i found years ago when i used to do silly driving hours in a day that a ■■■■ used to wake me up 
tommy t:
I can remember the days that i did van work, used to do Preston>>>Deeside or Heathrow >Copenhagen on average it would take around 18hrs ferries included, Before the days of tracking and Double manning/running in a convoy
I would get into Holland and stop a few times for a coffee or tank up and a coffee, but would always try and find a quiet spot on the ferry for a kip or at lest rest the eyes , once there if the gaff wasn’t open sleep time, they would always wake you up when they wanted you to tip, after reloading usually after around 4-5hrs it would be run back to heathrow or deeside , then rinse & repeat it used to pay £220 per trip inc n/o a couple of lads did it 3 times in the same week
But yet i can remember Leaving our house around 6-7pm >> heathrow by 10:30 11:00 pm then into T4 usually wait around for Customs clearance or for it to arrive , one time waited till around 4am then had to take it up to Houghton le spring then back to Preston
That time i got as far as Mansfield on the M1,i could not keep the van in lane, so i pulled off the M way into the 1st layby , locked the doors thought i would have an hour ,across the seats left engine running so i wouldn’t be cold , i woke several hours later to the works phone ringing ,It’s not so much the driving but when you stop for long enough then it gets you, things like ferries and waiting to be loaded/tipped ect
Oh, the trip down memory lane I’m having here…
truckerjon:
Drink a coffee, then try to sleep for 15 minutes. The first 15 minutes of any sleep are the best for you, and when you wake up, the caffine is starting to take effect
+1
10 minute power naps
or screaming
Screaming most effective if you can’t stop, but your voice will be hoarse
claretmatt:
10 minute power napsor screaming
Screaming most effective if you can’t stop, but your voice will be hoarse
Haha! I tried screaming once, but it just sounded like someone else screaming a long way off.
Though I s’pose if I hadn’t pulled over right then there would have been lots of people screaming.
OnlyAlan:
Winseer:
Are there many firms out there pushing people to do a 15 hour as a compulsory thing?There is one a couple of miles from me - well known for it. AND they pay CE drivers the princely rate of — wait for it — £7.25 per hour (C = £6.75, C1 = £6.25). No increased overtime rate either. Many of their guys regularly do 15 hour days and, amazingly, some of them have been there for years and are still alive!
Not for me though, as much as I like driving, I would sooner stack shelves in Asda.
Too late for this near-to-retirement fella though I guess…
truckerjon:
Drink a coffee, then try to sleep for 15 minutes. The first 15 minutes of any sleep are the best for you, and when you wake up, the caffine is starting to take effect
^+1
If you can master the “power nap” you’ll be laughing. 10 - 15 mins does me for a couple of hours, usually enough to get home. I’ve been on permanent nights for nearly 10 years now, and that works for me.
Head out window is best I’ve found , and got to agree rain does hurt and you can’t really see lol
This thread is a perfect example of why our industry has to change its attitude to the working day.
Imagine an outsider reading these posts, visions of caffiened up zombies with matchstick propped eyes cruising down the roads in a semi trance.
Suppose that why they put rumble strips in the white lines along the hard shoulder and outside lane, slightly less dramatic waking up than the sound of screeching metal as they run along the armco.
…If you’ve just had a taste the difference vindaloo, you won’t need to drift onto the bumpy white lines to get a ‘rumble’! 
Used to get a bout of them around 2 in the afternoon towards the end of the week without fail, so annoying. Just the sun low in the sky, people heading out to pick up the kids, M25, steve wright combo. Evil.
Lots of foot stamping and pinching of thigh. If I pull over for a sleep, I need best part of an hour to feel any better.
Switched to nights, and dont get any sort of problem. Work that one out.
In the past I have taken my shirt off and scratched by belly until it bled 
Now I just pull up and jump on the bed for 15, it is amazing what those few minutes can do, any more and you will feel much worse
I don’t really get that bad anymore. But then I am doing about half the hours I was a few years back. When I was at HSF I used to flag around the 24th hour, so I’d stop and cook breakfast, that usually worked. Well, I say stopped… 
always carry a sleeve of pro-plus with me 2 lasts me 3hrs
another option are the max strength flu meds as they contain pseudoephrine and caffiene find they last longer than the pro-plus
strongbowpeter:
‘…take your shoes off … sounds daft but it works…’
Sounds fine when confined to the cab (obviously 
)
Is it 100% legal?
chicane:
‘…always carry … pro-plus … and caffiene …’
I’d advocate both or either for unforeseen & emergency use only.
Caffeine knackers significant aspects of the uptake and maintenance of the body’s calcium - so beware of one’s exposure to osteoarthritis as 1 in 10 or 12-ish blokes already have a pre-disposition to suffer from it without further antagonising it with the dastardly & mood-shifting caffeine.
Fruit Pastells / Wine gums help me.
On days, I just phone my mates, I find as long as I’m chatting, I’m not tired, but that’s not possible on nights, so the sweeties.
Have a look at this YT vid, it may make us remember to stay awake or stop for 10.
youtube.com/watch?v=L4zGPe4d7W8
I note the time likely to get traffic like this at the same time as being dead beat would be morning rush hour right?
I hate coming back from Fradley Park (4hr20 drive starting @ 03:45ish) which is the only time I find myself bouncing up and down in my seat, radio blaring, windows wide open, and fighting the fatigue kicking and screaming! 
Winseer:
I note the time likely to get traffic like this at the same time as being dead beat would be morning rush hour right?
I hate coming back from Fradley Park (4hr20 drive starting @ 03:45ish) which is the only time I find myself bouncing up and down in my seat, radio blaring, windows wide open, and fighting the fatigue kicking and screaming!
■■■■ that, thats a long drive at that time in the morning. If im on nights, i find about an hour and a half is my limit around the 5 to 6 am area. 
I’ve only done that run a total of 11 times in the last year fortunately. Guess where I happen to be at the morning rush hour point? - Going anticlockwise around the M25 near heathrow of course… 
That was a good payer that run, but by God, - you earn it!