The best test of anyones reversing is Asda Didcot when nit is full and all the tipping bays have a wagon on them…
Gaz, you could have jumped out of your cab and given the guys that were struggling the benefit of your vast experience 
As long as you get the truck where it’s meant to be without hitting anything or anybody what’s the problem?
The problem is that some of them can’t. What’s even worse is that some of them have been driving decades and still can’t reverse for toffee. Saw an old boy the other night. Massive trailer park, plenty of room to move about, clearly marked out parking bays. Could he get it in one? Not a chance. He eventually gave up and went for a space two trailers wide and straddled two bays.
Some of them are easy to spot. They’re the ones who open the drivers door and hang out of it. Never had to do that in the 15 years I’ve been driving even when I was shunting using a unit as a shunter.
The best tip i received about reversing came from an older driver not long after i started my first driving job.
Concentrate on getting the truck into the correct position before you start your reverse, ie when your still going forward.
A simple tip , but quite useful.
It’s amazing the amount of guys you see struggling with a reverse because they havent pulled forward far enough.
And before you ask , yes i would get out and assist another driver whenever possible.
I also agree with Euromat in that some people just cant drive, or maybe not that they cant drive but just that they have no natural driving ability.There good enough to scrape past there test but that is the limit of there ability.
We had a young guy in our place the other day, a maximum length A frame drawbar , i thought this guy is going to struggle, not a bit of it ,one cut reverse and he was turned, very impressive !!!
About an hour later an artic in (much older driver ) with a shortened sliding skelly needed about 5 cuts to get turned.
Speaking with the artic driver i discovered he had been driving for 30 odd years, just goes to show experience does’nt always mean good driver.
No real point in my opinion of chastising other drivers who are rubbish at reversing, whilst standing around in the yard having a laugh at their expense. There isn’t much to be gained by someone saying “you’re doing rubbish mate, what the hell are you playing at”.
We can’t all be fantastic at it, best thing somebody can do is offer to help AT THE TIME (in a way that doesn’t make you sound like a condescending arse) .
I’ve met plenty in the short time I was driving a full size, who would happily take the ■■■■ outside the goods in window about how my lack of ability/observation/x-ray vision hasn’t helped me there.
Also, met plenty of drivers who have been doing it 30 odd years who are far more dangerous through their arrogance and complacency. Try offering assistance to someone who has known nothing else, their ego and pride alone won’t allow it, even if they genuinely would have benefiitted.
Big Roy:
Gaz, you could have jumped out of your cab and given the guys that were struggling the benefit of your vast experience
As long as you get the truck where it’s meant to be without hitting anything or anybody what’s the problem?
To address your three direct criticisms…
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No i Couldnt as i was under the canopy and getting tipped by two fork trucks so was needed to move curtains and posts.
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They wouldn’t have got there without hitting anything had other drivers not sounded their horns. The thing is, no one is a superhero, i’f i’m not sure i’ll stop, get out , and have a look. Then i’ll go back a bit more and check again if neccesary. The two in question had NO IDEA that they were even close to disaster, they just couldn’t see it, and would not have stopped until the crunch!
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Thank you for sarcastically pointing out my vast experience, but in this case i will take your compliment with a smile!
ALFA MAN has hit the nail on the head, some people give themselves no chance before they even engage reverse gear!
paul@midway:
The best test of anyones reversing is Asda Didcot when nit is full and all the tipping bays have a wagon on them…
That place is a nighmare! You just need to look at all the glass/plastic on the floor to see that mirrors get removed almost daily!!!
I was there Thursday, the place was empty at 1pm, in and out in 23 mins!!! Couldn’t believe my luck!
Reef:
The training and test should simulate one of the most common (and scary for a newbie) reverses which is reversing into a space between 2 trucks.
I agree with you fully here. But surely anyone who sends a man down the road must have the confidence to know that that man can put the truck into a truck sized hole■■?
I’m not perfect by any means and have had the odd scrape but my point is some companies seem to be sending people out to fend for themselves, and this is just as unfair on the driver as it is forr the person they may hit!!!
when working for stobs i could,nt believe the insults ect that some so called professional drivers used, when another driver was having a problem, some of em just watched and shouted out stupid comments which made the situation worse, some of the comments were seriously racist ect, I would always try to help and no way would I watch whilst someone bumped another vehicle ect.
as said we ALL have our good and bad days
I’ve mentioned this on here before, however
I was trying to reverse park in Northampton services once (was a bit green at the time) and was struggling
All the time there were several other drivers watching (hoping) for the crunch but only one driver made the effort to jump out and give me a guiding hand
and that was the polish driver.
and to cap it all, after that another pole was asking directions, so I returned the compliment by getting my map book out and suggesting a route.
