U-Turn In Big Rig And.... Your Fired! ??

In that video it looks like he could have simply backed up about 50 feet and made the u-turn all on pavement?

There is a difference in making a legal, required U turn vs an illegal U turn.

Try making a delivery to one of the auto plants in Detroit or Warren MI without making a U turn.

Unless you want to travel through tons of city streets, you have to make u turns in Detroit or Warren. That's how the streets are set up.

Keep it safe out here, the life you save might be your own. The Blue Angel.

Brian wrote:

Man did he mess up on that.....only thing he did right....was at least see the LOW bridge sign and didn't stuff the truck under the bridge, but with proper trip planning he should have been aware of the bridge and never have driven down that road.

"he should have been aware of the bridge"

How? Does that mean if the driver trip planned this road on a recent Trucker Atlas he would have found the low overpass?

Another way to find it is, for Dispatch Center to load trip into a software package and have overpass found automatically. Maybe that's already being done? I see a tremendous amount of savings here!

BTW... I passed CDL test today and got my permit today with 3 endorsements. YEAAA!!! I'm thrilled. Thank you TT and Brett. TT CDL training- You get an A+ for that software!

I drive for Werner and it's true. If you get caught doing a U-turn you're done. They are pretty strict with safety. You also can't park on the side of the road or anywhere besides a truck stop, rest area, or terminal. Makes it a pain when you're running out of time on the clock and you can't find a spot to park..

"You can't park on the side of the road...". Is this a typical policy of all large carriers? I get that this means you have to route-plan well, but it seems this could be pretty hard if you're sleepy and there are no places (truck stop, rest area, terminal) nearby.

I drive for Werner and it's true. If you get caught doing a U-turn you're done. They are pretty strict with safety. You also can't park on the side of the road or anywhere besides a truck stop, rest area, or terminal. Makes it a pain when you're running out of time on the clock and you can't find a spot to park..

"You can't park on the side of the road...". Is this a typical policy of all large carriers? I get that this means you have to route-plan well, but it seems this could be pretty hard if you're sleepy and there are no places (truck stop, rest area, terminal) nearby.

I'm sure it's against any decent companies policy. Fairly sure it's illegal to just pull on the side of the road to sleep in most places anyway. Only places I know that it is ok is in certain industrial/business parks that are set up that way. Definitely a no go on the interstate or other highways.

Here it the main thing about U turns, in most states they are illegal. Let's take Tennessee for an example; Last week a pickup driver was killed when he struck a Prime trailer in the process of making a U Turn near Shelbyville, TN. It was on a 4 lane highway with a center turn lane.

The law in Tennessee states that U turns are illegal except on a divided highway and they do not distinguish between trucks and personal vehicles. Since this was not a divided highway the U turn was thus illegal. The thing is, just a few miles down the road was a truck stop that he could have turned around in.

I really don't care what the reason is, I will drive another 50 miles if I have to in order to not make a u turn. Not saying I have never made a u turn, because I have, but it has always been in the process of working road construction where the traffic was controlled. Many people do not thing that U turns are illegal but they are in most states.

West Side Transport has a NO Illegal U Turn policy and a driver can be fired for doing one. Due to safety reasons they highly recommend NOT doing them, but if it's in a location where its legal and there is no other option then you do one. They say it takes a minimum of 23 seconds to complete a U turn, where you are blocking traffic and at risk of causing an accident and they can't defend a potential lawsuit that could arise.

No U turns is the policy for most big companies.

When we were in training they showed us an incident in Georgia where a car went under the trailer. The car was immediately turned into a convertible, decapitating the body of the driver and killing the baby in the back seat.

Out of route miles suck sometimes but it is safer to find a safe heaven to turnaround than attempt a U-turn.

I've seen a couple of suggestions, but that video gave me a question. If you do find yourself staring at a low bridge, and you can't make a U-Turn, what do you do? Especially if there is a good amount of traffic around you.

Reason I am asking, there was a driver in Spartanburg, SC that hit a low bridge last week, and I have a feeling he is unemployed. I don't want to be unemployed.

Sam P wrote:

I've seen a couple of suggestions, but that video gave me a question. If you do find yourself staring at a low bridge, and you can't make a U-Turn, what do you do? Especially if there is a good amount of traffic around you.

Reason I am asking, there was a driver in Spartanburg, SC that hit a low bridge last week, and I have a feeling he is unemployed. I don't want to be unemployed.

There is no excuse for hitting a low bridge, it's entirely preventable. When faced with this situation, STOP well before the low-bridge, preferably off the road as best you can, turn-on the 4-ways flashers and set out the reflective triangles. At this point contact your driver manager , explain the situation and then with their knowledge, contact the Police to help with traffic control while you back the truck up. Never attempt a backing maneuver on an active road or highway without Police assistance. This is why trip-planning, laser focus on road signs, and following directions precisely is so important to safety and success. Going off-route unexpectedly, is one of the main reasons a driver is faced with this situation.