I get a pickup appointment, and delivery appointment, anything beyond that is up to me. I do sometimes have to drive at night to make that happen, but I have no set schedule. Are you saying all your appointments force you to drive at night for a while, then days, or are they actually telling you when to drive?

For instance yesterday I had to go pick up a load at 8 PM qnd have it back to the yard that night, finishing my run at 1 30 am. Today my load is from the yard starting at 10 PM and apt time time at location 460 miles out is 10 am.

That is 20 hours of sleep time on the second load. I don’t see the problem unless You are like me and have trouble seeing st night. In that case those night driving glasses do help a bit.

Also time for a nap in the middle if you get tired.

It differs per division also. Some of the dry van runners here have said they do mostly days because that is when their customers are open.

With reefer , i run constantly. Many of my customers are distribution centers, so they need the product at night to load their customers during the day. Some are only open certain days or times of the week, so there is no choice. Last night I ran all night to deliver this morning. This is a multi stop load, and the appointments are both day and night.

To do what it is that Brett is saying, I learned the 8/2 split early on. Sometimes I drive 5 hours then brake then drive another 5 hours. Doing this can assist me on making my appointments on time while catching up on sleep, or it can help me flip to my preferred drive time. I especially do it in bad weather which can exhaust me.

I will even grab a 30 to 45 minute nap. Just that short nap works wonders.

For the final few years before getting "off the road" (4-5 day turns), I was doing a dedicated run NC-GA-TX turn and I was driving mostly Daytime. - - - - I DID A LOT OF CONVERTING DAYS AND NIGHTS in the first Trucking Time Period (2000-2011) because most LARGE Freight Companies used BROKErs (Load Boards). Interesting "Schedules". Best allowed time period (0001-0600) was being able to "nose into a spot" at ANY Truck stop for a nap. That was a bit before the Bucking Bronco of Electronic Logging (unless one was with WERNER).

CHEERS!!