Profile For SCWZ

I've backed into pine trees and bollards (the yellow poles) and I was able to sense the resistance. I was moving very slowly so I didn't damage them. Also, he said that he was going over a curb with his truck, which you should be able to detect if you're moving slowly. I wasn't disputing GOALing, that's a given and people had already discussed that on this post. I'm just saying that if you sense anything thing wrong, don't keep backing or turning as it can make things much worse.

So did you back into the light pole or ram it with your truck? Don't try to force your truck or trailer to move when you feel resistance during tight maneuvers. Move very slowly and feather the accelerator as well. You can avoid damaging somethings using those guidelines even if you back into them (such as bollards).

Backing slowly and gently is a good practice. Just a cautionary note, no matter how slow and gently you back up, you will not be able to detect all resistance from contact with an object. This practice can never replace a good old GOAL.

Part of the reason it’s so hard to detect contact with certain objects has to do with the mass and weight of the tractor and trailer. Yes, you will feel the “bump” of a dock, but probably not feel anything when you destroy a light pole or fence post.

Shortly after I began driving, I was doing a super slow backing maneuver in a tight situation and knocked over a 10 foot tall commercial chain link fence post embedded in concrete. I had even done a GOAL and knew I had approximately 3 feet of space. Unfortunately, I backed up approximately 3 feet 1 inch and hit the post. I felt nothing from the contact. The only indication that I hit the metal post was the sickening sound of metal hitting the concrete driveway. That went down as a preventable accident on my record.

So never replace the tried and true practice of GOAL with any other method for backing.

So did you back into the light pole or ram it with your truck? Don't try to force your truck or trailer to move when you feel resistance during tight maneuvers. Move very slowly and feather the accelerator as well. You can avoid damaging somethings using those guidelines even if you back into them (such as bollards).

I've been seeing a lot of trucks parking on the shoulder lately and they all have trashboards (dashboards full of trash). None of them had their 4-ways on or cones out. I'm sure at least half of the trucks parked with their 4-ways on and the hood open aren't actually broken down anyways. Then they merge back into traffic going 10mph and you can't get around them because of the trucks that sit in the left lane all day or walls of cars that are all tailgating. Hopefully highway patrol starts ticketing these slobs for illegally parking. I've seen people complain about the off or on ramp parking trucks on here, but obviously these shoulder parking jerkoffs deserve the most hate.

My trainer, a former Marine, would tell me stories about how truck drivers have gotten killed every week while I was training. He said that he'd be carrying a gun if there wasn't a no weapons policy. It's standard practice for most companies nowadays to give training on active shootings. Even Schneider has a training section on that, but it's geared for office workers which is weird. I just thought I'd ask people how'd they deal with a worse-case scenario so I can be more informed.

SCWZ, this issue really seems to be keeping you awake at night. Are other drivers from your company having break-in attempts? What events have prompted your concern?

Let’s assume you don’t carry a gun. Criminals don’t know that and may assume that you do have one ready to use in your truck. Truckers have a certain reputation as gun slingers, so that idea actually works in your favor even though you don’t have one.

You can get several cans of Raid Wasp and Hornet Spray to keep handy in your truck. Or Bear Spray. The Wasp and Hornet spray will shoot up to 30 feet. A good blast of that stuff in the face should run off most bad guys.

In my almost 30 months of driving, I have experienced no threats. Are you being a little paranoid?

So to ask bluntly, what do you do if you wake up and some person or group is actively trying to get into your tractor and possibly harm you? HOW would you better prepare yourself for this situation? You can say how unlikely this is, but reciting all the statistics or saying "I should've parked there instead" isn't going to help you in a situation like this.

I am starting to think maybe we are confused over what SCWZ really wants to know. Maybe I'm crazy, but after re-reading everything I am not certain what it is that he is asking. The post is titled "Keeping Tractor Secure In Bad Areas." Then the post is about not having a padlock for the trailer. If you are just concerned with keeping yourself safe, Brett probably gave the proper answer.

Twice this week, I did the very thing Brett spoke about. When I was first starting this career, I was really big on getting to my receiver the night before and sleeping on their property. This made me the first in and the first out. It conserved my clock, which is an important practice when managing yourself and your ability to make good money out here. I later discovered that I don't really lose much ability to keep being productive by parking in a secure and safe place nearby and just easing in a little early in the morning. I did it this morning. I left a truck stop, which was ten miles from where I needed to be, at about five this morning. I got to the customer and parked. I waited until 0600 for them to get started, but that didn't really hurt me.

Oh well, whatever it is that SCWZ is asking, I hope he will clarify it with us. Everyone has put some good ideas out there for SCWZ to consider. I hope he finds it helpful.

I was trying to say that I don't want to be in a situation where criminals realize they can't get into a trailer and instead decide to go after my tractor. Some criminals want to get into the tractor so they can steal the tractor and trailer. That why I was asking how to better secure a TRACTOR. I'm sure almost everyone here would rather have something stolen from a trailer than have to deal with criminals trying to break into your tractor while you're sleeping and possibly having to fight for your life. Maybe some of yall are prepared to go out guns blazing to defend your freight. As for myself, I only haul low value freight that's hard to steal out of the trailer anyways.

For example, I was told that looping the seat belts around the door handles can make it harder to open the doors if the locks are picked or the windows are busted. I'm on a home weekly schedule and some stores that I deliver to aren't even near truck stops or rest areas, so it isn't really an option for me to wait at safer places to avoid the "high crime" hours. I also have to park in the middle of nowhere sometimes, so I have to rely on myself.

And I only have a regular padlock, so I don't bother putting that on a trailer. I feel like criminals will think it's more worth it to break into a trailer if they see a lock and they'll come back with stuff to break it if they don't have the tools already. If I put on a puck lock and/or a cargo door lock to make a trailer more secure, I feel like that would make my tractor more of a target.

The store that I delivered to was broken into last night and I was parked out back in an alley. Not exactly one of the safest places. The police woke me up to ask me questions. What are some ways that you keep yourself and your tractor safe in bad areas?

It can depends on how the button membranes are shaped how they're oriented. If the sludge created by a cleaner doesn't drain away from the button assembly, the buttons will become sticky again.

First of all, the politicians shouldn't be forcing everyone to use electric vehicles when the current renewable energy sources don't provide enough electricity and aren't reliable. They're also against fission reactors, which would be the only reliable way to provide massive amounts of power. Their goals should instead be promoting technology that further offsets, but doesn't eliminate, fossil fuels.

All electric semi trucks that match diesel trucks are out of the realm of possibility for at least the next couple decades. They should instead focus on hybrid technologies and reefer trailers. Reefer trailers could have solar panels on the roof, utilize excess power from a truck's alternator and have power cells equally distributed on the undercarriage. All the old, nasty and loud reefers could be phased out. Also, all the obnoxiously loud lawn mowers strapped on the back of trucks (diesel generators) could be replaced by electric inverters. There will be less pollution and way less noise pollution in truck stops.