The Smith System

Hey,

So the outfit I used to work for had a problem with the little fender benders and side swipes... That adds up after a while.

A family friend of the CEO was a trainer for ARCO (Hauling Gas) They used the Smith System. If you ever pull into one of those yards you will see signs all over the place: Get the Big Picture, Make Sure they See You... Those come from the Smith System.

Well after John came on, they reduced the little things by 90% and even reduced fuel costs by a measurable amount. (I don’t know all of the numbers)

A coupke times a year John would ride along with every driver, Observe their habits and suggest where they may be able to improve for the putpose of safety.

We utilized the Smith System. It was annoying to most guys. (Having soneone else in your truck and telling you to, slow down, check your mirrors, back off a little,) But at the end of the day. No matter how much they complained. I know they learned something. And on the days they worked (Too long) they are really tired and just want tonget home. Losing patience they then think of the days with John and it really does help. It really doesnt give you a little comfort. And It may also help you stay awake for that last 50 miles.

Most of it would be common since, but its the little things like most accidents happen within () seconds after the red light changes. So take a second. Or after () seconds your peripheral visions changes... Those things stick with you when your in your personal car or when your tired.

I think most companies use something similar to the Smith System. But for those that dont know about it I just wanted to share a link. Maybe you want to be a mentor? Maybe you want to just be a diamond driver... Maybe you just want to be safe.

So the basic keys to the System are really just what we would think as what should be normal right? and they all go hand in hand and overlap.

1. Aim high in steering. Looking ahead of you will also let you see whats close. When we are little we crawl so we look at the ground. We learn to walk and we learn to look a little further. We learn to run and ride a bike, We end up going faster. But we stop looking further ahead. Aiming high in steering is very good for your emotions.

2. Get the BIG picture. If you have a truck in front of you its hard to see whats in front of that truck. If your hammer down. Its dangerous if you cant see in front of that truck. What about behind you. Are there cars that are racing and swerving in and out changing lanes and doing high speeds? Is there a danger ahead or behind? Checking your mirrors and scanning in all directions will help you not be suprised...

3. Keep your eyes moving. Take a look around, what do you see? now stare at one thing for a minute. Maybe a personalized licence plate. you lose your peripheral vision once you try to focus on one thing.

4. Leave yourself an out. I see it all the time when your in the slow lane (not aiming high) and a car is coming on, and theres someone to your left, your hammer down and you cant speed up you cant get over so you let off but now that car coming on gets nervous and they brake you already downshifted and cant speed up even if you tried you wont outrun that car now. But if you were not hammer down to begin with maybe you could have sped up a little in the beginning to get out of the way. If there is someone passing you on the left or ridig with you. slow down and let them get ahead. then pick it back up. Aim high, when coming up to the on ramps and off ramps. look down that way to see what your future mah hold. Not pressing it all the way to the floor gives you room to speed up...

5. Make sure they see you. Truck stops parking lots... thats a good place for eye contact. But on the road try to stay out of their blind spots. Use your signal, use your lights. Dont assume others are as alert as they should be. Your indicating you will merge. But they are speeding up. Are you sure the see your intentions?

those are the basic things but there is so much to it. Statistics are awesome and amazing. I learned alot from it and wanted to pass it on to all of you.

If you have time... check it out.

For those of you that are not decided on the conpany that your going to recieve trsining from... Learning to be safe now will help you keep your career and be that Driver on the wall with his picture showing 1,000,000 miles with no collisions...

Stay safe :)

https://www.drivedifferent.com

*LIKE !!!

Hey,

So the outfit I used to work for had a problem with the little fender benders and side swipes... That adds up after a while.

A family friend of the CEO was a trainer for ARCO (Hauling Gas) They used the Smith System. If you ever pull into one of those yards you will see signs all over the place: Get the Big Picture, Make Sure they See You... Those come from the Smith System.

Well after John came on, they reduced the little things by 90% and even reduced fuel costs by a measurable amount. (I don’t know all of the numbers)

A coupke times a year John would ride along with every driver, Observe their habits and suggest where they may be able to improve for the putpose of safety.

