Your comments about the enforcement of the apu's varying by state makes me cringe when thinking we may start seeing the same thing applied to snow removal from equipment (NJ). I can see it now, a driver gets a ticket for failing to remove snow from on top of a 14' (13'6") trailer, somehow manages to get on top of it without killing himself, and then gets a ticket for an OSHA workplace safety violation for not having fall protection.
I figured your response to the night shift would have to do with less traffic and more miles run because of it. I just don't see the safety or cost reasons associated with this. Numerous studies, and accident statistics have shown that the likelihood of having an accident at night is higher than during the daytime despite the reduction in traffic (DUI's, sleep patterns, etc). "Daytime driving, particularly at the noon time (10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon), results in a significantly lower risk of an accident." 1 "93.8% of all DUI-cited crashes in 2005 occurred during the nighttime hours." 2
I also wonder if there actually will be an increase in miles by doing so (I'll defer to your companies documentation on this one, but..). The customer base would have to allow for loading or unloading during these off hours, and depending on how the shift goes the driver is still likely to end up in commute traffic on one end of their shift (say starting at 1900, working a 14 hr shift, and ending at 0900 for example).
Like you said, I also do not do well at night and readily admit that. I also understand that it is part of the job at times, and accept that as an aspect of it. It doesn't change the fact that some of the weirdest things I have ever seen have been at night, or darn near falling asleep and barely limping into a rest area at dawn near Moses Lake. I prefer early morning runs, and have found vans to be ideal for that. It is also one of the main reasons I dislike flat bedding. I believe this is one area where companies could do a better job of explaining when visiting driving schools for recruiting. I don't think it is something people take into account.
Sorry about the long post, but I'll end this with one last thought. It is something my trainer told me about work hours that has stuck with me. He told me that if I consistently switched shifts I would burn myself out at best, and I believe this to be true. To the others out there correct me on this if you will, but I have found that a conversation with your DM about being a safer driver at certain times (say daytime, etc) has an effect and I have had their assistance (via the planners) to get me back to days (that could be more an issue of HOS, shipper hours, etc...but I'll kid myself that the DM cared
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1.
ITS-Davis: Time of Day Models of Motor Carrier Accident Risk
2.
http://www.dps.state.vt.us/ghsp//cra.../Tbl4_3305.pdf