I have done the occasional supermarket delivery work and enjoyed it. However reversing an artic in a car park full of shoppers did give me a lot of worries.
Mums with kids and shopping trolleys and artics don’t seem like a sensible combination.
I was very careful, always kept getting out to check the blindside, but it doesn’t really seem intrinsically safe. Yet I haven’t heard of any big accidents ever.
When moving the nice Volvo around the RDC, if I got out without a hi-vis jacket on I would get shouted at straight away, yet moving through cars parking and shoppers seems OK.
I know they are a bit stuck as many of the supermarkets have restrictions of no deliveries before 7.00 ish so it’s not practical to tip at night to lots of them.
Maybe i’ve had too much health and safety exposure.
I have delivered to some of the smaller supermarkets Spar and Co-op where I had to reverse through the car park.Its very dangerous with pedestrians sleep walking every where.The audible warnings and horn mean nothing to the brain dead shoppers.There should be a seperate loading bay to keep every body safe.
It’s the same doing poundland shops too driving into car parks against the flow on a Saturday afternoon isn’t fun,same as reversing across roads counting people before reversing then trying to watch for the daft ones making a dash for it at the last minute.
They wait till you start moving then decide to go had it last week an old dear tried it had to get a shop bod out to watch me back as it was lemming season have to have eyes everywhere.
Its prob policy when you arrive for a member of staff from the supermarket to come out and stop anyone walking or driving behind you in situations where your reversing in car parks etc…, but they prob just don’t bother doing it.
Worst one i did was Woodlands Rd in Glasgow, Sainsburys Local its a petrol station as well, had one delivery which happened round about lunchtime, i used to refuse to reverse until someone got out stopped the cars and pedestrians. They were meant to send someone out but wouldnt unless you demanded they did. This was years ago maybe different now.
Iceland in bailleston on a Saturday afternoon!! Not done it myself but I’ve witnessed it, scary is one word Id use. Driver is 100% relying on joe publics commen sense not to walk/drive behind a reversing Artic!
I’ve personally done tesco and marks and Spencer’s and both are extremely safe even the dodgy stores you get 2/3 people to watch you back.
I’d like to think morrisons, sainsburys, asda, waitrose are all safe aswell.
But iceland, farmfoods, coops etc I wouldn’t be as sure.
The majority of Lidl stores I go to have loading bay access through car park with quite a few blind side reverses.
Just have to take it dead slow and look in every direction at once.
You don’t get any help from the store with stopping traffic but then they haven’t usually got the staff to help.
In this day and age of safety, risk assessment, liability, it’s insane that nobody wants to provide an extra pair of eyes to create a safer environment.
yet go into the same supermarkets Rdc, without a Hi viz on, or walk a little too fast, and someone will be all over you screaming about H& S
I think they are safe. It’s just a case of going slowly & having your wits about you… if in doubt stop & look. The biggest hurdle for a lot of drivers I think is them stressing about holding people up & being in the way, you have to develop a ‘■■■■ em’ attitude.
I drive for sainsburys and deliver to their stores daily (artic). There is this one store I deliver to in Aylesbury where you have to drive through the carpark and then reverse onto the bay all within the car park. As to do with banksmen backing you whilst reversing in these situations, they are non-existant due to Sainsburys H&S policys.
I have not been driving all that long so I try to get as much help as possible in tight situations, and I have tried to ask the warehouse backdoor guys to give us a wave whilst reversing and they outright say no. Not because they don’t want to, but their jobs would be at risk if they were caught doing it.
I have done one where you have to reverse wrong way through a McDonalds car park, you have to wait outside for banksman from the store to guide you in but all the cars and pedestrians still try to get squashed, at least the banksman is an extra pair of eyes.
rob22888:
I think they are safe. It’s just a case of going slowly & having your wits about you… if in doubt stop & look. The biggest hurdle for a lot of drivers I think is them stressing about holding people up & being in the way, you have to develop a ‘[zb] em’ attitude.
Rob couldn’t be more right here, if you don’t know or are unsure get out and bloody look! I also agree with what you say about worrying about others. When I started my first professional driving job on artics with sainburys a lot of stress was due to what others were thinking and how I thought I was in the way a lot of the time. Now it’s simply a case of I don’t give a ■■■■ what you think here is your food, if you don’t like me being here stop buying ■■■■. Works every time
alamcculloch:
I have delivered to some of the smaller supermarkets Spar and Co-op where I had to reverse through the car park.Its very dangerous with pedestrians sleep walking every where.The audible warnings and horn mean nothing to the brain dead shoppers.There should be a seperate loading bay to keep every body safe.
would not make a difference,i have delivered to the big ones like sainsburys and once found a car parked on a loading bay,when the guy returned 10 min later after a call was put out I told him that it was a loading bay and not to park there,his response,he started giving it the mouth,trouble is even if they are in the wrong you will never get backed up by the supermarket or your employer,you cannot win
rob22888:
I think they are safe. It’s just a case of going slowly & having your wits about you… if in doubt stop & look. The biggest hurdle for a lot of drivers I think is them stressing about holding people up & being in the way, you have to develop a ‘[zb] em’ attitude.
