TIPS FOR NIGHT TRUCK DRIVING
Even though many truckers love to drive at night, there are a few things you should know about night driving. The first is that the night is when you are at your lowest point. This means that working overnight requires you to work against the natural rhythm of your body.
You face the risk of being less attentive while driving at night as a result. Given that visibility is also a problem during these hauls, circumstances can lead to a very dangerous situation. Truckers must follow safety precautions when they are on the road, and even more so if the trips involve night shifts. Here are a few tips to help you get set for the next night time trucking trip.
Do Not Drive While Tired or Sick
Whether it is daytime or nighttime, you should never drive when tired. If you are, you shouldn't take the chance of operating an 18-wheeler at night because it's very hazardous. Driving while fatigued has an impact on your awareness and reaction time. In order to securely and flawlessly complete a nighttime drive inside your truck, you must be well rested when you are driving.
Driving at night can be made easier if you are in good health because it helps you focus more. The lab test is the fundamental thing you can do. It should become a routine. A simple CBC test measures your red and white blood cells as well as other blood components like hemoglobin levels. This can identify the presence of viruses and bacteria as well as potential inflammatory processes.
Checking your eyesight is also crucial before operating a truck at night. Higher diopters and astigmatism require the use of the proper glasses or contact lenses.
Check and adjust Lighting
Your truck lights are one of the most crucial parts of the vehicle in the darkest hours of the night. Since they serve as your primary source of vision while you are driving, any issue with your lights renders you legally blind. For this reason, before you agree to take night drives, you need to change fuses and perform significant checks and replacements.
Be ready for late-night disturbances to the illumination as well. You should therefore become familiar with changing and inspecting fuses and wiring. Make sure you carry out your pre-travel, major trip, and post-trip inspections so that you can reduce risk as much as possible.
The dashboard lights on trucks at night might be annoying also. It's critical to pay attention to your truck's lights when you travel across interstates through rural areas devoid of habitation and streetlights. It can be perplexing to combine light from the cab with scant outside visibility. You don’t have to turn off the dashboard lights completely of course, but darken it enough that you can receive information.
Plan your trip ahead
It should be predetermined where you will stop, where you will take a break, and where your other truck stops will be. This means that you should prepare your route in advance to avoid stopping on the side of the road in the dark.
Not to mention that violent crime tends to increase at night. Additional stops might not be advantageous for you. You can bring a notebook with you to make planning easier. Your overnight schedule, travel instructions, and more should be recorded in this notebook. You won't stray from the task at hand if you do it this way.
Driving at night needs to be treated seriously. Simply said, you have less visibility of the road ahead of you, less space to stop, and less time to stop if necessary regardless of experience. So plan you trip ahead and stay safe.