Truck Driver – A Long, Slow Drive Into Sleep

Fall asleep while learning about the fascinating history of trucking, the intricacies of licensing rules, and the exhilarating world of freight logistics. Whether you’re struggling to stay awake or simply seeking a soothing bedtime story or insomnia relief, this episode is the perfect choice.

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I help you learn a little and sleep a lot.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster,

And today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,

Truck Driver.

A truck driver,

Commonly referred to as a trucker,

Teamster,

Or driver in the United States and Canada,

A truckie in Australia and New Zealand,

An HGV driver in the United Kingdom,

Ireland,

And the European Union,

A lorry driver or driver in the United Kingdom,

Ireland,

India,

Nepal,

Pakistan,

Malaysia,

And Singapore,

Is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck,

Which is commonly defined as a large goods vehicle,

LGV,

Or heavy goods vehicle,

HGV,

Usually a semi-truck,

Box truck,

Or dump truck.

Truck drivers provide an essential service to industrialized societies by transporting finished goods and raw materials over land,

Typically to and from manufacturing plants,

Retail,

And distribution centers.

Truck drivers are responsible for inspecting their vehicles for mechanical items or issues relating to safe operation.

Others,

Such as driver sales workers,

Are also responsible for sales,

Completing additional services such as cleaning,

Preparation,

And entertaining,

E.

G.

Cooking,

Making hot drinks,

And customer service.

Truck drivers work closely with warehouse associates and warehouse workers who assist in loading and unloading shipments.

There are three major types of truck driver employment.

Owner-operators,

Also known as OOs or double-stuffs,

Are individuals who own the trucks they drive and can either lease their trucks by contract with a trekking company to haul freight for that company using their own trucks,

Or haul loads from multiple companies and are self-employed independent contractors.

Others also lease and make payments on trucks with the aim of purchasing them within two to five years.

Company drivers are employees of a particular trucking company who drive trucks provided by their employer.

Independent owner-operators are those with the authority to haul goods who often drive their own trucks,

Possibly owning a small fleet anywhere from one to ten,

But occasionally as few as two or three.

Owner-operators,

Owner-drivers,

And company drivers can be in these categories.

Auto-haulers transport cars on specially built trailers and require specific skills to load and operate specialized trailers.

Boat haulers move boats ranging in size from 10-foot long bass boats to full-size yachts up to 60 feet long using specialized low buoy trailers that can be set up for each size of boat.

Boats wider than 8 feet 6 inches or 13 feet 6 inches require permits to move and are considered oversized loads.

Dry van drivers haul the majority of goods over highways and large trailers.

Contents may be perishable or non-perishable goods.

Dry bulk pneumatic drivers haul bulk sand.

Salt and cement among other things.

They have specialized trailers which enable them to use pressurized air to unload their products,

Commonly known among truckers as flow boys.

Flatbed drivers haul an assortment of large bulky items such as tanks,

Steel pipes,

Or lumber.

Drivers require the ability to balance the load correctly.

LTL drivers,

Location-to-location,

Or less-than-truck load,

Generally refers to localized delivery jobs where goods are delivered by the drivers at multiple locations,

Sometimes involving the pulling of double or triple trailer combinations.

Reefer drivers haul refrigerated,

Temperature-sensitive,

Or frozen goods.

Local drivers work only within the limits of their local areas.

These areas may include crossing state lines,

But drivers usually return home daily.

Household good drivers,

Or bedbuggers,

Haul personal effects for families moving from one home to another.

Regional drivers may work over several states near their homes and may be away from home for short periods.

Interstate drivers,

Otherwise known as over-the-road or long-haul drivers,

Often cover distances of thousands of miles and are away from home for days,

Weeks,

Or even months on end.

For time-critical loads,

Companies may opt to employ team drivers to cover more miles than a single driver.

Oversized load drivers transport oversized loads that exceed standard regulations.

Special permits are required to transport oversized shipments.

Team drivers refer to pairs of drivers who take turns driving the same truck in shifts,

Sometimes spouses,

Or several people in different states who split up the haul,

Line haul,

To avoid being away from home for long periods.

