I want to share a story with new drivers which will illustrate the importance of knowing and practicing how to back up.

My equipment: 2004 International 9400 aerodynamic tractor with a 70" sleeper, 230' wheelbase; 53' dry van trailer; 25,000 lbs load. Pay: Cnd $1.30 per mile (appr. US$1.35/mi).

I was delivering a load of glass panels for the new Trump building in Atlantic City, NY the other day. The address read: "1000 Boardwalk". I punched the address in my GPS and it had no problem of finding it. My appointment was for 7 am so I shut down at a travel plaza some 20 miles north of Atlantic City. 6 am of the next day found me driving south on the turnpike - following the directions of the GPS. I saw the Trump tower and a construction site near it but the GPS kept sending me in a different direction. Finally, it said "Turn right (onto New Jersey Ave)." I did that and headed towards Boardwalk and the ocean. Again, the GPS said, "Turn right" but I stopped because something was wrong. It was still dark but with my headlights on I saw in front of me a wooden bridge and then the actual boardwalk - naturally designed for pedestrians only. The Trump building was to my right and there was no way I could get to it from where I was. No place to turn around either. There were signs on the right: No stopping, no parking etc. etc. and a cop was sitting in a car behind me either daydreaming near the ocean and waiting for me to screw up.

I put on my 4-way flashers and backed to him, got out and went to ask for directions. The cop lowered his window on the passenger side (his hand probably resting on his gun in the holster) and told me the Trump tower was "that way". Which of course I already knew... Okay, so much for directions. Fortunately, by the time I got back into the truck the cop decided to drive forward and park near the boardwalk paying me no attention. Aha, that's better.

Now I had a choice: either to back up through the light at New Jersey and Pacific Ave (I was still on New Jersey); or I could try backing up and turn left into a side street I discovered some 150 ft behind me. I talked to a driver at our yard before leaving on this trip (she had been here before) and she cautioned me not to back up into the traffic. "One of our guys got a ticket from a local cop for "obstructing traffic" there". So, that left Option #2 - backing with a turn into the side street.

Luckily I practiced this maneuver many times before but the side street was narrow, there was a concrete barrier on its corner and the sidewalk near which the right side of my tractor was travelling had fire hydrants ... After 10 minutes of trying I managed to back up into the alley (turning the trailer left from my side) and then pulled out right into the street now facing the opposite direction from which I came. So far so good.

I turned left on Pacific and went parallel with Boardwalk looking for an entrance to the construction site, while the Trump tower was visible on my left - near the ocean. At the next lights I looked left and there was the sign on the construction fence "Construction entrance". I turned in there, stopped near the gate and went to ask the gate guard where I had to go with this load of glass. As I approached the guard something in his face told me I had screwed up again. "You are in the right place but you have to be on the other side of the construction site", he said. Jeez!

There was no place to turn around but I saw a loading dock in the nearby building and decided to try the previous successful maneuver and back up to the dock with a left turn. Well, it didn't work out as well as it did the first time. There was another truck parked in Dock 2 and the right side of the road which I needed for the right side of my tractor to go into was lined up with cars and pickup trucks - no doubt belonging to the construction guys working the site. After 10-15 minutes of going forward and backwards, I saw the guard walk to me. He came to my window and said, "If you back straight up, there's a driveway that will take you to the other side. You don't have to go through the light."

All right! That sounded better...

So I backed up 200 or 300 ft in a straight line and saw the opening on my right. I turned in there, then did a quick left on the street on the other side of the site, drove 200 ft forward towards the ocean and parked near the other gate. Some guy showed up and when he learned I had a load of glass he told me I had to ..... turn around and back into the site and proceed to the dock in the far end of the site!!!

Wow.

That presented a few problems: the street was narrow and the backing path into the site looked like the letter "S"! Okay ... let's see ... There was some kind of covered parking/driveway on the right - opposite the gate so I figured I'll turn left and drive in the site then try to back out in a straight line into that driveway; then go left on the street where I came from and then try backing into the site from the blind side (no choice!).

Well this was the easy part. The construction guy was helping me out and he stopped the traffic on the street I was backing into. Then I caught him looking at the ceiling of the parking ... I got out and ran back to the end of the truck to look. No - it was low but it was okay, probably 14 feet high.

So, I backed up into the driveway, then turned left and stopped on the street where I started - facing away from the site. Now all I had to do was back from the blind side into the site, then turn the trailer left and go towards the dock!

To make backing easier, I slided my trailer tandems all the way to the front (shorter turning radius). And still I came to within 6 inches of the fence with the right side of my tractor even though I was stopping the truck every 5-10 feet and glancing out of the right window where I was going. I had 2 guys helping me out now and one of them said I had to go on the curb to be able to turn into the site.

Well, I repositioned the truck by pulling forward and then backed up using the curb. My head was rotating 360% watching the sides of the trailer and the both sides of the truck in the front but eventually I managed to position the truck in a straight line INSIDE the site.

Whew!

I opened the doors, backed to the dock and they told me I had to move the tandems all the way to the rear as I had to let the wheels go on the two skids on the ground ... The dock was higher than the floor of the trailer... I did that and finally at 7:45 my truck was ready to get unloaded!

What helped me out in this crazy stressful situation was the fact that I knew how to:

a) back up from the blind side
b) creatively turn around on a narrow street by backing left into a side street and then pulling out and right

I try to keep my backing skills uptodate and when I come to a truck stop I sometimes back up into a spot as opposed to driving in, even though there's plenty of empty spots. I do this when there's no other trucks around and I have at least 2 vacant spots. This way I get to practice backing without the danger of killing someone or smashing someone's chrome bumper

 

A phone call ahead of time for directions into the facility would have eliminated 80% of that stress.
Personaly I'd have melted down after the second "turn around and go that way"

I always confirm my GPS info with a call to the right person at the other end.

Good job on keeping your cool and thinking it out once you got there.

 

I'll second that.

My GPS was programmed by a guy who HATES truck drivers! This thing tries to send me under every low bridge, every restricted route...but they ALL do that!

I use mine exclusively to know where I'm at, and to help guide me using the directions I have!

 

Give that man a raise!!

 

There's GPS devices specifically designed for truck drivers. Here's the link:

http://www.teletype.com/Merchant2/me..._Code=WorldNav

I haven't used it myself but I think that's what we need!

 

Nice job!

Glad I dont have to drive up into NYC or that area any more.

 

yeah and at $400 it's real cheap too.

Oh well it's a tax write off, right?