Should it be acceptable?
I think in most professions it’s usually looked down upon and your expected to go to work anyway.
But sleep deprived driving is a major cause of accidents; I knew a guy who recently went into the central reservation due to lack of sleep.
telegraph.co.uk/science/201 … ind-wheel/
Maybe not going sick, but certainly in my book if I’m tired due to serious sleep disruption I’ll not be driving. Wouldn’t expect to be paid for the day either, and if it got to be a frequent occurrence I’d expect my employer to invoke their “Capability and Conduct” process.
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If you work for a supermarket you will probably get away with it, because as we all know, you are not real drivers 
mrginge:
If you work for a supermarket you will probably get away with it, because as we all know, you are not real drivers
Although you’re likely to get away with it because they’re proper companies who run trucks as a byproduct of their business. I doubt you’d get away with it at a family business if I’m honest
That’s easy.
If sufficient sleep and rest was a genuine and major concern to the powers that be in this industry, there wouldn’t be the ridiculous rules, that allow you to do 15 hour days with 9 hour rests (and consecutively 
) ,… but it aint, and there are. 
So… either make sure you are fit to drive by YOU being the judge of how much time off you have between shifts (instead of using minimum rest limits as targets) as I tend to do .
…or…
■■■■ it up.
You’re welcome.
Seeing as serious Sleep Apnoea can result in your licence being revoked it is something that should be taken seriously.
Having a heart condition, sleep apnoea and the side effects of medication leaving me knackered most of the time is the main reason I don’t even drive a car at the moment.
If you notice the improvement in you outlook , attention span , reactions and general mood and wellbeing after a decent sleep , it relates to how bad it must be if your tired , irritable and grumpy and incharge of upto 44t of killing machine .
You don’t necessarily have to have had 8-10 hrs of sleep but you need a good amount of REM sleep .
There is more and more evidence emerging showing the link to healthy sleep habits and longer healthier lives .
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That’s all true but I suspect when you phone the office to tell them your not coming in today due to not getting any sleep/tiredness I suspect they wont be too impressed. 
I can sort of understand why though; when I was in the warehouse I would often go 2 days without sleep and if I worked in a office I could easily do the same.
Doesn’t it depend on the reason you aren’t getting enough sleep?
If it IS a medical reason then you go on the sick. If it is due to an over active social life then you’re taking the mickey. If you were keep awake by an outside noise, then maybe stay off for one day, BUT ensure you take steps to eliminate the cause of disturbance.*
*Cue comments from new parents.
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I’d highly recommend getting a fitbit watch. They track your sleep and break it down between, deep, rem and light sleep (all 3 are important).
It’s amazing how much more refreshed you feel after a good chunk of deep sleep. I’ve had it many times where I thought I had a long good night but still felt tired in the morning, when I checked the app less than 30 mins deep sleep. Then I’ve had it where I was only in bed 4 hours but 2 of them were deep sleep and I felt great.
If you have a record of not turning in because of lack of sleep for whatever reason and they then go on to discipline you and then you go on to have an accident the company will be in as much ■■■■ as you. Working 60hr+ weeks is going to kill you its not 1970 anymore…
I’ve seen the other side of the coin too, where on a really top notch job (reasonable hours, serious pay) the usual suspects still can’t help themselves take the ■■■■.
One such regular was seen at an event late the previous night, and phoned in the morning saying he wouldn’t be in through lack of sleep, salaried so expected to be paid too, this was just one example of this individual, i could rant on all bloody day about him and still only cover the bit you can see above the surface.
If the job involves early starts, then it is the drivers responsibilty to make sure their life is arranged to suit the job, the company are not a charity nor your bloody social worker, if you can’t do lorry driver typical early starts get a soddin job doing pen pusher hours.
And no you do not have to comply with bloody 9 or less hour rest periods, they cannot make you take less than 11 hours, don’t be pushed into sheer exhaustion.
