Is it actually safer to do a blindside back when in tight spots?

Actually, blind side is not safe. It is a convenience only when ALL other options have been exhausted. Blind side is a very good term for not seeing where your backing.
As far as hanging out side the cab and backing that is rather stupid and I have seen a driver fall off his truck and get run over by it.He doesn't walk to this day. Not only did he get run over, but the truck kept moving in gear and smashed into two others doing serious damage to both.. . Unless you have a back window in the cab you can use efficiently and safely, avoid blind side at all costs.

I used to be very good at backing including blind side backing. I was a city driver in Chicago for many years. I used a COE KW with a 4x4 transmission long wheel base. most times a head ache to say the least. Blind side backing in a OTR truck is 100% different and not a good idea. Luck plays a large part of no accidents in blind side backing. . Now if there are no trucks near you say 2 or 3 open stalls either side of your target then your chance of an accident is reduced but not eliminated. I understand the need to blind side due to piss poor construction layout of loading docks ,one way streets and the like .
When blind side backing and when ever possible I demanded that a person came out to guide me and I laid out the rules of hand directions. NO wiggling of the fingers. Do that and I set the brakes .Still do. I demanded the whole arm movement to be sure I knew what was wanted.

 

Blindside sux. I avoid it whenever I can but sometimes it's the only way to get it done. Too many hazards so I can't get back under my trailer doing it sight side but enough room to get back under it and do pull ups doing it blind side. Sux but just gotta deal with it sometimes but I definitely don't do it unless I have to. Plus, what's up with the places that have several easy doors to float right back into, but they insist on you having to contort into one with a whole bunch of tricky maneuvers. I swear I think they do it just for their own evil amusement. lol. Yeah, I know; usually they have a load picked and staged at those doors, but it makes me wonder sometimes.

The only times I "practice" blindsiding are times when I'm just goofing off in a parking lot without and hazards and I'm just using lines on the ground. I don't even do that often. One tip with blind siding is to use the nose mirror. It takes a while and a bit of practice to adjust to the picture being convex but with some practice you can get to where you can tell where your trailer tail is in relationship to whatever you picked out as an aim point close enough to get you back straight enough to see out of your west coast mirror. Another trick I use (which usually gets some puzzled looks like WTF is he doing; or "rookie" but I don't care. Drive and back your truck your way I'll do mine my way. Been getting by just fine that way for quite a while. LOL): I keep two pair of those BRIGHT green or orange cloth "gauntlet style" gloves with the reflective DOT tape sewn on (you know the ones you could back an airplane on a runway using. lol) in my driver door compartment. When I have a blind side or even a real tight sight side I'll grab a pair of gloves, hop out and put them down as aim points or whatever visual reference point I want to use it for. Makes using the nose mirror a LOT easier too. If I'm off a little and run over the glove no biggie, didn't hurt the glove and I set it so I know that at THAT point I'm still good on not hitting anything with my tail swing; plus it's good for night backing in poorly lit places. The reflective material "pops" even from brake and tail lights and the bright color stands out against concrete, blacktop, and gravel even at night and in bad weather when that darned old mirror heat isn't keeping the right mirror clear. Also good for docks without lines or seams in the concrete. Use a couple gloves to "make a line". Just don't forget to pick them back up and ignore any funny looks or smart arse remarks. Long as the only thing you bumped was the dock bumper; who cares? That and I'll GOAL as many times as it takes. Just left a gig doing routes and having to block traffic backing and jacking into the store off the street in a regular OTR tractor with a 53 footer sucked because you got to tune out the horn honkers when you GOAL but "joke 'em if they cant take a . . . I got a job to do so I just ignore them and do my do the way I need to do it." They'll get over it. Well I did, anyway. I doubt my new gig will have too much of that. I won't be delivering to retail stores any more. Dock to dock. Never know, though.

 

If it works, do it. Not my preference, ill drive around block if allows for a better setup normally. But will do what I have to.

 

Yep. Last Thursday I delivered at a job site with a 53' DD to get unloaded. I drove in and the crane followed me in so I couldn't back out. Then they dumpoed a load of gravel in my way so I couldn't drive out. Crane operator said I could get by the gravel. I said "The keys are in it, pal". Everyone got a chuckle except the crane operator.

 

I have to blind side in to log landings that are often at the end of backroads, or other tight nasty spots. It sucks, and I sure wouldn't do it for fun or to show off. There's ditches and mud instead of parked vehicles. It sure helps to have a spotter of course, and it's even better if the spotter knows how to back and can tell you when to cut or to follow.

 

Hi rank, oh, I hear ya. I delivered to grocery stores for many years, and many times I'd come out, and there would be a 4 wheeler parked in front of me, or would be parked in the dock area. I'd have to get the manager, and they would call over the PA, and usually it was an older lady, that didn't even think about it.

 

Semi
I had a customer that was rude crude and socially unacceptable. I called my dispatcher and he ,being a understanding person called the customer and the told them , what ever you do don't piss of that driver. He is a bad driver and may run over cars leaving the lot especially if parked in a truck zone or out side the lines. . I had issues up to that point and I had nearly come to blows the the punk in receiving.

I noticed walking to my truck that there were several people running for their cars and moving them. It was a clear shot off the yard.
Next time I delivered there I expected a problem.
It was just the opposite. Cars were where they were supposed to be parked, trash cleaned up at the dock area and I was greeted in a friendlily manner.100% turnaround. New person in receiving. After that it was a pleasure to deliver there. Even allowed to use cafeteria if I wanted..
Dispatchers can play a big part in accomplishing positive moves or changes and then others have the uncanny ability to just mess it all up. The owner told me that after my near altercation with the kid in receiving he made some changes. One was if any employee parks in a truck zone or not in a designated spot for cars would be terminated. Handicapped? Park in that area not at dock.
Each episode and situation in our lives of trucking is a learning experience. Our choice to learn or ignore but it is there if we choose see it.

 

Yes, the conventional wisdom regarding blind-side backing and the associated incidents gathered over 8+ decades is wrong.