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You unfortunately forgot that today was your day to cook dinner, and wound up staying at work until 6:30 pm. To make it up to them, you decided to take them for a late dinner at their favorite pizza place, Pacci’s Pizzeria. Once they had their fill of delicious cheesy pizza, they almost immediately fell into a pizza laden coma in the backseat of the car.
To get them home as quickly as possible, you decided to take 29 home. Since it was way past rush hour, you figured that you would probably have the road to yourself. However, as soon as you merged onto 29, you noticed a long line of trucks everywhere you looked. There had to be about 20 trucks lined up.
It is 8:30 pm, why are there so many trucks on the road?
Truck Rush: Common Times for Truckers to Be on the Road
Since most truckers drive for at least 12-hours a day, it’s common to see trucks on the road at any time of day. However, there are certain time periods in which truckers prefer, and try to use, whilst driving, to help avoid traffic, get an early start, or be able to get their daily mileage covered faster. These periods generally see an increase in truck traffic, and therefore, increased risks for truck accidents. To help protect your family, and avoid truck traffic, try not to travel during these three peak truck hour periods.
- 1:00 am – 4:00 am. A lot of truckers prefer to drive at night, when there is less traffic on the road.
- 6:00 am – 10:00 am. Early starts mean more miles can be covered in one day and if they’re on the road sooner, they can potentially avoid high-traffic rush-hour areas, before they become too congested.
- 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Most grocery store or commercial semis require deliveries to be made by 10:00 pm in order for their overnight crew to stock the shelves. Therefore, truckers will rush to get to their destinations by this deadline.
Truck regulations have been in the news a lot lately, attempting to determine the “best” and “safest” times for trucks to be on the road, as well as regulated sleep times for overworked and fatigued drivers. However, no matter the regulations, certain truckers will continue to drive at the times that they feel most comfortable, and possibly ignore signs of fatigue in order to get their jobs done faster.
It is extremely important, no matter what time of day it is, to be aware of surrounding trucks and pay attention to any signs that the trucker may be distracted, may have lost control of his truck, or may be dangerously tired. Make sure you always give trucks enough room and the benefit of the doubt when changing lanes or passing, in order to keep your family safe and the truck on the road.
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