Tanker drivers,

Tank truck drivers,

In truck driver slang,

Tanker yankers,

Tankies haul liquids such as gasoline,

Petrol,

Diesel fuel,

Milk,

And crude oil,

And dry bulk materials such as plastics,

Sugar,

Flour,

And cement in tanks.

Liquid tanker drivers need special driving skills due to the load balance changing from liquid movement.

This is especially true for food grade tankers which do not contain any baffles under a single compartment due to sanitation requirements.

Fuel,

Oil,

Petroleum drivers require special certifications.

Vocational drivers drive vocational trucks such as tow trucks,

Dump trucks,

Garbage trucks,

Or cement mixers.

Trayage drivers move cargo containers,

Aka piggybacks,

Which are lifted on or off the chassis at special intermodal stations.

Bullwrack drivers haul livestock locally,

Regionally,

Or nationally.

The term bullwrack refers to double-deck trailers used strictly for hauling cattle.

In Australia,

Drivers of trucks and truck-trailer combinations with gross vehicle mass greater than 12 tons must rest for 15 minutes every five and a half hours,

30 minutes every eight hours,

And 60 minutes every 11 hours,

Including driving and non-driving duties.

In any seven-day period,

Drivers must spend 24 hours away from their vehicles.

Truck drivers must complete a logbook documenting hours and kilometers spent driving.

In Canada,

Driver Hours of Service,

HOS,

Regulations are enforced for drivers who operate a truck,

Tractor,

Trailer,

Or any combination of them that has a gross vehicle weight in excess of 4,

500 kilograms,

Or a bus that is designed and constructed to have a designated seating capacity of more than 24 persons,

Including the driver.

However,

There are two sets of Hours of Service rules,

One for above 60th parallel north and one for below.

Below latitude 60 degrees,

Drivers are limited to 14 hours on duty in any 24-hour period.

These 14 hours include a maximum of 13 hours driving time.

Rest periods are eight consecutive hours in a 24-hour period,

As well as an additional two-hour period of rest that must be taken in blocks of no fewer than 30 minutes.

The concept of cycles refers to the total amount of time drivers can be on duty in a given period before they must take time off.

Cycle 1 is 70 hours in a 7-day period,

And Cycle 2 is 120 hours in a 14-day period.

Drivers using Cycle 1 must take off 36 hours at the end of the cycle before being allowed to restart the cycle again.

Cycle 2 is 72 hours off duty before being allowed to start again.

Receipts for fuel,

Tolls,

Etc.

Must be retained as MTO officers can request them to further verify the accuracy of information contained in drivers' logbooks during inspections.

In the European Union,

Drivers' working hours are regulated by EU No.

561-2006,

Which entered into force on 11 April 2007.

The non-stop driving time may not exceed 4.

5 hours.

After 4.

5 hours of driving,

Drivers must take a break period of at least 45 minutes,

Which can be split into two breaks,

The first being at least 15 minutes,

And the second being at least 30 minutes.

The daily driving time shall not exceed 9 hours,

And may be extended to at most 10 hours,

No more than twice each week.

The weekly driving time may not exceed 56 hours.

In addition to this,

A driver cannot exceed 90 hours driving in a fortnight.

Within each 24-hour period after the end of the previous daily or weekly rest period,

Drivers must take a new daily rest period.

An 11-hour or more daily rest is called a regular daily rest period.

Alternatively,

Drivers can split a regular daily rest period into two periods.

The first period must be at least 3 hours of uninterrupted driving.

The second must be at least 9 hours of uninterrupted rest.

The second must be at least 9 hours of uninterrupted rest for a total minimum rest of 12 hours.

Drivers may reduce daily rest periods to no fewer than 9 continuous hours,

But this can be done no more than three times between any two weekly rest periods.

No compensation for the reduction is required.

Daily rests between 9 and 11 hours long are referred to as reduced daily rest periods.

Daily rests may be taken in a vehicle as long as it has suitable sleeping facilities and is stationary.

Multi-manning refers to at least two drivers driving the same vehicle during each period between two consecutive daily rests,

Or between a daily rest and a weekly rest period.

Another driver is optional for the first hour of multi-manning,

But mandatory for the remainder of the period.

This allows for vehicles to depart from off-road vehicles and collect a second driver along the way,

Provided this is done within an hour of the first driver starting work.

