I think it happens to everyone. Sometimes our brains shut off for a moment. Though not as big as yours, I had a similar thing. I was at a shipper and got assigned a door. There was enough space to back in drivers side and thats the direction i approached the dock. For whatever reason I decided to make a U Turn and blind side it before it occurred to me what I was doing. Yeah, I went around the lot again and did it drivers side then.
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Ever have a completely bonehead moment in you trucker career? I had mine the other day. Got to the shipper running on time. Was a drop and hook , new load not ready yet so I went to drop my trailer. Wife called and was chatting her up a bit and completely forgot to go by the steps for unhooking. Did everything but unplug my air and electric lines. Pulled forward and pop.. busted all 3. Man what a dumbass move.. Had to call my dispatcher , he had a good laugh.. Contacted roadside breakdown, They had a good laugh.. Contacted the vendor to let them know all the parts I needed and waited for them to come to me as I was out of hours. Petrol guy came out 5 hours later.. Got it fixed and back to terminal this morning. Think I will just get a spare set to keep in my truck and change it out myself if it ever happens again..
At least they weren't upset about it happening. Could've been worse, you could have forgotten to lower the landing gear.
I had one when I was still very green, maybe about 3 weeks or so of experience in the middle of a snow storm at around 1600 or so. Was at our drop lot in Urbandale IA behind the pilot there, all the spots are 45 degree angles. Not knowing how to set up for one, I set up like I would a 45. Got frustrated after about 20 mins then thought, "maybe it would be easier if I did it blindside." I actually pull down the lot and turned around, but as soon as I got to the first parking spot, it dawned on me how stupid I am for thinking that would work better. Got turned around again and backed, slowly, down the lot and just kept trying. Eventually got it.
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
Operating While Intoxicated
I nearly did this one day. In fact i would have if someone else standing there had pointed it out while i was in the driver's seat getting ready to go. I had pulled the release then got distracted talking to a couple other drivers for 5 or 10 minutes. Our company has a pamphlet they give out with the steps they expect drivers to follow for coupling and uncoupling, and of course if you follow the steps for uncoupling you remove the air lines before pulling the release, and you can never make that mistake even if you do get distracted.
Everyone does boneheaded things at some point. Everyone.
One time it was -10 degrees out and I thought my brakes were frozen. I beat on em for a while before realizing I had hooked up the airlines backwards. How do you do that after years on the road?
The key is to not make the really big mistakes out there. Just take it slow and don't let your guard down. I always like to emphasize to everyone that the most catastrophic wrecks I witnessed over the years were almost always under ideal conditions with light traffic and beautiful weather. It's when we let our guard down that problems will happen.
I'm the type that double and triple checks everything important before I make a move, and that's because I've made enough mistakes and missed enough things over the years to know it's well worth the time it takes to make doubly sure, or triply sure that you're doing it right the first time.
Don't sweat it. We've all been there.
Been there done that man. Did it twice in my career. i kept an extra set of all three lines just in case it ever happened again. roadside always takes forever.
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
Everyone does boneheaded things at some point. Everyone.
One time it was -10 degrees out and I thought my brakes were frozen. I beat on em for a while before realizing I had hooked up the airlines backwards. How do you do that after years on the road?
The key is to not make the really big mistakes out there. Just take it slow and don't let your guard down. I always like to emphasize to everyone that the most catastrophic wrecks I witnessed over the years were almost always under ideal conditions with light traffic and beautiful weather. It's when we let our guard down that problems will happen.
I'm the type that double and triple checks everything important before I make a move, and that's because I've made enough mistakes and missed enough things over the years to know it's well worth the time it takes to make doubly sure, or triply sure that you're doing it right the first time.
Don't sweat it. We've all been there.
Yep, I've done the reverse airline thing as well. Same scenario while picking up a new trailer. Cold, dark and windy so you're in a bit of a hurry. Good thing I didn't have a hammer at the time or I would have likely got under there and beat on the brakes as well. I'm sitting there just about to call onroad when the little light bulb in my noggin go off. Of course you're still thinking, "no it couldn't be ". Sure enough brake lines hooked up backwards. Well at least I didn't actually call onroad. LOL!
JJ
Ever have a completely bonehead moment in you trucker career? I had mine the other day. Got to the shipper running on time. Was a drop and hook , new load not ready yet so I went to drop my trailer. Wife called and was chatting her up a bit and completely forgot to go by the steps for unhooking. Did everything but unplug my air and electric lines. Pulled forward and pop.. busted all 3. Man what a dumbass move.. Had to call my dispatcher , he had a good laugh.. Contacted roadside breakdown, They had a good laugh.. Contacted the vendor to let them know all the parts I needed and waited for them to come to me as I was out of hours. Petrol guy came out 5 hours later.. Got it fixed and back to terminal this morning. Think I will just get a spare set to keep in my truck and change it out myself if it ever happens again..
I've done this once, but I was really lucky--the electrical line popped off instead of breaking. I don't know how it managed to pop off like it did, but I wasn't complaining about it!
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
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Ever have a completely bonehead moment in you trucker career? I had mine the other day. Got to the shipper running on time. Was a drop and hook , new load not ready yet so I went to drop my trailer. Wife called and was chatting her up a bit and completely forgot to go by the steps for unhooking. Did everything but unplug my air and electric lines. Pulled forward and pop.. busted all 3. Man what a dumbass move.. Had to call my dispatcher , he had a good laugh.. Contacted roadside breakdown, They had a good laugh.. Contacted the vendor to let them know all the parts I needed and waited for them to come to me as I was out of hours. Petrol guy came out 5 hours later.. Got it fixed and back to terminal this morning. Think I will just get a spare set to keep in my truck and change it out myself if it ever happens again..
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.