FLT CREW OF CARJ FAIL TO FOLLOW RIVER DEP PROC UNTIL REMINDED BY ATC. CITE LENGTHY DUTY DAYS AND FATIGUE.

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THOUGH I REALIZE I'M SLIGHTLY LATE IN RPTING THIS INCIDENT; I BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT. WE WERE FLYING A SINGLE DAY OF TRIPS. THOUGH OUR RPT TIME WAS XA05; THE ENTIRE CREW AWOKE AT A NORMAL TIME IN THE MORNING. WE HAD DEALT WITH NUMEROUS DELAYS DUE TO OPERATIONAL PROBS; MAINT AND FINALLY WX THROUGHOUT THE DAY. BY THE TIME OF OUR LAST DEP OF THE EVENING; WE WERE ALL EXHAUSTED AND READY TO GO HOME. ATC ASSIGNED US THE RIVER 6 DEP IN THE PDC; J15; TIMEE; AS FILED. WE PROGRAMMED THE FMS PROPERLY WITH LENGTHY DISCUSSION AND REVIEW TO ENSURE THAT EVERYTHING WAS ENTERED CORRECTLY AS THIS IS AN UNUSUAL; IF NOT QUESTIONABLY LEGAL CLRNC. (FILING TO INTERCEPT IN THE MIDDLE OF AN AIRWAY AND NOT TO A SPECIFIC FIX...EG: RIVER 6; J15. THE RIVER 6 DEP DOES NOT INTERCEPT J15 AT ANY POINT.) EVERYTHING ABOUT OUR PUSHBACK; TAXI AND TAKEOFF WERE NORMAL. I WAS FLYING THE AIRPLANE. AFTER TAKEOFF I CALLED FOR HDG MODE FOR THE FLT DIRECTOR; WHICH THE FO SELECTED. WE FLEW STRAIGHT OUT AND I CALLED FOR THE AFTER TAKEOFF CHKLIST. ATC INSTRUCTED US TO TURN L AND INTERCEPT THE DEP; WHICH WE DID. THE CTLR TOLD US THIS WAS; 'PART OF THE DEP PROC.' WE BOTH REALIZED IT IS PART OF THE PROC AND JOINED THE DEP PATH WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. WHY HAD WE NOT JOINED THE DEP? WE WERE TIRED. IT IS MOST COMMON TO FLY STRAIGHT OUT USING HDG MODE AND IF NOT; TO UTILIZE NAV MODE; WHICH ENGAGES THE FMS TO TRACK A DEP OUTBOUND. THIS PARTICULAR DEP USES HDG MODE TO INTERCEPT THE DEP; SO HDG; THEN NAV MODE IS REQUIRED AFTER TKOF. THIS PARTICULAR NIGHT; WE WERE TIRED; DISTR AND LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING HOME. IT OCCURS TO ME THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE ASRS RPTS OUTLINING ERRORS I'VE SUBMITTED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE HAD ONE COMMON THEME. TIREDNESS. NOT NECESSARILY FROM FLYING FATIGUE; BUT FROM TIME ON DUTY. I CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THAT THE SINGLE GREATEST ENHANCEMENT TO FLT SAFETY WOULD BE AN OVERHAUL OF THE REST RULES FOR DOMESTIC CARRIERS. THE MAXIMUM SCHEDULED DUTY DAY SHOULD BE CAPPED AT 12 HRS WITH AN EXTENSION OF PERHAPS 1-2 HRS ONLY FOR OPERATIONAL DELAYS. THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF FLT TIME IN A DAY COULD BE RAISED TO 9 HRS -- BECAUSE THE FLT TIME IS OFTEN NOT THE DIRECT CAUSE OF THE FATIGUE; IT'S THE DUTY TIME. FINALLY; THE MINIMUM REST IN A GIVEN CALENDAR DAY SHOULD BE INCREASED 1 HR. THE LIMITS ON MAXIMUM FLYING PER WEEK; MONTH AND YEAR? THEY ONLY COST ME MONEY -- I'VE NEVER GOTTEN ANY MORE REST OR BEEN BETTER PREPARED FOR FLYING BECAUSE OF THOSE RESTRICTIONS. THE LIMITS OF PART 135 WERE FINE: 34 HRS IN 7 DAYS; 120 HRS PER MONTH AND 1200 HRS PER YEAR. THOUGH I DID NOT INTEND TO WRITE A DIATRIBE ON REST; IT IS RELEVANT TO THE SIT DESCRIBED ABOVE. ALSO; AT THE AIRLINE I WORK AT; A NUMBER OF ERRORS ARE BEGINNING TO OCCUR WITH DEPS. THOUGH OUR TRAINING DEPT FEELS THEY ARE FMS PROGRAMMING ERRORS; I'M NOT CONVINCED. I BELIEVE THAT PLTS ARE USED TO ROUTINE AND UNUSUAL DEPS; SUCH AS THE RIVER 6 DEP IN PDX THAT SEEM SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD CAN BE EASILY MISMANAGED WHEN FATIGUE SETS IN AND WE RESORT TO THE FAMILIAR. IF DEPS WERE DESIGNED SO THAT ONLY ONE MODE NEED BE SELECTED; THERE WOULD BE LESS OPPORTUNITY FOR ERROR AT A TIME WHEN THE MARGINS FOR SUCH ERROR ARE GREATLY REDUCED.