First major mistake of my career to date...

I never pull off door without walking up and look at the dock. I only use the light to tell me to get out and look. You can see from the outside if the plates up or down. Even doing local or otr. Lesson learned.

 

We are truck drivers, NOT A LUMPING SERVICE.
Do you get paid extra to lump the load?

 

You can bet that driver will double check before pulling away. That's what makes better drivers. Learning from mistakes weather there his/hers or someone elses.

 

I'm assuming you walk back to your trailer doors and look before jumping in your seat? To much "out of sight" things and issues can happen when you walk from dock door to driver area then to your truck.

Just a heads up. Always walk the side of your truck and trailer at a dock. It covers what you did. If you see the dock plate in home position and roll up door closed. Like you left it.

 

I unloaded a load the other day. Got the paperwork, saw the employee remove the dock plate, checked the trailer, removed the wheel chock, fired up the truck and pulled up a few feet. Went back to close the doors and there was a guy in there sweeping...

 

delivered a load of engine blocks from laredo to of all places ohio. no dock lights and from the shipping office area, you couldn't see the docks. I backed in, turned my paper work into the office went back to the truck. almost immediately i felt the trailer bouncing and hear and feel the guy on the fork lift unloading me. about an hour later it all stops... all quiet. waited about a half or so and went back to the shipping office where they handed me back my bills. back to the truck call my dispatch, then walked my dog. back in the truck and off we go into the parking lot to close the doors.

once i stopped in the parking lot i heard screaming like i never have in my life, run to the back of my trailer and there the guy AND his forklift sitting in the middle of my trailer. turns out he had been taking a nap on his lunch hour... thank GOD he set the brake on the lift. after a few minutes of him questioning my heritage and the virtue of my mother, i handed him my signed bills. he got really quite and politely asked me to take him back to the dock.

so yeah, now i look to make sure the dock plate is up.

 

The Supervalu off I-84? I used to go there all the time. (And Safeway and Fred Meyer in Clackamas)

 

That's the one.

 

I've never had anything like that happen but I have tried to pull away with the dok-lok still hooked. That wakes you up.