We utilized the Smith System. It was annoying to most guys. (Having soneone else in your truck and telling you to, slow down, check your mirrors, back off a little,) But at the end of the day. No matter how much they complained. I know they learned something. And on the days they worked (Too long) they are really tired and just want tonget home. Losing patience they then think of the days with John and it really does help. It really doesnt give you a little comfort. And It may also help you stay awake for that last 50 miles.

Most of it would be common since, but its the little things like most accidents happen within () seconds after the red light changes. So take a second. Or after () seconds your peripheral visions changes... Those things stick with you when your in your personal car or when your tired.

I think most companies use something similar to the Smith System. But for those that dont know about it I just wanted to share a link. Maybe you want to be a mentor? Maybe you want to just be a diamond driver... Maybe you just want to be safe.

So the basic keys to the System are really just what we would think as what should be normal right? and they all go hand in hand and overlap.

1. Aim high in steering. Looking ahead of you will also let you see whats close. When we are little we crawl so we look at the ground. We learn to walk and we learn to look a little further. We learn to run and ride a bike, We end up going faster. But we stop looking further ahead. Aiming high in steering is very good for your emotions.

2. Get the BIG picture. If you have a truck in front of you its hard to see whats in front of that truck. If your hammer down. Its dangerous if you cant see in front of that truck. What about behind you. Are there cars that are racing and swerving in and out changing lanes and doing high speeds? Is there a danger ahead or behind? Checking your mirrors and scanning in all directions will help you not be suprised...

3. Keep your eyes moving. Take a look around, what do you see? now stare at one thing for a minute. Maybe a personalized licence plate. you lose your peripheral vision once you try to focus on one thing.

4. Leave yourself an out. I see it all the time when your in the slow lane (not aiming high) and a car is coming on, and theres someone to your left, your hammer down and you cant speed up you cant get over so you let off but now that car coming on gets nervous and they brake you already downshifted and cant speed up even if you tried you wont outrun that car now. But if you were not hammer down to begin with maybe you could have sped up a little in the beginning to get out of the way. If there is someone passing you on the left or ridig with you. slow down and let them get ahead. then pick it back up. Aim high, when coming up to the on ramps and off ramps. look down that way to see what your future mah hold. Not pressing it all the way to the floor gives you room to speed up...

5. Make sure they see you. Truck stops parking lots... thats a good place for eye contact. But on the road try to stay out of their blind spots. Use your signal, use your lights. Dont assume others are as alert as they should be. Your indicating you will merge. But they are speeding up. Are you sure the see your intentions?

those are the basic things but there is so much to it. Statistics are awesome and amazing. I learned alot from it and wanted to pass it on to all of you.

If you have time... check it out.

For those of you that are not decided on the conpany that your going to recieve trsining from... Learning to be safe now will help you keep your career and be that Driver on the wall with his picture showing 1,000,000 miles with no collisions...

Stay safe :)

https://www.drivedifferent.com

My company, CRST uses the Smith System.

You may also qualify for a discount on your car insurance after participating in a defensive driving course such as "The Smith System".

That’s what we use at McElroy...easy way to remember.... All...Aim High Good...Get the big picture Kids...Keep your eyes moving Like...Leave yourself an out Milk....Make them see you

You may also qualify for a discount on your car insurance after participating in a defensive driving course such as "The Smith System".

That sounds great. Hey Brett I had an idea: just like ya did a few yrs back with the companies separated by types of drug testing they do, we should make a thread on here about what companies use the Smith System. I know CRST and USA Truck do. Also I believe XPO logistics does also.

Great enthusiasm on this thread!

MillionMiler although Swift does not formally define/designate their training as the "Smith System"; the five basic principals are emphasized repeatedly and are "talked-up" constantly during road work

I strongly believe most every Company Sponsored Training Program are Smith System Derivatives using similar concepts and principals.

"Watch your wagon"...!!!!

Yeah, Prime used to use Smith. Now they have the "Prime Safety and Training Class" or something like that. basically the same thing, and we do get dinner plus $100 for taking the course and a discount on auto insurance.

I went through the Smith Course at Werner, found it very helpful.