Why is common sense not taught?

As a new trainer I'm drilling common courtesy. The mantra is to always look out for the need to make space for other truckers to do their job and help everyone stay safe and efficient.

That being said, please bear in mind that daycab drivers have an advantage over OTR drivers when it comes to dealing with customer yards. Not only can local drivers maneuver in tighter spaces, they have been to the location many times and know the routine: where to park, where to check in, etc. Many yards are confusing, with poor signage and staff that can be less than helpful.

In a sleeper in a tight yard I try to park out of the way when checking in, but that isn't always possible.

It's a good day when you get to a new customer with a well laid out yard, room to maneuver, clear signage, and friendly staff.

 

Each group no doubt but......
We don't all get paid hourly (I don't) and sometimes we're pressed to the edge of our legal hours to run with no sleeper on the truck.
I pulled three 14 hrs shifts this week and two 13+.
I try not to but if I hold up middle lane traffic making a slow pass in a governed truck it's not because I don't give a rip or get paid hourly it's because I'm on the edge of my hours.

Depends, I've been at my job almost 3 years and still get sent places I haven't been to before so I have to deal with the same things as an OTR driver.
Also not all daycabs can maneuver in tighter spaces better than a sleeper cab, some of us have long tractors and trailers (like me) with 4 axles on the tractor and 4 axles on a 53' trailer.

 

Common Sense is acquired. Not taught.
Never teach a pig to sing. It only frustrates the teacher and annoys the pig.

 

You can always knock on the door and do some one on one training. Sometimes drivers just aren't thinking about it.

 

I find myself having to do that a lot.I love where i go guys get loaded with paper rolls then pull out drive 20 ft from the scale and stop and do whatever then i get unloaded and try to pull onto scale for my empty weight but cant cause idiot got the scale blocked or they go on the scale see their over on the axle and decide to move the tandems right on the scale or cant figure out how to split weight a truck.

 

When I drove local in Chicago, I dreaded driving behind "Billie Bigrigger", our term at our yard for OTR drivers in Chicago, because he would come a darn near stop at every viaduct or it'd take him a while to back in off the street. A lot of our pick ups were near the Fulton Street markets, for those who don't know, it's an area built in the early 1900s, in other words, not truck friendly, and if I saw a Bille Bigrigger turn down the street I wanted, I skipped down to the next block cuz I knew he'd come to a stop when passing under the elevated subway at Lake St. Don't get me wrong, I understand completely why they drive they way they do, Chicago has lots of low bridges and lots of busy narrow streets and I don't fault them for it. I just didn't like it.

Though, today, I am regional with a sleeper but I still drive into Chicago on a regular basis and once in a blue moon, I will be behind an OTR driver going slow under a marked bridge with his flashers on, I don't have to like it but I understand why and accept it.

Regarding schlubs who don't know how to park out of the way at customers. Just yesterday, I was at one of those warehouses whose shipping office is in the middle that has 50 doors in each direction, has the employee parking lot right in front (probably for the management and office) and another lot across the "main thoroughfare". (It's Bay Valley Foods in DePere Wi, for those interested.) So to check in/out, you park pretty much in the thoroughfare. When I park there, I never park close to the cars in case someone might have to leave, but without fail, I'll park 20-30 ft from the cars, a driver will pull alongside me in that space. Shake my head.

Another peeve of mine is drivers who stop immediately in the driveway after turning off the road despite there being room to pull ahead.

 

Here is why!

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.


Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).

His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.


Finally, Common sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.


Common Sense was preceded in death by:
his parents, Truth and Trust,
his wife, Discretion,
his daughter, Responsibility,
and his son, Reason.
He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner.


Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

 

You can't teach it, you have to beat it into them

 

The one thing that gets me today is the number of tuck drivers that will park their truck nearly anywhere, without asking permission to park & leave their truck at that spot. Today with so many company drivers taking the truck home, not leaving it on a yard, its amazing. Many seems to feel they're free to park anywhere there's space.