Feel the Fear

I’m going to scare the hell out of you without even trying, if you’re up to the test. Hop into my cab and we’ll go for a ride around the city – any city. I want you to see how tricky and dangerous it can be driving a tractor-trailer through busy streets. By the end of this unique day, I’ll want your answer to this question about city truck driving: Is it thrilling or soul killing?

Pretend real hard that you’re sitting beside me in my Freightliner cab. I know most of you won’t know what that looks or feels like. So, imagine that you’re in a massive truck that’s loud and powerful. You’re sitting up high and have a superb view of all nearby vehicles. If you look down into any regular car driving beside you, you can stare at people on their phones. Yes, it’s illegal for drivers but they do it anyway. You’ll also have a bird’s eye view of passengers playing with their hair and slouched in their seats looking unabashedly bored. Sometimes they will look up at you with ostensible fear. In this case it’s probably your truck they’re scared of, not you.

My cab has a sleeper bunk in the back; it’s called a sleeper cab. The added length makes driving even harder. Plus, I have no rear windows. I rely entirely on my side mirrors to see what’s behind and beside me.

I’m pulling a 53-foot trailer. The tractor and trailer combination weighs between about 32,000 to 80,000 pounds, depending on how much freight I’m hauling. That number is important because it affects everything, namely how much time it takes me to come to a complete stop. If I’m heavy, it could take 5-8 seconds to stop. It may take longer than that to build speed again. I do a lot of stops and starts in the city, so you’ll need to use your patience. I use mine hourly.

One more thing: the cab and trailer are each just under 4.14 metres high. That’s 13 feet 6 inches. When we’re nearing a bridge, we’ll want to look for a sign that says the bridge has enough clearance. On the highway that isn’t usually a problem because most every highway bridge is truck-friendly. Not so in the city.

Are you scared yet?

The City Set Up

I’ll bet you like turning up the radio and taking a good look around while you’re cruising the main drag. This can be fun. Well, forget it. Even if you’ve been in this particular city a thousand times, you haven’t been in it today, with the current traffic pattern and current weather conditions.

The radio volume will be way down low so I can hear all the noises around me. I need to be alerted to any potential problem. I also need to hear what my GPS is saying because I may not be able to look at it like I do (quickly) on the highway.

I’m going to have the windows open at least a crack, so I can hear those noises even better. So, don’t complain that you’re cold or hot. Those concerns are secondary to safety – by a mile.

Also, if you like to talk, talk to yourself. I need to concentrate. I can’t worry about being sidetracked by your casual conversation. One wrong turn and suddenly we’re on a tiny street with people walking everywhere and cars parked on either side of us.

We’re going to take up two lanes to turn corners, if we need two lanes and they’re available. We’ll sit in the middle of the two lanes while waiting to turn, so no moron can pass on either side. Still, sometimes they’ll try.

Naturally, we’re going to go slow and not care in the slightest about who’s honking at us, yelling at us, giving us the finger, or obviously frustrated that we’re in the way. Naturally we’re in the way. We won’t be out of the way until we’re back on the highway. Even then we’re every impatient driver’s pain.

You’re Going to Cringe

I imagine there will be several times where you’ll be thinking to yourself – and not saying out loud because I said no talking – something like ‘there’s no way in hell he can make this turn. He’s going to hit that pole for sure.’ Well, relax. I’m not going to hit the pole, or stop sign, or fire hydrant. I know it’s there and I’m watching it carefully from the mirror on your side. At the same time, I’m watching the front left side of my truck to make sure I get as close as possible to the curb. I’m trying to make as wide a turn as possible.

If I find that I’ve come too close to the pole/sign/hydrant and I may indeed hit it, I’m going to stop. This is where you might really become unnerved. Yes, I’m going to come to a complete stop and then I’m going to get out and have a look at how much room I do or don’t have between my trailer and the pole. If I have enough room, I’m going to get back in the cab and proceed slowly and carefully. If I don’t have room, I’m going to turn on my four-way flashers, make sure there’s no one right behind me, and back up a touch while honking my horn and turning my wheel. I’m trying to set up an even wider turning radius.

