Getting Lost Questions ???

With all the new navigation gadgets I wonder if the newer ones get you right to the place or if anyone has gotten into an area late at night and could not turn around. Being a newbie to all of this, I am just wondering how many get into tight places and how they get out.
I would think most places are set up pretty good for trucks to get in and out of but still curious.

 

Do not depend on the GPS to get you to the customer.Chances are sometime that friendly gps voice will lead you down a road trks aren't suppose to be on.You get the phone number from your dispatcher and call them hrs before you arrive.Tell them what highway you're coming from and they'll give you accurate trucker directions.With my last company I don't think I have ever had trouble finding a customer because I called hrs in advance.

 

Yep, what patty said. I also use the satellite view on my phone to check a place and the surrounding area out before I get there.

 

lol all those new navigation gadgets will put you somewhere you don't want to be quicker than you think

one thing I always have done and tell other newbies to do is to always make sure you have an escape route. it's pretty easy to do when you're going into an area or a customer you haven't been to before to pull up google maps or the maps on your smartphone if you have one and get the lay of the land and the area around the customer just in case something unforeseen happens. and it does and has and having that escape route already planned will keep you out of those situations for the most part.

too many things can happen. you miss your turn. road closure due to construction right at the customer or on the approach. accident in the intersection where you have to turn into the customer. too many things can happen that you didn't plan for the will impede you progress or outright deny your entry to where you need to be. part of good trip planning is planning for the things that might happen and having a plan just in case if you can't get to where you need to be. that last one just happened to me in Tulsa 2 weeks ago, in rush hour, in pouring rain. I couldn't get into the customer because a 5 car accident completely blocked and shut down the intersection where i had to turn left into the customer docks.....and I would have been screwed royally if I hadn't already had a plan and an escape route just in case.

these navigation gadgets are good tools and expensive toys but if you depend on them they will get you in trouble before you know it. nothing beats a little planning, planning for the unexpected, and getting the lay of the land before you get there.

having said all of that, the unexpected still can and will happen even with the best and most thorough planning.... wee hours of the morning, miss a turn during the enroute portion of the trip, and on a 2 lane in the country. what to do then? lol just don't panic, don't get flustered, and above all, don't get impatient. slow down, keep your head on a swivel and don't take a chance with a spot that looks like you MIGHT get turned around in. if you have to go 20 miles down the road until you find a place you KNOW you can turn around, then that's what you do.

and no, there are still many many many places, especially in the northeast, that are NOT set up good for trucks to get in and out of. you'll be amazed and dumbfounded sometimes at the places they expect you to get that truck in and out of lol

 

GPS has its place as a helper but never trust them 100%.I have gotten "lost" or turned around in a lot of interesting places.Sometimes the shipper or receiver can help sometimes they're as clueless as you are.I usually use my GPS with a look at Google maps and any directions the customer can give me.Usually with all this info getting into and out of places is a snap.


You'd be surprised at the areas and how they are NOT set up for trucks.I've had plenty of times I call ahead and ask if its truck friendly and the customer says yeah we have them here all the time.You show up and find out its good for a single screw local with a pup not your stretched out W9 with 53' trailer.Alot of the east coast,mainly the northeast, is all old school small street cities. Make a habit of checking your route before getting there. Take your time and you should do good.

 

Getting lost is part of the job. We're always going to places we've never been before. You're bound to miss a turn every now and then. The important thing is not to panic when it happens. Just keep cool and you can almost always find a safe place to turn around or just go around the block again. I'm sure you've seen the video of the USA Truck driver demolishing his equipment, that's an example of a driver panicking. As far as most places being set up for trucks to get in and out, I lol at that.

 

once one of my co workers called a shipper. and he sent him under a low bridge. he had to go on a truck restricted route to avoid the bridge. what an A-Hole! so use google to see the surroundings and your atlas just in case. a rand mcnally usually gets you away from low bridges too.

 

Unfortunately this doesn't always work either. There are times you will get the receptionist or operator, and they will try to tell you how THEY get to work in their car; without even a thought of the difference between their 13 foot long/5 foot tall car and your 70 foot long/ 13'6" tall truck. Ask for shipping & receiving, or the guard shack, and get directions from THEM They know what you're driving, and more importantly, know the difference.

 

True,receptionist don't know.Sometimes they don't even know how they got to work,lol.Depending how complicated they make it,i'll ask them to connect me with the receiving dept.

 

Keep in mind that sometimes not even making a call for directions and satellite view map or GPS directions will get you through. Case in point, I was making a drop in Worcester, MA. The directions I had to the receiver, satellite map and GPS route didn't plan for the emergency construction that was going on to repair a broken water main on the STAA designated truck route. The detour went through a neighborhood with 5 ton limit restricted roads. Made it to the drop but not without some very tricky turns. Sometimes in this job you run on pure luck and the grace of God, lol.