Three Swift Swifts Parking Follies

That is a worry of mine, that I will have that much trouble backing.

I don't really find that video all that funny myself. Mostly because they didn't hit anything, and they're almost certainly all in the early stages of learning. The only thing you should expect of a new driver is that they don't hit anything. Otherwise take all day if you have to, that's called learning.

I agree that yes they are in the learning stage or at least seem to be. True, they didn't hit anything but taking that long and one driver giving up certainly makes you question the quality of their training. I'll gladly praise my trainer, he didn't make any backing situation easy on me. He wanted me to assess the situation and have a plan in mind.

Although I was poking fun at my own employer in a previous reply, once I actually looked at the video (just now) it's quite a mess in a Keystone Cop, "Moe, Larry and Curly" sort of way. First truck was applying far too much steering wheel as he corrected, clearly a student. The thing that really jumped out at me was when the 2nd truck arrived and the spotter had placed himself between the Swift trailer and the front of the truck taking the video. Unless I am missing something he was taking a huge risk, especially if the driver of the truck backing up was a student (and it most obviously was). Kinda scary cause it's likely the spotter was a mentor/trainer.

Thankfully the training I received from Swift was not a folly like this. Good thing cause there are days when I will back 6-8 times in close quarters throughout the course of the day.

That is a worry of mine, that I will have that much trouble backing.

Everyone does. You'll have one day where you'll nail it all day long. The next day people will think Helen Keller is behind the wheel. As some here know, I drive in NYC all the time, it'll force you to have your head on a swivel and give you challenges you really don't want. The key is to be safe and never give up.

Robert the Dragon took the words right out of my brain! Yes, when you get out of school and pass the CDL test, you are closer to Helen Keller for backing than to supertrucker. It comes with practice. I've been driving for COUGHSwiftCOUGH for ten months. One time recently I couldn't back into a dock for the life of me (45-90 degree alley dock). The very next day, in a similar situation, you could use my back-up in an instruction video on how to do it. Do not be nervous, Get Out and Look more than you really want to, and, above all, do not hit the fender of another truck!

That last line just gave me another thought about the Three Swifties - we do not see how full that parking area is. That original "parking here" picture is empty, but when the action starts, you do not know how much space there is. Still, I laughed at some of the antics.

That is a worry of mine, that I will have that much trouble backing.

Everyone does. You'll have one day where you'll nail it all day long. The next day people will think Helen Keller is behind the wheel. As some here know, I drive in NYC all the time, it'll force you to have your head on a swivel and give you challenges you really don't want. The key is to be safe and never give up.

Robert the Dragon took the words right out of my brain! Yes, when you get out of school and pass the CDL test, you are closer to Helen Keller for backing than to supertrucker. It comes with practice. I've been driving for COUGHSwiftCOUGH for ten months. One time recently I couldn't back into a dock for the life of me (45-90 degree alley dock). The very next day, in a similar situation, you could use my back-up in an instruction video on how to do it. Do not be nervous, Get Out and Look more than you really want to, and, above all, do not hit the fender of another truck!

That last line just gave me another thought about the Three Swifties - we do not see how full that parking area is. That original "parking here" picture is empty, but when the action starts, you do not know how much space there is. Still, I laughed at some of the antics.

I have backed up my old pop up camper hundreds of times, and my parents 5th wheel camper many times, so I am familiar with it, to a degree. Just not on the level of a 48ft flatbed, or 53ft dry van.

One thing I'm a little disturbed nobody is bothering to mention here: that's a blindside back. Angle backs are difficult enough due to the reference points in front of you not lining up the way your brain expects them to, but now you've got this situation where it's a blind angle, and the setup is in what appears to be the (very busy) driveway/employee parking lot of that particular customer. Yes, the execution looked like something out of a Benny Hill sketch in the video--the time-lapse and music may have contributed to that impression--and all the participants were very likely very new drivers, but that's a situation even seasoned veterans would have trouble with. If you read through the comments on that video, you'll note where the driver who recorded it points out that he deliberately edited out the part where it took him forever to get backed into his own spot.

Fatsquatch observes:

One thing I'm a little disturbed nobody is bothering to mention here: that's a blindside back.

Yes, if you pay attention at the start - the overhead view, you can see it's a 45 blind/right side back. They had a problem I still am tying to figure out: how far forward do you pull past your "spot" so that your trailer tandems are right for backing in. This goes for the warehouse 90 (rolling along the line of trucks/trailers, come to your dock, suddenly turn away till said tandems are just right, and slip 'er in).

That is a worry of mine, that I will have that much trouble backing.

Everyone does. You'll have one day where you'll nail it all day long. The next day people will think Helen Keller is behind the wheel. As some here know, I drive in NYC all the time, it'll force you to have your head on a swivel and give you challenges you really don't want. The key is to be safe and never give up.

Robert the Dragon took the words right out of my brain! Yes, when you get out of school and pass the CDL test, you are closer to Helen Keller for backing than to supertrucker. It comes with practice. I've been driving for COUGHSwiftCOUGH for ten months. One time recently I couldn't back into a dock for the life of me (45-90 degree alley dock). The very next day, in a similar situation, you could use my back-up in an instruction video on how to do it. Do not be nervous, Get Out and Look more than you really want to, and, above all, do not hit the fender of another truck!

That last line just gave me another thought about the Three Swifties - we do not see how full that parking area is. That original "parking here" picture is empty, but when the action starts, you do not know how much space there is. Still, I laughed at some of the antics.

You can see in the reflection on the trailer when it's crossways in front of the camera that there's quite a few trucks in there.

I saw this video and at the time I thought it was funny. Having now had the experience of driving a truck in school... I can understand their pain now. I'm still fresh into the driving portion of my schooling but I think everyone has things they are good at and things they are bad at. for example I found I'm pretty good at shifting and getting better as time goes on... personally I thought I would be horrible with that. Backing though for me is a bit of a weak point. I'm still learning so it's ok but it's def something that will take a bit more time for me to learn and even then it may prove to be my weakest area of truck driving. Now another class mate of mine his weak point is mostly shifting, but from what I have seen his backing isn't half bad, maybe he's had more experience with backing then what I know of, maybe his height (6'8") is making shifting that much harder... no idea but my point being is everyone has a weak and a strong point, some are better backers then shifters others shift better than back.

That is a worry of mine, that I will have that much trouble backing.

Everyone does. You'll have one day where you'll nail it all day long. The next day people will think Helen Keller is behind the wheel. As some here know, I drive in NYC all the time, it'll force you to have your head on a swivel and give you challenges you really don't want. The key is to be safe and never give up.

That'd be a real hoot to see a female driver with her own truck and the name Helen Keller painted on the drivers door..

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there..

Paul J. said

That'd be a real hoot to see a female driver with her own truck and the name Helen Keller painted on the drivers door..

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there..

I tried it this way, "That'd be a real hoot to see a male driver with his own truck and the name Gerald Ford painted on the drivers door. I don't care who you are, that's funny right there."

Naw, it wasn't funny. Not this way, and not yours, Paul.

That is a worry of mine, that I will have that much trouble backing.

Me too.

I'd rather be safe than sorry.