Rob couldn’t be more right here, if you don’t know or are unsure get out and look
Couldn’t be more wrong in my eyes! In a controlled yard where you can see what’s coming and going and you’re unsure then yes get out and look make sure you’re not to close too that wall, barrier etc.
But on a public road or busy carpark the time you get back to your cab there is a massive gap in time of you seeing your n/s mirrors. Something could easily go behind you, answer their phone or see to their baby and boom you reverse over the top of them.
Sorry in those situations getting out to look is the worst thing. You need a banksmen not for guidance but to shout stop/give a warning that there is anything directly behind you.
Jimmyy:
I drive for sainsburys and deliver to their stores daily (artic). There is this one store I deliver to in Aylesbury where you have to drive through the carpark and then reverse onto the bay all within the car park. As to do with banksmen backing you whilst reversing in these situations, they are non-existant due to Sainsburys H&S policys.
I have not been driving all that long so I try to get as much help as possible in tight situations, and I have tried to ask the warehouse backdoor guys to give us a wave whilst reversing and they outright say no. Not because they don’t want to, but their jobs would be at risk if they were caught doing it.
They can have banksmen, store at Muirend in Glasgow involved typically a blind side reverse from their car park onto the bay, they have a trained bankman, a few members had been at the depot to be trained.
If no banksman they should however be able to go out into the car park and stop vehicles and pedestrians from driving or walking behind you, most places stores i used to deliver to would do that. I’d be bringing it up with someone if they refuse espec if you think its unsafe and high risk of hitting someone. End of the day you run someone over screwed big time, keeping your job prob gonna be least of your worries.
rob22888:
I think they are safe. It’s just a case of going slowly & having your wits about you… if in doubt stop & look. The biggest hurdle for a lot of drivers I think is them stressing about holding people up & being in the way, you have to develop a ‘[zb] em’ attitude.
Rob couldn’t be more right here, if you don’t know or are unsure get out and look
Couldn’t be more wrong in my eyes! In a controlled yard where you can see what’s coming and going and you’re unsure then yes get out and look make sure you’re not to close too that wall, barrier etc.
But on a public road or busy carpark the time you get back to your cab there is a massive gap in time of you seeing your n/s mirrors. Something could easily go behind you, answer their phone or see to their baby and boom you reverse over the top of them.
Sorry in those situations getting out to look is the worst thing. You need a banksmen not for guidance but to shout stop/give a warning that there is anything directly behind you.
I do agree with you, having a banksman is the ideal scenario in an ideal world but as we all know, we don’t live in one. Certainly when it comes to the likes of Iceland, Co-Op & especially Aldi/Lidl, you’d be hard pressed to get anyone out of the shop to watch you in & no chance of somebody trained to do it properly. It’s usually just a case of bang your hazard lights on and go for it yourself & if I’m not sure how close I am to something i’ll be getting out for a look.
Used to drive for Sainsbury’s a few years back and there store at South Ruislip was a pretty bad one to reverse into off the road,a member of the public got killed by a milk lorry I believe there once.
The backdoor man who used to be there (might still be)his name’s Colin was a pretty good banksman,could talk for England as well
Sainsbury’s at Putney was another I hated going to,always a rigid job,with people just walking behind you as you were reversing in,used to always make me nervous.
Is it because the public have more sense than we give them credit for and lots more than elf and safety bods who govern by the book rather than what is practical?
There are many accidents in RDC yards and few, very few, in car parks.
Generally people don’t try and kill themselves very often when on foot. Get them in a car, and that’s a different story…
I don’t do supermarket deliveries, but I do deliver to golf courses and garden centres on a daily basis, and the delivery point is nearly always in the car park. You just have to make it exactly clear what you are going to do, and take charge of any situation. So if you need to pinch a bit of a lane/space to complete a maneuver, then take all of it! Don’t give them the opportunity to scupper you and they can’t. If you have to down a one way section, check it’s clear, and do it, don’t dither and give a situation the ability to develop.
