Parking: Since I usually started my days early, I’d do my best to be parked no later than 7 p.m. Some of the places I would stop included: During your 10 hoursoff duty time, 7 to 8 hours should be allotted to sleep, and 2-3 hrs dedicated to leisure, exercise and meals. Use your down time wisely to do things that will benefit YOU. Trip Planning Healthcan suffer if diet, exercise and proper rest is ignored. Family life and relationships will deterioraterapidly, if insufficient face time is available. Even the driver’s job can be in jeopardy, if not enough attention is paid to keeping an eye on finances and budgeting.

Since I knew where my day would end, I would plan where I would be spending the night ahead of time. Dinner: By carrying your own meals in an electronic cooler or fridge you can keep your food costs down. Every driver must discover his or her own way to manage meals on the road. A little innovation can go a long way to prevent yourself from eating out for every meal.It’s early morning across south Wales, but with 2,300 miles of motorways to conquer, the team are busy getting in gear and drawing up battle plans, powered by diesel and cups of tea. Mechanical Skills– When a problem occurs, very rarely does it happen near an auto shop. You need to be able to fix some things on your own. Paperwork: After the inspection, I’d finish off any remaining paperwork or work-related tasks on my tablet.

Independence– Life on the road means taking care of yourself, and stepping up when something goes wrong. Knowing you have somewhere you need to be while you do all this waiting can be stressful, so try your best to fill the time you have doing something positive like:Do some calculations re: driving time, fuel and meal stops, sleep time and add in unexpected delays, to be sure you have sufficient time to make the delivery as expected. Well, it's been a while since I did my last post. Too much time driving and not enough free time or energy to log on. What a poor excuse! Newly qualified driver Laura may have her HGV test behind her, but she still has challenges to overcome. Today she is facing her nemesis: the most complex intersection on the British road system, serving 18 routes on five different levels – aka Spaghetti Junction. Can Laura face her fears to become a master of the pasta? The USA also limits me to up to 70 hours in an 8-day period while Canada has a limit of 70 hours in a 7-day period. It’s harder to get as many miles in when I’m in the states.” How many hours do you usually drive?