For me my problem (I THINK) is it’s shift work.
I’m on a 12 week rolling rota and my start times will vary from 10:00AM to 12:30pm
Also my finish times vary daily from 7:00PM to 01:30M. Some days I work 7 hour shifts some days I work 13 hour shifts.
I’ve had sleep issues for a while but I finished work today and I was seriously tired when I got home and I just couldn’t get to sleep. In the end I managed to get about 3 hours of sleep but still didn’t feel great and the night before that I had like 4-5 hours of sleep.
According to google I may be having:
"Shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder characterized by insomnia and excessive sleepiness affecting people whose work hours overlap with the typical sleep period.
"
That is a crap shift system rotating like that Adam, your hours aren’t especially long for lorrying, but that rota wants kicking into the river…at Kwik Save there was a rota but they allowed us to swap shifts among ourselves, so long as the job got covered they were happy, everyone got what they wanted within reason, might be worth pursuing that
Kay’s catalogue used come in handy some 40 years ago for helping a chap get to sleep, much better sources of inspiration around now, so i’m told 
I also never have the same days off.
E.g. one week I may have Thursday and Friday off but the week after I may have Monday and Wednesday off.
I think the answer may be to find another job. 
I’ve managed it for about 6 months but it’s starting to drain me now.
Must be some evil mother to dream up that shift pattern and staggering your rest days too.
Yep another job pronto, the sooner outfits like this go out of business the better.
I’ve once fallen asleep (for a few seconds) behind the wheel of the truck. Scared the life out of me.
I was driving back. That was my last shift there. And I vowed I’d never put myself in the position where it could happen again.
So… If I’m really really exhausted - I’m either sleeping in the cab for a bit or I’m staying/going home. Jobs are not important enough for me to risk wiping out someone family.
FAO - those who want to call it a lifestyle decision to be exhausted. Take Robroys 9 hours rest… And then add an agency harassing you with phone calls to ‘confirm’ something you have already said you’d do in the middle. Throw in start times that change daily - and it’s a recipe for disaster.
My viewpoint will not be popular. But people should really ask if they would rather a driver ‘made the call’ and said it’s unsafe - or if they’d rather their family and loved ones be driving along the same road as that driver. I think the macho culture and digs at blokes who do what their body and conscience tell them is disgraceful.
Im with Juddian on those shifts....tommy tank aint they 
But, a lot of drivers don`t help themselves regarding their R+R, whether its the tinternet, pub, TV or dogging…
I had a lad of 35, who didn’t last on a job where he told me he was a tramper, this individual just could not do 200 miles without at least two coffee breaks [his words, but in real terms, shut eye breaks], he just couldn’t do it.
It was only when another driver casually mentioned this particular driver`s Facebook usage that it all clicked into place, he was on it every night till way past midnight…talking complete bollox to all and sundry
But, to anybody who would listen, he was being slave driven and pushed to the limit everyday 
He didn’t last, and has since admitted that it wasn’t the job for him, he is now doing multi-drop locals on 8 hour shifts, for a lot less money apparently, but a better quality of life…
4on-4off baby… 4on -4off. …
Sleep apnea is now a big deal over here. When a driver goes for a medical and ticks the yes box for sleep apnea he has to bring the last 30 days of C-PAP print outs. If he ticks the no box but the doctor thinks the driver is a candidate for sleep apnea then he will not issue a card till the driver has a sleep test.
I worked in a big Sunblest bakery many years ago on the three shift system 1week of 6-2 ,1 week of 2-10 then a week of 10-6 .
It was a killer , it was thursday before you knew which way was up and finishing nights at 6 on a Saturday morning then starting at 6 on monday was very tiring. We eventually persuaded the manager to let us do a month on each shift and us three shift managers found that we slept much better and had a much better lifestyle.
Tramping and the very varied start times are most disruptive but I found the worst to be double manning on long distance jobs pushing the max hours for several days on the trot .
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