If you feel drowsy, sleepy or fatigued, what should you do?
- Call your dispatcher.
- Call your supervisor.
- Get some sleep. ✓
- Drink coffee and keep driving.
Answer: C. Get some sleep.
You should get some sleep when you feel drowsy, sleepy, or fatigued.
Why this is the answer
The truck handbook says stimulants are never a substitute for sleep. Caffeine can make you feel more alert, but if you are sleep deprived its effects wear off quickly, and the same is true of turning up the radio or opening a window. You cannot trick your body into staying awake; you need to sleep. It suggests using a well-lit rest stop or truck stop, locking your doors, rolling up your windows and taking a nap.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Call your dispatcher. — Calling your dispatcher does not give your body the sleep it needs, and the handbook points to sleep as the remedy for drowsiness.
- B. Call your supervisor. — Calling your supervisor does not remove fatigue or make you rested, so it does not address the handbook's warning that you need sleep.
- D. Drink coffee and keep driving. — Coffee may help you feel more alert for a short time, but caffeine is not a substitute for sleep and its effects wear off quickly when you are sleep deprived, so keeping driving is not the safe choice.
Remember it
If you are fighting to keep your eyes open, no drink or loud music will replace a nap.