Yellow | A simple phone call.

[Northern Flash]

I was recently returning home from my P & D run when the sandman paid me a visit. I couldn't keep my eyes open no matter what I tried. I was surprised that I was struggling so much since I had gotten at least eight hours of sleep last night. I had an empty lunch box, other than what was left over from my ice bottle. Sipping that wasn't helping to wake me up. I had the radio on, that wasn't helping either. I had even resorted to the ol' shaking my head trick to clear the cobwebs. When that didn't help, I even tried the slapping of the face trick, in an attempt to clear the cobwebs. I guess that I was just relaxed so much, mentally and physically, from the near completion of a long week, that I couldn't stay awake. And I still had over thirty miles to go to get back to the terminal. Then my cell phone rang......

It was a friend of mine that had just got home from work, and wanted to give me some news that he had just received. We only talked for a total of one minute and seven seconds. We kept it short and to the point since he was at home on his family's time. When we hung up, I replayed our conversation in my head and continued on home. When I pulled into the terminal, I realized how that one simple phone call changed my trip home. After we had hung up, I was no longer struggling to stay awake. The call had given me something new to think about and even stimulated new thoughts. The remainder of the trip had gone fast and I was at full alert the whole time......because of a simple phone call.

My point is this........Every time I turn around I see new articles about the banning of cell phone use in commercial vehicles and different type of regulations on cell phone use. And quite frankly, I think that it is ridiculous. Everyone talks about "distracted" driving. Well how about this question. How many accidents can a simple phone call like the one I received PREVENT? Nobody seems to look at it from a driver's perspective. This simple phone call changed my alertness for the remainder of the trip.

Should I have stopped to walk around and wake myself up? Maybe. Would I have stopped to wake myself up? Probably not. We've all been there. We naturally push ourselves further than we should, even with what seems like clouds in our eyes. But there are no statistics that record how many accidents that a cell phone may have prevented.

Do we need to make good judgements on when we should be using cell phones? Absolutely. We are professionals and should be able to make that decision. We don't need Government to make it for us. But, to ban cell phones in commercial vehicles would be ridiculous.

Just a simple phone call made the trip safer for myself and for the public.

 

[canadian]

Say what? You live in winter country and you should be prepared.

You slept 8 hours the night before so the obvious question is how many hours did you work the following day?

I would have pulled off somewhere and turned off the cell phone and the car and slept for an hour and I have done so, in the winter. We don't want to lose you.

I keep the following in my car and used it once and the candles really help for heat. I had 4 going at once...........


24 bottles water
4 blankets
2 pairs of spare socks
pair of gloves
Both waterproof matches and a lighter for the 12 candles that will help add heat to the car. I also have 4 empty coffee cans to place the jarred candles in when lit to prevent an accident. Remember to open your car window a crack when the candle is lit.

 

[7072205]

I would have pulled off somewhere and turned off the cell phone and the car and slept for an hour and I have done so, in the winter. [/B]

you drive a car and we are in a truck.............. are you even a truck driver??? or you think you are? candles..... really candles!! were they scented

 

[7072205]

when sleep tries to overcome you: heres what to do: try to think of something you like to do... fix your kitchen cabinets or something in your house or your car or bike try doing it in a step by step way . (keep your mind moving just like your wheels on your truck.) the sugar or other nutrients{too much is not good for you it will reduce your brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is responsible for the development of new brain tissue. If you didn’t have this chemical in your brain, your brain wouldn’t develop properly and you would die very soon after birth. The key to BDNF is to understand what it does: it helps to create new neurons (nerve tissue), and, therefore new memories.} what is left in you goes to the brain and help give it a kick start. it has been shown that exercise is great for your brain, and it increases BDNF. BDNF info is from OlsonND. so try to stretch your legs or back to move some blood in that poor circulating sitting position you are in. if that is not doing it for you, you can practice boxing : ie put one hand on the wheel and drive and the other hand punch in the air about 10 times and do the same for your other hand 10 times this actually helps you get to tone your arms and move the blood in you. talking on the phone helps you to get out of that bored monotony situation you are in. as your talking you are thinking what next to say (good or bad) this helps to stimulate the brain. The brain works by controlling the function of the body especially automatic nervous system (ANS). It controls our heart beat, blood circulating, breathing, sweating, and all other systems in the body. Another function of the brain is to think. The brain thinks by receiving signals from our receptors of five senses including vision, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and kinesthetic. If we talk in a layman term they are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching respectively. The sensory organs send the signals to the brain to interpret the meaning. We interpret it by comparing with the history record that we have to see what meaning we have for the received signals. The brain then orders the body to react according to the result of the meaning it gets from the processing step. This leads to how we feel and respond a certain way to the event. This process is called conscious level function of the brain. Because we know all the way about the process of thinking and interpreting, we call the process conscious. The conscious mind controls how we react to the circumstances. The thinking process in the conscious mind is through the words we communicate to ourselves. It controls the action and reaction including how we perform responsively. The function of the conscious brain is similar to the data processing program in the computer. It take input or what ever you type on, sensory reception, and process, thinking, and finally output onto your screen, action. EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints

 

[jimmy g]

NF-- post your phone number. We'll call you all day long, just to make sure you're safe.....

