Walking to your car after a night shift safely

The part of the shift nobody plans for

Hospitals, warehouses, restaurants and factories put real effort into safety inside the building. The walk out is different. At the end of a night shift the parking garage is nearly empty, the stairwell echoes, the far lot is lit by one tired lamp, and the bus shelter is the only bright thing on the block. You are carrying a bag, your keys and twelve hours of fatigue.

Two things make this harder than an ordinary late walk. First, the people who would normally notice you are missing are asleep. Second, you are rarely at your sharpest. Fatigue slows your attention on the walk, and it follows you into the car.

Fatigue is a safety issue, not just a feeling

Training material on long work hours for nurses from the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says most crashes or near misses caused by drowsy driving happen between 4 and 6 a.m., with other peaks from midnight to 2 a.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m. The first of those windows is when many night shifts end. The same material reports that 1 in 10 nurses said they had been in a car crash they believed was related to fatigue. That is why the plan below covers the drive as well as the walk.

If you are too tired to drive safely, a short nap before you leave, a ride home, or transit are all better choices than pushing through. Your employer may have a policy or a quiet room for exactly this. Ask.

Set up the walk out before the shift starts

The best safety decision of the night happens at the start of your shift, when it is still light or at least busy. Park under a light, as close to the exit or elevator as you can, and facing out so you can leave without reversing. Note the level and row in your phone.

At the end of the shift, a few habits carry most of the weight.

• Walk out with a coworker, or call security for an escort if your workplace offers one. Many hospitals do; ask the security desk.
• Have your keys out before you leave the building, not while standing at the car.
• Look around and under the car as you approach, get in, and lock the doors right away.
• Keep your phone in your hand or pocket, not buried in your bag, and save the number for your workplace security desk. After a twelve-hour shift it may be nearly flat; our answer on how much battery live location sharing uses helps you plan a charge before you clock out.
• If something feels off, go back inside. You never need a better reason than that.

A Holler setup for the walk and the drive

The problem with telling your partner "text me when you're home" is that they are asleep. A return time solves that, because Holler's server watches the clock for you and sends the alert even if your phone is off.

A 7 a.m. handover, walked through

Take a nurse finishing a twelve-hour night at 7:30 a.m. She parked on level 3 of the staff garage the evening before, under a light by the stairwell, and noted "L3, row C" in her phone. At handover she plugs her phone in for fifteen minutes.

At 7:45 she starts an outing with a return time of 8:25, which is her 25-minute drive plus a buffer. Her partner, asleep at home, and a colleague on the same rotation are her Guardians. She walks out with the colleague, drives home, and ends the outing in the driveway at 8:14. Nobody's phone buzzes.

On a morning when she feels too tired to drive, she ends the outing, takes a short nap in the locked car, then starts a fresh outing when she sets off. If she had not come home and not checked in, both Guardians would have received an overdue alert at 8:30 with her last known location on the map.

What your Guardian should know

Write down, somewhere your Guardian can find it at 4 a.m., the name of your workplace, the security desk number, the garage or lot you use, and your car's make, color and plate. Those are the details a dispatcher or security officer will ask for.

Agree on the order of calls. For an overdue alert: call you, then call the security desk and ask them to check the lot or confirm you left, then call 911 with your last known location if you still cannot be reached. For an SOS: call 911 and give the location on the link. Our guide on what to do if someone's location stops moving walks through the same calm steps. Our answer on staying safe walking alone at night covers the walk itself.

Finally, test it. Set a short return time on a day off, let it lapse, and see whether the alert actually wakes your Guardian. If it does not, adjust their phone settings before you rely on it.