If I have no room at all, I may have to wait until help arrives. That may mean the police. Yes, really. In any case, we’re not going anywhere until I’m sure I’m not going to hit anything or anyone. I think of a wise tidbit of advice that my friend and trainer Dave says: ‘It’s better to be an asshole for five minutes than five hours.’

Where Are The Docks?

The simple answer to this is anywhere and everywhere. The good news is they’re mostly located at the edges of the city. That’s where most of the factories and warehouses are.

This isn’t always true. I’ve routinely been on the main street of a big city, wondering where the hell this business or that business could possibly be located. Sometimes it’s two blocks away from a ridiculously busy area. No matter where it is, my job is to relax and take the path of least resistance.

I often take a deep breath and sigh, and say to myself ‘Why the fuck would they stick a warehouse in the middle of this residential neighbourhood?’ The answer is simple: the warehouse was there first and developers decided to build houses and apartments around it. The result is a pretty community where giant loud trucks drive through five or six days a week. The trucks don’t want to be there and the residents don’t want them there. But people decided to live there; we truckers have no choice but to grin and bare it.

Back-Ins Are a Bitch

Once we get to a location where we’re delivering or picking up, you may feel a sense of relief. Not so fast. We’re not docked yet.

Today you’ll find out that docks come in all sorts of neat configurations (I’m being facetious) including an always fun one: you have to back into a dock from a busy street, watching both ways for oncoming traffic that doesn’t want to stop or slow down just because you’re in the way. I dare you to stay calm and silent the first time you encounter one of these. You may want to say, ‘Can I get out and watch while you do this?’

The best you can hope for is a good size yard that’s well paved, free of many assorted obstacles such as wood, metal, forklifts, construction equipment, etc. Ideally the yard allows you the space to swing the trailer all the way around so that its open doors are facing the dock. Then you simply back straight in. This type of dock is rare in the city. Remember, you’re in an urban jungle. How much space do you think you’re going to have?

Usually there will be limited space but enough room to maneuver your truck and trailer so that you can do a decent driver side back-in. This means your truck and trailer will be aligned to the front and left of the dock. You have a good view of the space you’re about to back into.

Sometimes you’ll be forced to do a blind side back-in, meaning you’re to the front and right of the dock. This is possible but it takes time and much patience. You’ll see me getting out of my cab multiple times to check my surroundings. If you wonder why I’m getting out again even though I moved only three feet since I last got out and looked, it’s because I’m trying desperately to be safe and not hit anything. You won’t be able to deter me from this tedious but vital repetition.

Once in a while, you’ll see another driver pop out from his – or her – truck to help with the back-up, especially at a tough dock. We take all the help we can get in this business. These drivers know how frustrating it is to dock safely and efficiently. When one of them offers help, I don’t refuse it. I simply ask them to stand somewhere that I can see in my mirrors.

If there’s one thing that I learned about yards, docks and backing in, it’s this: you can’t hurry, ever! Do it slowly and safely or you may be sorry. Since city docks and yards are often tighter and trickier than rural ones, there’s absolutely no room for maverick maneuvering.

Swear Along With Me

You damn well bet I swear when I drive, extra especially in the city. It breaks the tension and prevents me from going nuts. I swear a blue streak sometimes, like nothing you would ever hear from me when I’m not behind the wheel. If you want to know the exact language I use and how emphatically I use it, you’ll just have to come along with me. Sharing my wrath here simply doesn’t work. You need context.

Maybe you’ll end up swearing along with me every time an impatient a$$hole drives in front of us or tries to get around us while we’re working to back in from the street. I strongly encourage you to curse in this case. Go ahead and let it out so you don’t go home all wired.

Go ahead and let the cussing fly until we hit the highway. If you want, keep it going until we’re back in the home lot. If you keep your feelings in too long, it hurts. I swear it does.

If you’re too good holding back the profanity, people may not believe you’re a truck driver. Well, you’re not – yet. At the end of this first day of driving with me in the city, I’ll consider whether you have the ‘right stuff’ to come out with me again.

Are you tough enough? Or maybe just crazy enough to give it another whirl?