Managing The Blind-side Back. (Consignees Immediately Off Streets)

Hey TT, i've just been trying to imagine the various situations i'll have to face once I get on the road, and one thing just keeps coming back to bother me.

So i'm aware that blind-side backing is discouraged where possible, but how do you veterans generally deal with situations in cities or urban/suburban areas where your shipper or receiver requires a dock/back right off the main road? Our driver's seat is on the right, and we drive along the road on the right to our destinations, so I realized that any time you're in that situation where you arrive at your consignee and they're basically on the street, you're immediately (to my mind) put into a difficult decision. So correct me if i'm wrong, but won't you always either have to:

a) Stay on your side of the road and attempt a blind side into the dock or; b) find a way to turn around to make it a driver-side back, but then be forced into driving into and setting-up directly into oncoming traffic to start the maneuver?

Am I thinking about these situations right? If not, what have I missed? How do y'all deal with setting-up backs right off a main road? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!!

Oops, that'd be driver's seat on the LEFT. Won't make a very good trucker if I can't tell my rights from my lefts, right? :p

Many times backing in from streets you will have to take up the entire street to hit the dock anyway. If at all possible you will want to sight side back because it is safer and you will get off the street quicker. Traffic will stop.

Here's a dock in Chicago I had to hit yesterday morning, even once I was docked I was blocking half the street.

That was way to tight to be blind siding. I could have done it but it would have taken much longer and many get out and looks. It was a busy street to.

It is in your best interest to look up these places before hand on Google maps/satellite and try to come to the place aligned for a sight side back.

I must be tired, too /= to, and I did it more than once.

Like Matt said, you turn around somewhere and do a site side and take the whole street if you have to. We do Chicago often too.

Well traffic SHOULD stop anyway lol

Man I won't bother going and finding a place to turn around because you might not know where that is. Just wait for a decent break in traffic and block up the lanes. Then the hard part is remembering to take your time while all the people are getting ****ed at you. Just keep getting out and checking to see where you are at or better yet get a spotter from the place you're pulling in to.

Is that a daycab you're driving, Heavy? I still stand by my company's policy of not blindside docking if any way possible.

Currently it is a day cab. However that doesn't stop me from getting out and checking clearances. You can do what you would like and if it's company policy than definitely find a way to make a sight side back. Of course sight side is safer and easier. But you'll find that it's just not always possible or even realistic to back that way. So I won't shy away from it. This isn't some super trucker remark or sense of invisibility because I certainly have screwed up. As long as you take it slow and do the right steps you can blind side with no issues.

Thank you all for the advice! I suspected as much as having to use the whole road anyway, I just wanted to hear whether drivers preferred to make the dock on arrival or to put the effort in to arrive with the consignee on the left. Now, do you wait for the left lane to clear for a few hundred feet, or just play chicken with oncoming traffic in your big rig?