Alley backing from street

Which company/account?

 

There's a few things I would like to address about your OP, based on my own experience as a trainer. For on thing at Swift in order to become a trainer required a two day orientation, during which time NOTHING was said about HOW TO TRAIN...

1. HAND SIGNALS - flailing a hand in the air is NOT a signal. It can be interpreted in a number of ways. A hand signal should only be interpreted in ONE way.

I currently haul freight for the oil field. I had to sign a form acknowledging I know and understand the basic five hand signals used by all oil field companies. Any time I deliver a load to a frack site I CAN'T MOVE, forward or backwards, unless I have two professional spotters (one in front and one in back) helping me negotiate through a TIGHT, hazardous, series of expensive equipment. I also acknowledge that I have Stop Work Authority. If I lose sight of the spotter in back, I STOP until I can see him. If I think the spotters are giving me wrong directions I set the parking brake, put on my hard hat, and call a meeting to work it out, maybe walk a quarter mile with them to the final placement of the hazmat tanker on the containment pad and explain to them exactly how I need to do it.

The MOST important signal that you and your spotter(s) need to agree on is, "STOP!" Even IF you have a spotter, GOAL if you aren't sure. You HAVE STOP WORK AUTHORITY.

2. A wise old trucker told me something that has stuck with me, "We're in a hurry, so SLOW DOWN"! The WRONG time to be rushing is when you are backing, doing a drop and hook, fueling, pre trip or post trip inspections, dealing with rush hour, etc.

Those are BAD times to be trying to save time.

Have a heart to heart with your trainer. Agree on hand signals. Wear a Bluetooth headset and get on a phone call with your trainer as you back. Determine that you will become the King of Backing.

 

I’m still new also. About 6 months in. My attitude is it’s my liscense, my career, and my responsibility to put the truck where it needs to go. If that means taking an extra minute or two while I’m blocking the road or whatever it is because I need to get out and look, then I do it. Those impatient people are impatient either way...

 

I’ve always thought it’s best to take my time and go slow when backing. If that means I’ll have to get out and look, so be it. I’d rather get out and look 20 times than hit something. Especially when I was OTR, lots of tight places out there. Sometimes I’d have to back into a tight spot with very little pull up room and a shiny new long hood Pete next to me. I’d much rather take my time and get it done right versus tearing something up. I know for a fact that the O/O in the shiny new Pete next to you will be happy you got out and looked instead of tearing off his hood.
Just take your time, get out and look and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Remember, the objective is to back that trailer into the spot without any damage. It’s not about how fast you can do it.

 

I'm reading a lot of replies that are disappointing me. A professional truck driver should NEVER take more then 4 to 5 minutes TOPS to make a back from a busy road into an alley or dock. A good trainer should never allow a student to take much longer either. When I was active I used to haul a good bit of Fuji photo paper all over the country. Almost every one of these deliveries were road to either an alley or garage type dock. If you start pulling up and pulling up and start taking much longer then that 4 or 5 minutes I just spoke of your going to create what Clint Eastwood called that alert in the movie Heartbreak Ridge. You start backing up traffic going back to a busy redlight and at some point a cop is going to come along. If fact one of my deliveries of Fuji was in downtown Indianapolis. The guy helping me in told me clearly to get in ASAP because the IPD as well as the Marion County Sheriff's dept had wrote tickets. There is a BIG difference between moving smartly and getting in a hurry. NOBODY in this thread is saying hurry. To hurry is to screw something up. The trick when backing from a busy road is NEVER do it without a spotter and do it smartly. Honestly I mean what I just said about being disappointed. Common sense seems to have left on that last boat headed out to sea.

 

never back in more than an idle .. don't hit anything. .... those are the only two thing that are important . it takes practice and practice takes time despite what some people may tell you nobody was born knowing how to back a truck in