Company Policy Regarding Difficult Backing Situations

Hi everyone, Hope all is well. I am new to the forum and am not a driver, but would like to be one someday. I wanted to thank Brett and all the forum moderators for an extremely informative and honest website for those interested in the trucking industry! As mentioned, I am not a driver but am currently a medical professional and have been contemplating a career change to trucking. I would like to thank Brett for his book on trucking which was extremely honest and informative!! Sadly, a lot of medical professionals like myself "whine" a lot like truckers about issues that impact us without looking at the positives of their situation. I follow a lot of youtube truckers and have been reading a lot of the information provided in this forum. As you probably know well, backing a truck is quite challenging and it is clear that may shippers/receivers/truckstops have very tight backing situations. My question is what do you do when you are in a position where you feel that a dock/parking spot is not safe to back into (assuming there are no other options-- ie you are at a shipper/receiver)-- do you call your safety department and do they "force" you to back in-- what are your options? (Sorry for the bad grammar in the last sentence) Thanks for any advice in advance!

The receiver will tell you that trucks bank in there all the time and then look at you funny. What you can do, if you really have problems or just aren't comfortable is to ask another driver to spot you in or all the yard dog operater if they will set the trailer for you.

Never had one I considered unsafe. Now, if it's tight or requires backing onto a street, I've asked the shipper/consignee to give me a spotter. They've also been willing to move obstacles if those prevented me from maneuvering. Also, if there are other drivers around and I need a spotter, I'll ask them. Of course, I offer my help if it looks like another driver needs it. Just make sure you both agree on a "stop" signal.

I hope this helps.

If there are trucks already in the docks, then you will fit too.

Doesn't matter how long it takes, or how many pull-ups you need.

As long as it gets in without hitting anything - all is well.

Rick

There is a phrase preached in the morning and preached in the evening for backing into a dock:

Get Out And Look

... or GOAL.

You can get out and look as often as you need to see how your trailer fits, and to help you avoid hitting anything.

And as far as "company policy" goes on "difficult backing situations.

It's usually: DON'T HIT ANYTHING

Rick

I wish my camera worked so I could take a picture of the Family Dollar truck docked across the street from me right now. There is a wall less than a truck-length in front of the dock, so he had to complete his back with the tractor at an angle to the trailer (he finished at about an 90 degree angle). Plus he had to back into the docking area off the street. That's one of the tightest backing situations I've seen out here so far.

Most docks are actually fairly easy to back into though, so I wouldn't worry about it too much R.S. Like Errol said, always GOAL as many times as necessary and you'll be ok.

RS, welcome to the forum!

You got some good responses to your question, but I want to take a slightly different approach to what you've asked. I realize that you are totally new to this and just at the very beginning of indicating an interest in this career, but I'm hoping I can plant a seed in your mind that will help you as you progress further into this career.

You're already expressing some angst over difficult backing situations before you've even been in a truck, and I'm sure you developed this curiosity just from what you've been reading. Backing a truck, and even the difficult backing maneuvers are just an every day part of the job, but a very small part of the overall picture. Here's my thinking about what you've asked. You don't want to begin your career as being know as the guy who's always calling safety to let them know that something is too difficult for you to do. One of the primary things I focused on when I was a rookie was making sure my dispatcher had every bit of confidence in me that I could. You can't accomplish that by being the guy who is constantly letting them know you can't do something, or that you are afraid to try something. Anytime I came across something difficult that I felt I needed some help on, I wouldn't contact dispatch or safety, I would ask other drivers that are at the same facility for some help.

Success in this business gets a lot of assistance from a dispatcher who trusts you fully to be the guy that he can count on, no matter what you are working on. My dispatcher tells me one of the things he loves about me is that he never hears from me. He knows that what ever I'm working on it will get done, and once he has dispatched it to me he never gives it another thought. I worked this way from the very start - if they trusted me with a load, I was bound and determined to make sure I got it taken care of, and if there was any way possible I would get it done earlier than they had required. That is a formula for success, but you don't risk being safe to do that. If you need some help with a difficulty at a shipper or receiver ask someone there how the other drivers do it, or ask a driver to spot you or give you some pointers. You don't have to be shy about being a greenhorn, most of the professionals out here will be more than willing to help you. I know I probably helped at least three rookies out this past week alone - I do this all the time. My point is that you can get help without putting a bunch of doubts and fears in your dispatcher's mind about your ability to succeed at this.

One thing to keep in mind about backing is that you are only idling the truck, and you are moving very slowly. I love a challenge, and if you can take that approach to the difficult maneuvers in driving a truck you will benefit from it. There is no greater feeling of accomplishment than having accomplished a difficult maneuver successfully in a big rig, even if it took you forever and you had to G.O.A.L. twelve times just to get it done. Don't be intimidated by other drivers being present to watch you, or even if they are having to wait on you. Trust me, at some point in there careers or maybe even in their day that day, someone has had to wait on them. You never want to be reckless and headstrong in your approach to a difficult maneuver, but you sure don't want to be calling safety and telling them a dock is too tight when people have been getting their rigs in there for the last fifteen years.

You can call safety about genuine safety concerns like black ice on the roads or a debilitating fog or snowstorm, and they will respect your good solid judgement for deciding to shut down, but I don't recommend contacting them because you are afraid to back in between two trailers when there is only a few inches to spare on each side - you just get in there and do it - the more times you successfully accomplish stuff like that the more you will understand how to get it done, and the more confident you will become in your new found skills.

I pull thw helpless female card.. "I'm really new... can you give me an easier door pllllleeeeaaasssseee" usually if I take too long trying to get in the door a really nice guy... ot one who can't get past me... we spot me lol

I'm just gonna be like "Hey, here's $10-$20 bucks, will you back this up for me?" haha

I pull thw helpless female card.. "I'm really new... can you give me an easier door pllllleeeeaaasssseee" usually if I take too long trying to get in the door a really nice guy... ot one who can't get past me... we spot me lol