The pole who helped me then asked me for permission to speak his own language (cos the other pole didn’t speak very good english)
I only passed my class 1 a couple of months ago, and I’ll admit I could be one of those that will struggle with this reversing an artic lark, especially after 16 years of buses, coaches and (2 years) class 2 work.
I voiced my concerns regarding the reverse excercise during training to the instructor, and on the test to the (very nice female) examiner. I pointed out that it wasn’t a “real world” reverse, which it isn’t! The instructor had me reversing round trailers in the yard at the end of each day from then on.
I have been out a few times with an artic with one of the lads at work at he has helped me a great deal with a few tips, but at the end of the day we all have to learn. Although if i’m not sure I ALWAYS get out and have a look, even when reversing a rigid.
I have been out on my own in an artic since but I asked the office to give me a fairly easyish run to get the hang of handling the vehicle, luckily they listened!
Gaz:
But surely anyone who sends a man down the road must have the confidence to know that that man can put the truck into a truck sized hole■■?
Across a lot of the forums you will see people whinging about what people think of truck drivers etc… This has never been my experience, the only people i have ever had trouble with is actually other truck drivers. Your post UK driving standards is somewhat of a misnomer as you are actually refering to drivers getting into the waiting bays at an RDC and because you done a couple of years shunting and can do it fine you expect everyone else can too? Them bays you are on about are terrible, most of the bays nearest to the wall you can only get in by blindsiding, which as its name suggests means you can’t see. Add to this you are reversing possibly inbetween two trucks and with drivers walking about and there is not much room between them its fraught with danger. And because you can do it and they struggle to, you wanna knock them for it? Your some guy Gaz, tell me are you like the other guys i came across who speak about others like this…i.e do you stand with your feet apart, belly over the belt and chest out as you tell anyone who will listen how crap drivers they all are and you can do it easy?
Mike-C:
Gaz:
But surely anyone who sends a man down the road must have the confidence to know that that man can put the truck into a truck sized hole■■?Across a lot of the forums you will see people whinging about what people think of truck drivers etc… This has never been my experience, the only people i have ever had trouble with is actually other truck drivers. Your post UK driving standards is somewhat of a misnomer as you are actually refering to drivers getting into the waiting bays at an RDC and because you done a couple of years shunting and can do it fine you expect everyone else can too? Them bays you are on about are terrible, most of the bays nearest to the wall you can only get in by blindsiding, which as its name suggests means you can’t see. Add to this you are reversing possibly inbetween two trucks and with drivers walking about and there is not much room between them its fraught with danger. And because you can do it and they struggle to, you wanna knock them for it? Your some guy Gaz, tell me are you like the other guys i came across who speak about others like this…i.e do you stand with your feet apart, belly over the belt and chest out as you tell anyone who will listen how crap drivers they all are and you can do it easy?
Not at all mate, although you seem to have made your narrow mind up about me!
I will help anyone, and do on a regular basis at ever opportunity. That is not addressing what i’m on about. We all had to start somewhere, i full understand that, and some get the hang of it quicker than others.
My main gripe is with the EMPLOYERS who do not assess the situation and give their new drivers half a chance, but then i did say that in a post above had you had the time to read it! And i never boast about my own ability because i know that can very soon bite you on the arse!
And as for belly over the belt, at 6 foot 3 and 13 stone there aint much to hang over my belt mate!
If anyone wants a test of reversing skill then try Woolworths, Rochdale. Now for an RDC it’s terrible, there is bearly enough room to swing a cat in their yard then you have to reverse into a bay. Well the bays consist of two concrete pillars that are just far enough apart to get two artics side by side inbetween. But before you back in if there is already an artic in the bay aswell then you have to open your doors before reversing, which means you scrape the pillar with the door as you go backwards. Ofcourse you also have the 6" of headroom that they have deemed plenty of clearence.
I’ve only ever been in there once and have vowed never to go in there again.
Before everyone gets their gusset twisted I agree with the original post, there are a lot of drivers who probably need more training to be kind, there is also the other point that a gaffer would not let someone out with over 100k’s worth of kit until they had proved themselves in the yard and on the old nail.
The driver CPC is not going to help either as it will probably be a spotty 23 year old trying to teach the driver the correct way to load sacks of wheat or bales of wool on a flat trailer.
And yes my belly does hang over my belt by a long way 
It has done since my first boss gave me a ballocking for scratching the nut protector on my truck. made worse he said because it was the drivers side.
