Spring Forward: Daylight Saving Time for Truck Drivers
Spring Forward: Daylight Saving Time for Truck Drivers
It’s that time of the year again, where we move our clocks one hour ahead, lose one hour of sleep and offset our circadian rhythm. On March 13th people around the country will be setting their clocks forward once again. Daylight Saving Time (DST) can cause many people to lose valuable shut eye. For truck drivers, this one hour of sleep is crucial for performance and safety. Truck drivers are known to work long hours hauling goods. With a time-disruptor like DST, they are more at risk for driving while drowsy and experiencing burnout, slowed cognition and delayed reaction times from lack of sleep. All factors that can lead to an increased risk of accidents.
Daylight Saving Time can take a serious toll on truck drivers in a variety of ways, including sleep schedules and on-the-road safety. How can drivers stay on top of Daylight Saving Time? How does PTP Transport incorporate a culture of safety into our fleet, not just during Daylight Saving Time, but year-round?
Prevention is Key to Safe Driving
As with most safety measures, prevention is key to reducing mental and physical fatigue, avoiding burnout and preventing accidents. Planning is a crucial part of preparing for Daylight Saving Time and can help truck drivers adjust smoothly. A great way to plan for Daylight Saving Time is to mark your calendars, so that the time change doesn’t have a chance to sneak up on you. In addition, adjusting your sleep schedule ahead of time is crucial if you want to stave off fatigue and stay alert. Since other drivers on the road are also getting used to the time change, being alert is especially important for drivers during this time.
Finally, be time aware. Just because you have extra light, does not mean you must take advantage of it, without prior planning. If your schedule is flexible, and you can plan driving hours, take advantage of the extra light, without compromising your driving hours or exceeding drive time because you are not time aware.
How PTP Transport Keeps Our Fleet Safe Year-Round
When it comes to driver safety, adequate prevention is a great place to start. PTP Transport has safety protocols in place to make sure that your equipment is working in optimal conditions and that driver assistance is only one call away. Though Daylight Saving Time can be taxing for truck drivers, our safety protocols add an extra layer of protection over our fleet. With safety measures such as preventative maintenance with our on-site partner Penske, weekly driver-focused checks and driver safety incentives in place, our drivers can rest assured that they’re well taken care of and operating a safe piece of equipment, even when losing an hour of sleep.
For more information about PTP Transport, LLC or to apply for an open position, visit ptptransportllc.com