The average day begins with the getup-and-go routine I've worked out. See the last post if you need a reference.
Once I've done the pre-trip inspection and gotten all the stuff in the truck locked down into their various nooks and crannies, it's time to roll.
I mention this step due to the fact that having a book fall on your head while bouncing down the road, or a full drawer crash to the floor behind you is very distracting. My drawers have a tendency to fly open when they need to stay closed and remain closed when I want them to open. I use a bungee cord and cursing. All depends on the appropriate occasion.
The headlights are on, the stereo tuned, phone attached to the Bluetooth, food and drinks to hand, and the brakes released. Out of the parking spot I roll.
This is the part of my day I really love and dread at the same time. Every day I start driving at a different time, from a different location, and different things to look at.
Today, for example; I parked in a rest area. It's dark, quiet, (other than highway noise and the trucks also parked here with either idling engines or reefers kicking on and off), and there's a place for me and the pooch to do our business.
A lot of ladies out there would be a bit nervous about parking in a rest area for 10 or more hours. Heck, a lot of men aren't all that fond of them. Me? Rest areas generally have less area than a truck stop to park trucks, so there are fewer of them. The other drivers, even though they're resting, will keep an ear out for trouble; and it's generally a place that's patrolled by law enforcement officers on a fairly regular basis.
Another benefit is fewer opportunities to blow my money on useless crap.
Back to the point... I parked with the intention of taking a split sleeper. Which is a 10-hour mandatory rest break that can be legally split into 2 breaks consisting of 2 hours off duty or sleeper, and 8 hours in the sleeper. I miscalculated. This isn't difficult for me since my math skills have always stank worse than roadkill skunk.
I'm writing another post because I can't take the split sleeper break and remain legal. I screwed up. Instead of putting myself in the sleeper, I put myself off-duty. The sleeper has to be utilized if I want the split sleeper. Off-duty needs a full 10 hours to get your clock back. I also approved my logs so I can't even go back and edit. I'm an idiot.
I'll explain...E-Logs are Electronic Logs. There's a lot of controversy regarding this tool. Basically, a computer program keeps track of where, when, and how you log your time. The benefit to me is that it does the time math for me. The drawback to me, and any other idiot, is that garbage in garbage out still applies. If you hit the buttons before thinking, the consequences can be large or small, but there will be consequences. Every line except driving can be edited, but only before you approve them. They have to be approved every 24 hours. Once approved, you have to wake up the safety department to edit them for you. I'm not a fan of waking up people in the middle of the night for my own stupidity.
Back to the driving day...
I usually have checked the weather conditions and traffic conditions on my route and checked my truck-rated GPS to see if I'm still heading to the right place. So, off I go.
I'm watching my truck in the mirrors as I pull away so I don't hit anything and I'm safely heading for the highway. Merge with the flow of traffic, pick up speed, and settle myself into my seat with a sigh.
I sigh to let out the tension I've created for myself in just leaving the parking spot. Driving for 2 to 5 hours at a stretch without this tension release generally gives me headaches, stomach aches, and muscle aches. Driving on the highway for long periods requires a kind of watchful relaxation.
The relaxation is keeping your shoulders from hunching and as good of a posture as you can to be able to physically endure the trip. Drivers are constantly abusing their bodies. I consciously have to remind myself to lower my shoulders, stretch my neck muscles, and generally bend in ways that allow small sections of my body to stretch a bit. It keeps me from being a cripple at the end of the day. I don't like feeling or appearing like I've just gotten off the bull at a bull-riding competition, so I do what I can while I'm driving down the road.
The watchful part is the mental and physical effort of keeping your eyes moving, staying alert, and being ready to react at a moment's notice. I'm constantly finding myself saying, "What if this...? What if that...?"
It's exhausting to stay focused that long, especially without something to occupy your mind, at least in part. Texting is a huge no, no, but one-touch calling and using the Bluetooth through the truck sound system is wonderful. I barely have to look away from the road to dial. And I avoid dialing or anything else when I'm in thick traffic or challenging road changes. (Construction, curves, etc.)
My phone is capable of voice dialing, but the interface keeps asking me if I want to call people other than the one I request. The same applies to texting. I pause too often in my speech to allow the phone's little brain to comprehend that, no, I really didn't want to send a 3-word text. I wanted to send a 13-word text, or even 30.
A lot of people are fully capable of entertaining themselves on the road. Music, talk-radio, podcasts, audiobooks, and other forms of audio distraction keep me from becoming mired in my own thoughts. I turn it down or off when I'm entering a truck stop, navigating a lot of turns in a short period of time, or entering a customer's property.
I'm in awe of the technology now available that keeps our mobile entertainment with us wherever we go. During training, we weren't allowed phone calls and my phone was an ancient hockey puck. FM radio or silence were the options I had at the time.
There's a lot involved in the day of a truck driver... More in the next post.
Thanks for being here. Please stick around. I promise interesting stuff will show up. Eventually.
Renae-The Truck Driving Woman
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