Vehicles manned by two or more drivers are governed by the same rules as single-manned vehicles apart from daily rest requirements.

When vehicles are manned by two or more drivers,

Each driver must have a daily rest period of at least nine consecutive hours within the 30-hour period,

Starting at the end of the last daily or weekly rest period.

Organizing driver's duties in such a fashion enables a crew's duties to be spread over 21 hours.

The maximum driving time for a two-man crew taking advantage of this concession is 20 hours before a daily rest is required,

Although only if both drivers are entitled to drive 10 hours.

Under multi-manning,

The second driver in a crew may not necessarily be the same driver from the duration of the first driver's shift,

But could be any number of drivers as long as the conditions are met.

Whether second drivers could claim the multi-manning concession in these circumstances depends on their other duties.

On multi-manning operations,

The first 45 minutes of a period of availability is considered a break,

So long as the co-driver does no work.

When drivers accompany vehicles transported by ferry or train,

Daily rest requirements are more flexible.

A regular daily rest period may be interrupted no more than twice,

But the total interruption must not exceed one hour in total.

This allows for a vehicle to be driven onto a ferry and off again at the end of the crossing.

When the rest period is interrupted in this way,

The total accumulated rest period must still be 11 hours.

A bunk or couchette must be available during the rest period.

A regular weekly rest period is a period of at least 45 consecutive hours.

An actual working week starts at the end of a weekly rest period and finishes when another weekly rest period is commenced,

Which may mean that weekly rest is taken in the middle of a fixed Monday to Sunday week.

This is perfectly acceptable as the working week is not required to be aligned with the fixed week defined in the rules,

Provided compliance of all relevant limits.

Alternatively,

Drivers can take a reduced weekly rest period of a minimum of 24 consecutive hours.

If a reduction is taken,

It must be compensated for by an equivalent period of rest taken in one block before the end of the third week,

Following the week in question.

The compensating rest must be attached to a period of rest of at least nine hours,

Effectively either a weekly or daily rest period.

For example,

If a driver reduces a weekly rest period to 33 hours in week one,

They must compensate by attaching a 12-hour period of rest to another rest period of at least nine hours before the end of week four.

This compensation cannot be taken in several smaller periods.

A weekly rest period that falls in two weeks may be reduced to a minimum of two weeks.

This may be counted in either week,

But not in both.

However,

A rest period of at least 69 hours in total may be counted as two back-to-back weekly rests,

E.

G.

,

A 45-hour weekly rest followed by 24 hours,

Provided the driver does not exceed 144 hours' work,

Either before or after the rest period in question.

Where reduced weekly rest periods are taken away from base,

These may be taken in a vehicle provided it has suitable sleeping facilities and is stationary.

Provided that road safety is not jeopardized and to enable a driver to reach a suitable stopping place,

A departure from the EU rules may be permitted to the extent necessary to ensure the safety of persons,

The vehicle,

Or its load.

Drivers must note all reasons for doing so on the back of their tachograph record sheets if using an analog tachograph,

Or on a printout or temporary sheet if using a digital tachograph at the latest on reaching the suitable stopping place.

Repeated and regular occurrences,

However,

Might indicate to enforcement officers that employers were not in fact scheduling work to enable compliance with the applicable rules.

Heavy work time requirements in New Zealand are a break of at least 30 minutes every five and a half hours of work time,

Maximum cumulative work time of 13 hours,

Plus two times 30-minute breaks and one cumulative work day before a 10-hour break is required,

Giving a total of 24 hours.

After 70 hours of accumulated work,

A driver must have a break of at least 24 hours.

If you are subject to the work time limits and are required to complete a logbook,

You must record all your work and rest times in a logbook approved by the transport agency.

You can only maintain one logbook at a time.

Emergency services drivers can exceed work hours when attending priority calls.

In the United States,

The hours of service,

HOS,

Of commercial drivers are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,

FMCSA.

Commercial motor vehicle,

CMV,

Drivers are limited to 11 cumulative hours driving in a 14-hour period,

Following a rest period of no fewer than 10 consecutive hours.

Drivers employed by carriers in daily operation may not work more than 70 hours and continue driving within any period of eight consecutive days.