 

[Spaghetti]

Say what? You live in winter country and you should be prepared.

You slept 8 hours the night before so the obvious question is how many hours did you work the following day?

I would have pulled off somewhere and turned off the cell phone and the car and slept for an hour and I have done so, in the winter. We don't want to lose you.

I keep the following in my car and used it once and the candles really help for heat. I had 4 going at once...........


24 bottles water
4 blankets
2 pairs of spare socks
pair of gloves
Both waterproof matches and a lighter for the 12 candles that will help add heat to the car. I also have 4 empty coffee cans to place the jarred candles in when lit to prevent an accident. Remember to open your car window a crack when the candle is lit.

Don't forget the Granola bars, or the MRE's.

 

[stpinindy]

Jimmy G, myself and others at the same company regularly call each other with road conditions. Our phone calls prevent even more accidents that way( we also keep each other awake).

 

[Northern Flash]

Say what? You live in winter country and you should be prepared.

You slept 8 hours the night before so the obvious question is how many hours did you work the following day?

I would have pulled off somewhere and turned off the cell phone and the car and slept for an hour and I have done so, in the winter. We don't want to lose you.

I keep the following in my car and used it once and the candles really help for heat. I had 4 going at once...........


24 bottles water
4 blankets
2 pairs of spare socks
pair of gloves
Both waterproof matches and a lighter for the 12 candles that will help add heat to the car. I also have 4 empty coffee cans to place the jarred candles in when lit to prevent an accident. Remember to open your car window a crack when the candle is lit.

With all do respect Brother, you missed the point. Please go back and re-read my post. It's not about survival in my car or in my Holland truck. It's about the value of having a cell phone. The Govt. is trying to ban cell phones in commercial vehicles. The critics bash the cell phone usage. My example is a viewpoint that none of these pencil pushers can relate to. Cell phones can actually keep a driver alert also, when they're used with common sense. Anyone that has driven a truck for very long has had those days when they simply couldn't stay alert.

By the way.....I had already taken my 1/2 hour lunch. I'm guessing that I would end up unemployed after taking the 1 hour nap that you suggested.

 

[turboj]

NF-- post your phone number. We'll call you all day long, just to make sure you're safe.....

And we could call him at night too, every half hour on the half hour!

 

[Northern Flash]

And we could call him at night too, every half hour on the half hour!

Every half hour? That would be OK, I guess. You wouldn't interrupt anything here.

 

[Jay C]

a hands off blue-tooth device would work

and be legal duh!​

 

[Northern Flash]

a hands off blue-tooth device would work

and be legal duh!​

That's exactly what I have. It's legal for now, but won't be for long if they get their way. The cell phones and hand free are against company policy already though.

 

[Jay C]

That's exactly what I have. It's legal for now, but won't be for long if they get their way. The cell phones and hand free are against company policy already though.

what call could be that important that it can't wait till you're not driving?

 

[MRjlm66]

Good post Northern Flash and you're right. a cellphone in a commercial vehicle has many good uses.
a distraction is only a distraction if you will it to be.

 

[Northern Flash]

what call could be that important that it can't wait till you're not driving?

The one that wakes a driver up......that's the one. Maybe the call that gets the driver's mind going again and prevents an accident. The couch allows you to drift off to sleep whenever you feel like it. But, for the ones of us that are still working, we need be on high alert. And sometimes a quick phone call can do the trick. Get it?

 

[Jay C]

speaking of distractions..I doubt there is any worse distraction then being sleeping
behind the wheel..what you ate and when you ate it should be looked at as the culprit

 

[CDL holder]

Northern Flash, I'm with you!

Traffic crashes have decreased year-over-year while the use of cell phones have grown exponentially at the same time. The evidence does not support the popular anti-cellphone arguments.

 

[tutone710]

sandy pope

Hang up and drive

 

[CDL holder]

yeah, Sandy Pope, hang up and drive!

 

[bfalls]

USDOT Reg 392.3

With all do respect Brother, you missed the point. Please go back and re-read my post. It's not about survival in my car or in my Holland truck. It's about the value of having a cell phone. The Govt. is trying to ban cell phones in commercial vehicles. The critics bash the cell phone usage. My example is a viewpoint that none of these pencil pushers can relate to. Cell phones can actually keep a driver alert also, when they're used with common sense. Anyone that has driven a truck for very long has had those days when they simply couldn't stay alert.

By the way.....I had already taken my 1/2 hour lunch. I'm guessing that I would end up unemployed after taking the 1 hour nap that you suggested.

DOT Regulation: 392.3, Ill or Fatigued Driver. In a nutshell, No operator shall be compelled to operate while Ill of Fatigued. If the company tries to discipline you because you became fatigued during the course of your duties, they CAN'T because it's a violation of Federal Law. If you no longer feel safe operating the vehicle, pull over! I agree with you on the phone issue, I've had the same experiences over the years with fatigue. Sometimes even 8 hrs of rest isn't enough. 30 minutes out of the barn, and you feel like you've been at it for 11 hrs. Other times, you get to the end of your 13th hr and are still raring to go. The circadian body clock has it's own agenda, and like the old saying goes, sometimes you feel like the nut, sometimes you don't!