ROOKIES, BEST ADVICE I HAVE GOTTEN

Well today started out as a feel bad for myself day and then it didn't help when I had to shut down early because of the wind here on I40 in Arizona. I am sitting at a flying j and as I came outside I see that a Stevens truck took off the hood of another Stevens truck. It reminded me of some advice I got that you should always be extra careful in the parking lot. Seeing how the driver hit the other truck, he probably let his guard down and now he gets to be on twisted truckers... I thought i was having a bad day haha!

as I came outside I see that a Stevens truck took off the hood of another Stevens truck. It reminded me of some advice I got that you should always be extra careful in the parking lot.

Yes, great advice. Always stay alert and be cautious in a parking lot. I remember once after picking up a load of copper at a mine in Arizona there were seven of us drivers from the same company there. They always insisted that we run those loads with another driver, and that we stay togethet for the entire trip because they were high value loads. We decided it would be amusing for all seven of us to sort of convoy our goods all the way up to Connecticut.

The first truck stop we stayed at was basically empty and we were able to all park together. When we left out for the next leg of our trip, two of the drivers were joking around on the radio and not paying attention when they collided with each other while trying to pull out of their parking spaces. It brought an abrupt end to our fun times and reduced our dandy little convoy down to five real quick.

Ouch! My mindset is my guard can not be let down until I set the brakes. People get frustrated with me because I turtle around the parking lot, but turtling around has saved me numerous times from taking out someones hood.

Ouch! My mindset is my guard can not be let down until I set the brakes. People get frustrated with me because I turtle around the parking lot, but turtling around has saved me numerous times from taking out someones hood.

There is no minimum speed in a parking lot, no matter what you hear on Channel 19. My description for proper speed in backing a trailer is "a turtle walking on egg shells".

Gotta love the SUPER TRUCKERS going thru the Truck Stops in 8th gear.

I can't remember who told me this when I first started driving, when parking in a truck stop always back-in to a spot with a rig parked to your driver side so there isn't an empty parking spot on your driver side as that I would be the blind side rig for someone backing into that spot. So about a month into driving I pull into a truck stop, I back into a spot with a rig parked on my driver side and there were 3 spots in a row on my right open. About 10-minutes later a driver backs in to my riight, but one empty space apart from me. A little while later another driver tries to back into the spot to my right between me and the driver who had pulled in after me. He ends up hitting the other truck, on his blindside, and puncturing the guys fuel tank.

Of course there are many times I will pull in next to a truck on my left and they will pull out within an hour of me parking and leave so I now become the blindside truck for the next guy pulling in.