My Bad Day

About a week ago, while trying to get to a shipper in Philadelphia, I struck a parked car. I didn't listen to my gut, made poor choices, and this was the result.

The small street I planned on taking had a sign saying begin one way, but had cars parked on both sides facing me which confused me so I went to the next street going the correct direction. But after the first block a garbage truck was stopped so I attempted a left turn. Trying to avoid the car parked by the corner, I got too close to a street sign pole and backed up into a parked vehicle. I called the police then my safety department. After two hours with no police arrival, my company told me to get back to the highway since I was blocking a roadway and everything else needed had been done.

Here's what I should have done differently. I should have confirmed my company really wanted a driver of my inexperience tackling this assignment. It was the start of my second month solo. If indeed they did, I should have asked them for guidance picking the best routes in and out, because I wasn't confident in mine. Once in front of those little streets, I should have realized my truck has no business being on them. And if all that still played out, I definitely should not have backed up on a public roadway without police assistance.

The two people from safety I spoke to, my fleet leader, and even the owner of the vehicle were all very nice about it, so the only one beating myself up over it was me.

I was hoping to make it through my rookie year incident/accident free. That won't be the case, but believe that I will carry these lessons learned with me.

Narrow streets, inadequate intersections, lax parking enforcement, completely unfamiliar surroundings, and big trucks are bad combinations, yet we encounter these in our travels all too often. One thing I count on in the older established cities (places that have been around for 150 years or longer) is the more "downtown" I go, the margin for error becomes smaller, and the blood pressure and stress will normally get larger.

All you can do is learn from this and carry on. Keep what happened in mind, yet don't dwell on it every time you get off the Interstate.

Sandman, I had a very similar experience in my first rookie year. (I’m now in my second rookie year) I got out of it without hitting anything, but I was lucky. Totally destroyed my deodorant protection for the entire day. If that is your only incident during your first year, you are doing better than average.

One thing I learned from my experience is that you can find a safe place to pull over and call the police for guidance BEFORE you commit to a questionable route. The next time I got routed into a really tight area in Connecticut, I did that. A policeman was there in 15 minutes and explained how to get to my destination safely. They are very willing to help prevent a potential problem like the one you experienced.

We all learn stuff from our mistakes. One of my favorite quotes is “Experience is a tough teacher because it gives the test first and the lesson afterwards”.

Shake it off and keep moving forward, unless you’re backing.

Keep what happened in mind, yet don't dwell on it every time you get off the Interstate.

I'll admit I got a bit nervous seeing a Cleveland address for a consignee the other day, but luckily it was only one turn off the interstate. Still not a great place for me, I missed what I thought was the correct turn the first time, and coming from the other side was not able to see the no trucks sign (didn't know that's where it was from my drive the other direction). That was the exit-only with no room to turn around and they said they couldn't open it for me. So I stayed calm, came up with a plan, and got where I needed to be legally and safely. Had I had to back up onto that road like they told me to, I definitely would have been calling police to block traffic off.

Sandman, I had a very similar experience in my first rookie year. (I’m now in my second rookie year) I got out of it without hitting anything, but I was lucky.

One of my favorite quotes is “Experience is a tough teacher because it gives the test first and the lesson afterwards”.

Glad you got out of that experience unscathed BK, and I like that quote.

Delivering in major cities with tight streets is part of the job we do. Be glad that you are not a local driver because it's even more hectic, in that regard. That's just general observation and commentary on trucking.

For beginning drivers fresh out of training, you would be surprised how much leniency some companies are willing to give those drivers who don't make excuses and own their mistakes. Many companies take this approach because experience has shown them that getting upset with drivers doesn't help prevent future incidents and firing drivers for minor incidents only increases already high turnover.

Be careful not to let this incident become a problem with maintaining focus. You did the right thing once the mistake had been made. You took the time to see how it can be avoided in the future. Don't let it cause you to 2nd guess yourself. What I mean by this is that you want to be able to make decisions and be confident in the decisions that you are making. If you start 2nd guessing yourself, you set yourself up to make more mistakes. Also, don't allow yourself to dwell on the fact that your first year now has a blemish, as far as your driving record. It will only kill your confidence. You want to be confident, not ****y. You need confidence to know that when you are making a decision, it's a sound decision. You can be a confident driver and still be respectful of what that vehicle you are driving has the potential to do. You need confidence to know that you can safely deliver any load assigned to you on time. Philadelphia is a challenging city to navigate, but it's not beyond your capability. Give yourself plenty of time to arrive at your destination, no matter where you are going so that if you do find yourself going where it doesn't seem you should be, you have time to stop and reassess your route.

I was in Newark the other day. I-280 was backed up and not moving, so I decided to exit to take surface streets to NJ-10 and work my way to I-80. Well, en route to NJ-10, I had to make a right hand turn. After starting the turn, I realize that I don't have enough room to complete the turn because a city bus was at the corner. I did what my company has instructed us to do in situations where more space is needed to make a turn. I sat nose-to-nose with the bus. Normally vehicles will back up to give space. When it's a line of vehicles, they will inch worm back until there is enough space. This bus wasn't moving. I wasn't going to back up because I had traffic behind me doing all manner of things, and I was blind on my left. I called the local precinct and explained the situation. Once there was a unit on site, I explained that I knew my mistake was not waiting for the bus to go before trying to turn. I couldn't change that mistake at this point and needed someone to control traffic so that I could back up to allow the bus to proceed. Three police units ended up responding to my call for assistance. They helped me get out of that jam and thanked me for calling before trying to maneuver blind on a busy street.

I don't know what your relationship is with your trainer, but I know that if I have questions, if I am ever unsure of something, I can still call my trainer for advice on any situation. If you feel comfortable with your trainer, don't hesitate to call him to ask for advice when you are unsure of how to proceed in a given situation.

Be safe out there, driver.

Bummer for you Sandman. It seems to me you are getting some good advice here. BK mentioned something about pucker factor and sweating, and Ryan mentioned confidence. Both are part of trucking and just about any other high stressfull environment. No doubt we are sent into some tight areas and it can be confusing at times. I still get nervous in city limits and on tight streets; my radar is always on high alert. You can get beyond this. Keeping a good attitude, as you've demonstrated here, will go a long way toward forging a safe path ahead for your driving career.

Best wishes for you on your journey!

One of the things I do to mitigate these types of issues playing out is to perform extensive recon using satellite images and street view. Not just at the shipper/reciever but as many blocks as it takes to get in and out safely.

I'll get the the entry route and at least two alternatives, same for exit paths. I trip plan obsessively and will review it for changes along my route at stops.

I have a lot more piece of mind and less stress that way. It's a much safer method than just reacting. The value of proper trip planning and recon can't be understated.

I really appreciate all the advice I am getting. Davy, I used that method today planning my way to a repair shop in the middle of a small town with small streets. It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, mainly because of a lack of traffic, mostly. Had two plans in and out, and asked the mechanic once there since he knows the area, then walked down to the street he suggested to see it in person first.

Ryan, that doesn't sound like a fun position to be in at all. Glad you were able to stay calm and do the right thing before it turned bad.

Bill, I will focus on keeping the right attitude and not letting this incident derail my future.

Safe travels everyone.