Drivers must maintain a daily 24-hour logbook record of duty status documenting all work and rest periods.

The record of duty status must be kept current to the last change of duty status and records of the previous seven days retained by the driver in the truck and presented to law enforcement officials on demand.

Electronic onboard recorders,

EOBR,

Can automatically record,

Among other things,

The time the vehicle is in motion or stopped.

An FMCSA ruling mandated use of EOBRs,

Also known as Electronic Logging Device,

ELD,

Began on the 18th of December 2017.

The new mandate applies to all carriers not under FMCSA exemptions.

A shortage of truck drivers has been reported in the United States.

Retention rates are low.

Truck drivers are paid according to many different methods.

These include salary,

Hourly,

And a number of methods,

Which can be broadly defined as piecework.

Piecework methods may include both a base rate and additional pay.

Base rates either compensate drivers by the mile or by the load.

A company driver who makes a number of less than truck load LTL deliveries via box truck or conventional tractor trailer may be paid an hourly wage,

A certain amount per mile,

Per stop,

A.

K.

A.

Drop or dock bump,

Or per piece delivered,

Unloaded,

Or tailgated,

I.

E.

Moved to the rear of the trailer.

The main advantage of being paid by the mile may be that a driver is rewarded according to measurable accomplishment.

The main disadvantage is that what a driver may accomplish is not so directly related to the effort,

And perhaps especially the time required for completion.

Household good drivers deal with the most complexity and thus are typically the highest paid.

Potentially making multiples of a scheduled freight hauler.

Mileage calculations vary from carrier to carrier.

Hub miles or odometer miles,

Hub refers to hub-o-meter,

A mechanical odometer mounted to an axle,

Pay the driver for every mile.

Calculations are generally limited to no more than 3 to 5 percent above the estimates of mileage by the carrier before red flags appear,

Depending on the carrier's financial compensation or how it rates the mileage estimation capabilities of the software used.

One version of hub miles includes only those per carrier designated route,

I.

E.

A set number of miles.

Out-of-route miles of any incentive are provided by the driver to the carrier for free.

Many of the largest long-haul trucking companies in the United States pay their drivers according to short miles.

Short miles are the absolute shortest distance between two or more zip codes,

Literally a straight line drawn across the map.

These short miles rarely reflect the actual miles required to pick up and deliver freight,

But they will be used to calculate driver earnings.

Short miles are on average about 10 percent less than actual miles,

But in some cases the difference can be as large as 50 percent.

An extreme but not unheard of example would be a load that picked up in Brownsville,

Texas and delivered in Miami,

Florida,

A journey requiring a driver to travel 1,

600 miles.

The short routing,

However,

Would measure the distance as only 750 miles,

As if the truck could drive across the Gulf of Mexico.

Another extreme example would be a load that picked up in Buffalo,

New York and delivered in Green Bay,

Wisconsin,

Not giving any consideration that three of America's Great Lakes lie between that load's origin and destination.

Other obvious obstacles would be mountains and canyons.

Truck prohibited routes sometimes create this same phenomenon,

Requiring drivers to drive several truck legal routes and approach a destination from behind,

Essentially driving a fish-hooked shape route,

Because the most direct route cannot accommodate heavy truck traffic.

Some trucking companies have tried to alleviate these discrepancies by paying their drivers according to practical miles.

This occurs when dispatchers provide a route to follow and pay the driver accordingly based on the route.

This is done to compensate drivers for the actual work done.

These routes largely follow the interstate highway system,

But sometimes require drivers to use state and U.

S.

Highways and toll roads.

Trucking companies practice this method to attract and retain veteran drivers.

Household Goods,

HHG Miles,

From the Household Goods Mileage Guide,

Aka Short Miles,

Was a first attempt at standardizing motor carrier freight rates for movers of household goods.

Some say at the behest of the Department of Defense for moving soldiers around the country long a major source of steady and reliable revenue.

Rand McNally,

In conjunction with the precursor of the National Moving and Storage Association,

Developed the first guide published in 1936,

At which point it contained only about 300 point-to-point mileages.

Today,

The 19th version of the guide has grown to contain distances between more than 140,

000 cities,

Zip codes,

Or highway junctions.