Gaz:
Mike-C:
Gaz:
But surely anyone who sends a man down the road must have the confidence to know that that man can put the truck into a truck sized hole■■?Across a lot of the forums you will see people whinging about what people think of truck drivers etc… This has never been my experience, the only people i have ever had trouble with is actually other truck drivers. Your post UK driving standards is somewhat of a misnomer as you are actually refering to drivers getting into the waiting bays at an RDC and because you done a couple of years shunting and can do it fine you expect everyone else can too? Them bays you are on about are terrible, most of the bays nearest to the wall you can only get in by blindsiding, which as its name suggests means you can’t see. Add to this you are reversing possibly inbetween two trucks and with drivers walking about and there is not much room between them its fraught with danger. And because you can do it and they struggle to, you wanna knock them for it? Your some guy Gaz, tell me are you like the other guys i came across who speak about others like this…i.e do you stand with your feet apart, belly over the belt and chest out as you tell anyone who will listen how crap drivers they all are and you can do it easy?
Not at all mate, although you seem to have made your narrow mind up about me!
I will help anyone, and do on a regular basis at ever opportunity. That is not addressing what i’m on about. We all had to start somewhere, i full understand that, and some get the hang of it quicker than others.
My main gripe is with the EMPLOYERS who do not assess the situation and give their new drivers half a chance, but then i did say that in a post above had you had the time to read it! And i never boast about my own ability because i know that can very soon bite you on the arse!
And as for belly over the belt, at 6 foot 3 and 13 stone there aint much to hang over my belt mate!
(i alway have to pick a big ■■■■■■ to argue with don’t i 
!! )
Well your main gripe should be with Morrisons for providing such stupid bays for people to park in. If i recall correctly, you queue up round the bend to the goods in and a marshall call you in to the spaces, he however does not guide anyone into the bays. Not everyone gets a chance to practice blind side reverses and no one should be encouraged to do so. Sure lots can do it buts its not a good thing to do in general practice its down right dangerous.
My main gripe is with the EMPLOYERS who do not assess the situation
Maybe you might want to rename your Topic then ?
Wheel Nut:
Before everyone gets their gusset twisted I agree with the original post, there are a lot of drivers who probably need more training to be kind,
.
Is that right? How exactly do you teach some one to blindside? Blindsiding is not something that can be taught, because they can’t see you can’t tell them, its something that comes with esperience, familiarity, and probably a few scrapes, but whatever it is its not something someomne should have to do to get in a designated waiting area.
="Wheel Nut"there is also the other point that a gaffer would not let someone out with over 100k’s worth of kit until they had proved themselves in the yard and on the old nail.
Thats not even a point at all in my book. I’ve never seen anyone tested on an ‘old nail’ or any other thing. If it was a point it kind of makes Gaz’s point about crap drivers moot if as you suggest they all test them?
Mike-C:
Wheel Nut:
Before everyone gets their gusset twisted I agree with the original post, there are a lot of drivers who probably need more training to be kind,
.Is that right? How exactly do you teach some one to blindside? Blindsiding is not something that can be taught, because they can’t see you can’t tell them, its something that comes with esperience, familiarity, and probably a few scrapes, but whatever it is its not something someomne should have to do to get in a designated waiting area.
I saw people trying to blindside (When they had failed to get in on their good side!). I saw people only stopping short of trashing other peoples pride and joys when SOMEONE ELSE made a judgement call and tooted their horn!
="Wheel Nut"there is also the other point that a gaffer would not let someone out with over 100k’s worth of kit until they had proved themselves in the yard and on the old nail.
Thats not even a point at all in my book. I’ve never seen anyone tested on an ‘old nail’ or any other thing. If it was a point it kind of makes Gaz’s point about crap drivers moot if as you suggest they all test them?
I’m 30 yrs old, driven a class 1 since 21 yrs old… Now when i got my class 1, my boss Stan Rawcliffe (Of Rawcliffes of Mawdsley, Lancashire) made me spend 2 weeks in the yard to see if i could handle an artic in parking situations.
Now in truth, in that 2 weeks i scraped a couple of trailers, releaved a couple of curtainsiders of their buckles etc. But after 2 weeks i set off down the road and all was well, i felt confident enough to get on with it!
My point was that all the old gaffers would let you make your mistakes in the old nail, or at least mine did. I almost ■■■■ myself when I was sent to Bromborough in a brand new Daf in the snow at night. I went because my boss had seen me drive, he must have trusted me and Im still learning to drive. I dont know it all yet Mike
Wheel Nut:
My point was that all the old gaffers would let you make your mistakes in the old nail, or at least mine did. I almost [zb] myself when I was sent to Bromborough in a brand new Daf in the snow at night. I went because my boss had seen me drive, he must have trusted me and Im still learning to drive. I dont know it all yet Mike
That’s the problem the old school bosses would have made sure you were able to handle the kit because it was the way they were taught to do the job. But most companies now reckon if you have a licence you can drive. Maybe if you a real newbie you might get an assesment drive, but that probably only a trip round the block and then reverse it onto the bay.