Question about street smarts?

A fast knife man can slit your throat in about that amount of time from that distance. Situational awareness needs to cover all angles and all distances. Eyes open, head on a swivel....just like backing a big truck!

 

whats this got to do with street smart ?

sounds more like a DOT regulation question...read the book

 

You can google it.. I actually believe it's 19 ft..a person holding a knife can move/stab you before a gun can be drawn and accurately fired within this distance..(I have a relative who is a captain on KCPD)

but, yes.. That's why they don't allow you within that CIRCLE of safety..(if you're wielding a knife)..

Anyway, don't get out of the truck.

 

Buy a cheap padlock for your trailer, and like someone said, do a walk around when u park. I for one am not getting out if the area is deserted or a bad area unless its for something like my truck on fire. And, no matter what they tell you it can wait till morning.
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Stop jumpin out of bed at midnight hoping it's a lizard. If I'm not idling, in anyone's conceivable way, or seeing flames reflected in my mirrors, I'm going back to sleep. Not really much to do with street smarts. But, when a guy at 4am is saying, "I don't want any money, just listen..." My BS meter starts pegging out. Then when the same guy tries again to tell me him and his wife have nothing to eat, and he's holdin a double package of Oscar Mayer wieners. I'm thinkin, that use to feed me for a week when I was drunk all the time... Why can't people just let us truckin be?

 

First I would assess if the person is a driver or not and if he possibly come from one of the nearby trucks that could observe such a thing. Normal people in 4 wheelers avoid the truck parking area like the plague. Then I would scan the rest of the parking areas for suspicious vehicles. Does he look like a crackhead? They ain't hard to spot. A diesel spill you can smell the raw diesel from your cab. The trailer doors you can most likely see open in your mirrors. Besides that I can feel a mouse in my trailer. You aren't opening my doors without me noticing. I always kept it locked even if it was junk back there nobody wanted. The customer wants it so I protect it.

Always park in numbers in areas you are familiar with. I guess if you are a newby you have to learn them.
Let's say they told you and lurk in the background. Take your cellphone and pretend you are using it. That's enough to scare any crook thinking the cavalry is coming.

BTW, where is this rest area with only 4 trucks?

 

If drivers were not so ''obsessed'' with the ''laws'' and scared,this should answer your question on what to do..

The sad part is we have to many do-gooders and rubber spined drivers in this industry that are afraid of there own shadows.

 

I'll agree you have to be aware, but if you go looking skittish, you'll have trouble. The bad guys can smell fear from a block away...

You pay attention, but act like you know what you're doing. And think of it as defensive driving, only on your feet; you should have already cleared an area before you go walking around. By and large, if you're getting bothered on a regular basis, you might reconsider your parking choices.

 

My first reaction if trl door was open that someone stole the freight while I was sleeping.Then get a heavy duty padlock the next day.Fuel leak I wouldn't be going no where and call my company immediately.Don't know how many csa points that would be if you drive with a fuel leak and dot seen that.He would put you OOS right then and there.

 

Nothing good happens after midnight. I park in bad areas all the time, and get hit up for all kinds of bs quite often. I just tell them to f-off through the door, ignore them for a while, and if they persist, I will crank it up and drive off. (I usually park in empty retail parking lots after hours, so it's not hard to find a spot). If they try getting into the truck or getting physical in any way, I have a can of bear pepper spray behind the seat.

I had one guy start to bug me one night, and the first words out of his mouth were "Hey, Homes, I ain't gonna rob you". Comforting to know. He went on to explain the needed to buy maxi pads for his girlfriend, went into detail about it. I asked him if the truck looked like a GD ATM machine to him, and he got the message and left.