Percentage-based pay is a common pay structure for owner-operators signed on to haul freight for specific companies.

In this type of pay structure,

Owner-operators are paid a percentage of the gross load revenue.

This percentage varies depending on the services provided by the company.

For example,

An owner-operator who receives 95% of the load revenue may only be provided with dispatch services,

While an owner-operator who receives 65% of the load revenue may have a company-provided trailer,

Insurance,

Or other benefits.

In most cases,

The owner-operator also receives 100% of the fuel surcharges.

While not common,

Company-drivers can also be paid by percentage of the load.

This is typically a percentage of revenue,

The same as owner-operators,

With some company-drivers instead paid a percentage of the load profit.

Companies such as Dupre Logistics,

Which traditionally paid by the mile,

Have switched to hourly wages.

Regional and local drivers are usually paid by the hour.

In 2011,

The U.

S.

Bureau of Labor Statistics,

BLS,

Reported the average heavy and over-the-road truck driver hourly wage to be $21.

74 per hour.

The BLS reported in 2012 that the median hourly wage was $18.

37 per hour.

In May 2013,

The BLS reported a mean average hourly pay ranging from $12.

21,

The bottom 10%,

To $28.

66 per hour,

Top 10%.

In March 2014,

Payscale published that the entry-level truck driver ranged from $11.

82 to $20.

22 an hour,

And the average hourly rate was reported as $15.

53 an hour.

Certain special industry driving jobs,

Such as oilfield services like vacuum,

Dry bulk,

And winch truck drivers,

Can receive a $22 or higher hourly wage.

A December 2020 survey found the average truck driver in the United States works 70 to 80 hours per week,

And earns between $0.

28 to $0.

40 per mile.

In Australia,

Heavy vehicle licenses are issued by the states,

But are a national standard.

There are five classes of license required by drivers of heavy vehicles.

A light rigid,

LR class license,

Covers a rigid vehicle with a gross vehicle mass,

GVM,

Not more than 8 tons,

With a towed trailer not more than 8 tons,

Weighing more than 9 tons,

GTM,

Gross trailer mass.

Also,

Buses with a GVM up to 8 tons,

Which carry more than 12 adults,

Including the driver.

A medium rigid,

MR class license,

Covers a rigid vehicle with two axles,

And a GVM of more than 8 tons,

With a towed trailer not weighing more than 9 tons,

GTM.

A heavy rigid,

HR class license,

Covers a rigid vehicle with three or more axles,

With a towed trailer,

Not weighing more than 9 tons,

GTM.

Also,

Articulated buses.

A heavy combination,

HC class license,

Covers semi-trailers,

Or rigid vehicles towing a trailer,

With a GTM of more than 9 tons.

A multi-combination,

MC class license,

Covers multi-combination vehicles,

Like road trains,

And B double vehicles.

A person must have a C class car license for one year,

Before they can apply for an LR or MR class license,

And two years before they can apply for an HR.

To upgrade to an HC class license,

A person must have an MR or HR class license for one year.

To upgrade to an MC class license,

A person must have an HR or HC class license for one year.

Driver's licenses in Canada,

Including commercial vehicle licenses,

Are issued and regulated provincially.

Regarding CDLs,

Commercial driver's licenses,

There is no standardization between provinces and territories.

In the EU,

One or more of the categories of large goods vehicles,

LGV licenses,

Is required.

The United States employs a truck classification system,

And truck drivers are required to have a commercial driver's license to operate a CMV with a gross vehicle weight rating exceeding 26,

000 pounds.

Reviews

I have had problems falling asleep for as long as I remember. The kind that when I want to sleep, my brain is like "Sleep? No way! PARTY TIME!"
I fell asleep during all the regulations about sleep times for the truckers. One hour later, I was wide awake again. But tonight is a very hot and sweaty summer night. So I will try this one again on another night.
Thank you very much for all the effort you put in these sleep stories. The sleep regulations for the truckers were so numbing that even my bouncing brain gave up.

Kind of interesting Benjamin but at least I missed the grande finale! 🤣

Thank you Ben!! It’s always a treat when I open up my app and see you have a new episode!!! I slept great!!!😴😴😴

Thanks, Benjamin. I got a really good night of sleep 😴 💤