Truck drivers are the pioneers of non-glamorized travel, and sometimes the journey is a payoff in itself. Truck drivers meet new people every single day, and witness the beauty of places very few people visit. Every waking moment holds the promise of a meaningful experience, but the transition to and from them can be quite tricky, even dangerous.
Night Fever
After a day filled with new people and new landmarks, you find yourself driving in the middle of nowhere as the sun sinks on the horizon. The cargo is due in the next few days, and you still have a great distance to cover. You decide to pass a truck stop to make time, but a few hours later the road starts dimming and the roar of your engine declines into a soothing hum. You are in big trouble.
Truck driving is draining. Anyone who has travelled knows how just sitting in a moving vehicle takes a toll on a person. Now you are that person, gripping the wheel of 6×4 semi carrying what you presume are box loads of TV dinners. You crank up the radio to stay awake; those TV dinners must make it to the good people of Chickasaw County.
Staying Alive
The festive tunes from a South American FM station fill the cabin. You feel reinvigorated, but disconcerted. You find a talk station that you listen to for a few minutes before your eyelids start weighing down again. The thing about being fit for radio is having that smooth, buttery voice. Butter just reminded you of the TV dinners you have at the back. Now you are not just drowsy, your stomach is craving for a midnight snack.
You think to yourself, maybe eating will give you that boost of energy you need until you reach the next truck stop. This is true, but eating excessive amounts of food or drinking a lot of caffeine will cause your body to crash, along with the 60,000 pounds of steel and steaks you are guiding along the highway. You grab a box of Wheat Thins you frankly don’t remember buying and lay it open on the dashboard. You start snacking to distracting Bee Gees melodies. Having the radio on is just another stimulus to keep your brain awake, while tiring it at the same time. You turn the radio off until you finish off the box.
The next truck stop comes into view, and you turn in for the remainder of the night there. Your education from Smith & Solomon Training Solutions tells you that naps and exercise are also great ways to avoid drowsiness on the road. If only exercise sounded better than naps.
Truck driving is a difficult profession. Exhaustion, pressure to meet a deadline, perilous routes, long hours, isolation, and drowsiness are some of the major issues when going on an interstate transport mission. But, the rewards often outweigh the hardships, as long as you manage to stay awake to enjoy them.
