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Comment by jacquesm | Hacker News Reader

You probably are a danger to others on the road, yourself and your family. More than 8 hours behind the wheel in a single day is irresponsible.

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Am I? Because in another part of this thread we're talking about how terrible EVs are for long trips because they force you to stop so much for so long... Which is it, am I given adequate time to rest, making EVs unsuitable for long trips, or are EVs not terrible for long trips, wearing out the driver? :-)

Key word here is "probably'. I made multiple 16 hour almost non stop trips through Europe, and it's fine for me. LA to San Jose and back in one day, with useful activity in SJ (working in the data center servicing our colo hardware) is almost a monthly routine now, without the need to book a hotel overnight

Survival bias at work.

Isn't '8 hours a day' somewhat arbitary?

It's arbitrary but considered safe by most authorities where such things are monitored, professional drivers are given a bit more leeway,

https://blog.orbcomm.com/tachograph-rules-european-drivers-h...

but when they are caught exceeding the limits they are hit very hard (possibly including confiscation of the vehicle & cargo, as well as massive fines and possibly loss of drivers license). And that's good for everybody, the lorry drivers included, it gives them the expectations of a reasonable work day as well as the improved safety for everybody else and a level playing field. Fraud with these devices used to be rampant, it is getting a bit better now with the digital generation which is more tamper proof.

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