I drove a truck (18 wheels) for 9 years. Due to the nature of the business, my sleep schedule was often erratic. But the DOT rules were such in the beginning that this wasn't an issue, because I could take a nap when I needed it. As long as my rest/sleep added up to an accumulated 8 hours, I felt good, and stayed in the graces of the law.

However, trucking companies notoriously push their drivers to fudge on the log book. There is also the factor of "free labor" that goes along with the driving. In the beginning, driving was allowed for up to 10 hours a day between 8 hour breaks. Now it's 11 hours. Um, did someone add an hour to the 24 hour clock just for drivers? That free labor? Yes.. back to that. Drivers are allowed (please read: required) to work up to 14 hours per day. If the shipper wants your service for the entire day, you get no driving done. Your driving time comes out of that 14 hours. But the free labor is usually in addition to the 11 hours of driving, which puts it at 3 hours. This is daily... doing paperwork, fueling, checking the truck for safety, doing drop and hooks, unloading, vehicle repairs, DOT inspections, etc. use up those 3 hours rather rapidly.

So now we come to the recent DOT renovations in the Hours of Service. IN THE NAME OF SAFETY the DOT has revised the Hours of Service regulations so that drivers now have an additional hour to (be forced to) drive, and MUST stay in the bunk for a straight 10 hours. Okay, where does that leave me? I got my sleep cycle on the short track under the old system. I am menopausal, and can't sleep more than 5 hours at a time, after which I am wide awake.

If I move the truck, I'm in violation. If I sit it out, I'm going to want a 3 hour nap later in the day, but THAT'S a violation. If I try to tough it out and drive 11 hours straight the way the DOT wants us to, I'm in violation again, because I'd be driving sleepy, and this says nothing about putting YOU at risk because of my bad choice.

The truck, having a poor heating/cooling system, wakes me after a couple of hours anyway, because it's suddenly got to 110 degrees inside and I can't sleep in that, or the temperature drops to near freezing. Who needed hot flashes? Mine were built into the truck's HVAC. So there's an interruption. And the doctor looks accusingly at me when they check my blood pressure. It's always high when I don't get enough rest. Amazingly, before I began this "career," my blood pressure was low: 100/70. Now, after less than a decade, it's bordering on putting me off the road, at 140/something.

Does a lack of natural sleep hurt you? You bet it does! It's lethal. The DOT needs to get their heads out of the sand on this. I am an otherwise capable driver with a perfect record.

What's needed in the trucking industry is regulation, not of the driver as much as the carriers, the shippers and receivers. Drivers need first of all to be covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act - that little piece of legislation that protects EVERY other American worker, but not truck drivers. This would give drivers some leverage about what's acceptable. 10 and 11 hours of driving is not acceptable. 8 hour shifts are acceptable, with overtime for ALL work performed after that. No more free labor. Then we could get a fairly normalized sleep schedule, live better and longer, have fewer health problems (diabetes, heart conditions, etc.) and YOU the public would benefit from much safer roads.