Question: I have worked for the past 23 plus years for a major bus company. Since June of 2013, I was the regular driver of a run that allowed for 9 hours 10 minutes off-duty per night (including commuting to and from work and preparation for sleep and work the next day).
My commute was over an hour one way and when you add in time to prepare for bed, completing the days paperwork and preparing for work the next day, I was in bed barely over 6 hours per night during the work week.I never experienced any visible signs of sleep deprivation (i.e., drowsiness, yawning, etc.), but I am convinced that I lost focus while driving and misjudged a curve and made contact with a concrete barrier. There were no injuries, but I was terminated by the company after a very confusing internal investigation. They never admitted that that the paradoxical manner in which the run was written could have possibly contributed to my lack of judgement/focus, due to long term sleep debt.