Things truckers need on the road once the cab is packed

Most long-haul drivers sleep in the truck's sleeper berth, parked at a private truck stop, a public rest area, or a customer's lot that allows it. The hard part is finding an open space at the moment the hours-of-service clock says you must stop.

The rules set the rhythm: up to 11 hours of driving within a 14-hour window, then 10 consecutive hours off duty before you drive again, under 49 CFR 395.3. With a sleeper berth you can split that rest into two periods, one of at least 7 hours in the berth and the other at least 2 hours, totaling at least 10, under 49 CFR 395.1(g).

Why parking is a business problem

FHWA's 2019 update of its Jason's Law survey counted about 313,000 truck parking spaces nationally: roughly 273,000 at private truck stops and 40,000 at public rest areas. In the same survey, 98% of drivers reported problems finding safe parking, most often overnight, Monday through Thursday, and from October through February.

When the good spots fill, you either stop early and give up drive time, or keep looking while the 14-hour window runs. FHWA warns that tired drivers may keep driving when they can't find a place to rest, and that some end up parked on shoulders and exit ramps, a hazard for everyone on the road.

Choose the stop, and a backup, before the day starts. Our guide to time management for truck drivers shows how to build parking into the driving day.

Eat from your own supply most days, keep water in the cab, move at every stop, and treat your medical certificate as the business asset it is. The job works against you: NIOSH names irregular schedules, long hours, little physical activity, limited healthy food on interstate highways, and stress.

NIOSH's national survey of long-haul drivers found obesity at 69% and smoking at 51%, against 31% and 19% in the 2010 U.S. adult working population. NIOSH also reports that truck drivers have higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension than other U.S. workers.

Food and water

• A 12-volt cooler or fridge, so most meals come from a grocery store, not a fuel island
• Two extra days of shelf-stable food, for closures and long waits at the dock
• Refillable water jugs, so you drink more water than coffee
• Fruit and vegetables bought at grocery stops along the route

Your medical certificate is your income

A DOT physical certifies you for no more than 24 months, and drivers with insulin-treated diabetes need a new exam every 12 months, under 49 CFR 391.45. The physical qualification standards include high blood pressure and insulin-treated diabetes, so the habits above protect your ability to work. Our guide to the DOT physical covers what the exam checks.

Medicines and care away from home

Refill prescriptions before a long run and keep them with you. Under 49 CFR 392.4, you may not be on duty with a narcotic, an amphetamine, or any substance that leaves you unable to drive safely, unless a licensed medical practitioner gave it to you and advised that it won't affect your driving. Schedule I drugs have no exception.

If you are too sick to drive safely, the rules say stop. Owner-operators should also know where they would get care far from home; our guide to health insurance for owner-operators covers the options.

Use a mounted phone and a headset while driving, and save real conversations for breaks. Federal rules ban hand-held phone use while driving a commercial vehicle, including when stopped in traffic or at a light, except to reach law enforcement or emergency services, under 49 CFR 392.82.

Time away is a real cost too. NIOSH lists extended time away from family and friends and being alone on the road among the stressors long-haul drivers face. A set call time with home on each long break is a small habit that helps, and our guide to truck driver stress and burnout goes further.