Hmm... Well here in the Garden State, don't get caught in an accident if you're tired... We've got Maggie's Law now, and it allows people to be charged with vehicular homicide if you end up killing someone after you fell asleep while driving...
Is this a good thing?.. My jury is still out on this one folks... Yes, it is certianlly good to be able to punish people that knowingly created a dangerous situation... However, I am a small business owner, and there are times that, yes, I go without sleep for more than 30 hours. (that's the threshhold on Maggie's Law) Do I get into a veihicle and drive home from those events? You bet I do... You can not simply go out, and fall asleep in your car in most of the places I work. (your options there are get arrested, or get mugged) If I manage to drive away, and pull into a rest stop, they can write you a ticket for staying there for over 2 hours... (and after 30+ hours, 2 hours of nap isn't going to do it even if my alarm clock could wake me up) Get a hotel room you say?... Ok... That's a possibility at times, but its kinda hard to find a parking garage in the city that will take a 24' truck... (you can read that as impossible... I'd have to drive it away from the location to a lot out on the edge of the city that would take a truck) I have naturally hired a driver at times for the truck, but that's not alway possible... (we're not big enough to have full time staff yet let alone a full time driver)
So am I saying I jump in a veihicle and go off thinking I should be able to get away with falling asleep?.. No, not really... I am concerned however that if the law stays, it will start gaining power and they'll keep lowering the threshhold... (sorta the give an inch and they take a yard deal) CDL drivers are now stuck with 10 hours driving, then 8 hours off... I know several, and they can't make a living doing 10 and 8... They all keep double logs to get around the laws... Personally, I work 20 hour days as a regular part of my life... I don't see that changeing in the future, though I'd prefer to have staff guys that could take some of that load off... Its simply the nature of what my industry is, that causes long days... I have clients with deap pockets, but they will not spring for an extra $500 on top of our regular trucking fee for us to get a professional driver. I know, I've tried...
Final thought... Yep, its a good law... I hope that they don't start useing it for every accident, and that they keep things realistic... 30 hours is too long to go without sleep and be safe on the roads... 20 hours?... 25 hours?... Where are they going to draw the next line after this thing takes off...
Posted by Backstage at September 30, 2003 07:18 PM