City Driving

[milby]

What is it like driving a truck in cities? The biggest city I have ever driven in is Kansas City and that is in a car. Is learning to drive in the city the hardest thing for new unexperienced drivers to do?

[knightwolf71477]

IMHO I do not think that driving in the city is the hardest thing for rookies. Depending on the time of day you are going into a city you will be in the low side of the tranny anyway. Just remember to keep your space and you will be fine.

Now the hardest thing I think rookies do come up against would be the winter driving and going though the mountains. But in these cases or any case for that matter is to remember to take your time. This is not NASCAR, you do not have to compete with the guys that have been out here for a long time. You have nothing to prove to anyone.

If you remember one thing after all your training is done you will be fine. There is no load out here worth killing yourself or anyone else for.

[Uturn2001]

Learning how to say "NO" to your dispatcher is the hardest thing newbies have to learn how to do.

As far as city driving goes it can be very nerve racking. Lanes are often narrower than on the open road, more people crammed into less square miles, lane restrictions, more on and off ramps to deal with, and so on and so forth.

Driving in the big cities requires you to:

Plan your route carefully. Know what roads you need to take and do not think it is foolish to write your route down. If you are simply going through a city, it is also a good idea to write down a 2nd or even 3rd alternative route.

If you are going through a city, if at all possible try to either bypass it all together or plan your trip to avoid the busiest times of day (generally 7-9 am and 3-7 pm)

Pay attention. This is the number one thing. Pay attention to everything that is going on around your truck and to all of the road signs. Avoid focusing on any one thing in particular or you will end up missing the forest due to a single tree.

[nightbright1]

yep

[Doghouse]

Drive it slow and easy,..don't let other drivers intimidate you. Besides,......your bigger and the biggest vehicle always wins :wink:

[Blind Driver]

Drive it slow and easy,..don't let other drivers intimidate you. Besides,......your bigger and the biggest vehicle always wins :wink:

Good luck driving like that

[Jimbpard]

I drive in inner-city Pittsburgh pretty much everyday. I dont prefer it, but it's not as bad as you'd think really. Just make sure you got good directions, pay attention to your signs, visualize how your going to make your turns, dont pay ANY attention to lunatics around you.

I've made many deliveries to D.C. also. Actually a couple streets infront of the white house. Same deal. Not really that bad. Just do what you need to do.

[Snowman7]

Drive it slow and easy,..don't let other drivers intimidate you. Besides,......your bigger and the biggest vehicle always wins :wink:

I agee. You cant focus on the traffic and road signs ahead if you're worried about the impatient guy in your mirror. Stay calm and study what's in front of you. They will just have to wait. Missing your turn can be a real hassle. If you have too then turn on your 4 ways and slow or stop to get your bearings. Keep your CB just high enough to hear, sometimes other truckers from the area will call out if they think you're lost and they will help direct you.

[Jumbo]

IMHO I do not think that driving in the city is the hardest thing for rookies. Depending on the time of day you are going into a city you will be in the low side of the tranny anyway. Just remember to keep your space and you will be fine.

Now the hardest thing I think rookies do come up against would be the winter driving and going though the mountains. But in these cases or any case for that matter is to remember to take your time. This is not NASCAR, you do not have to compete with the guys that have been out here for a long time. You have nothing to prove to anyone.

If you remember one thing after all your training is done you will be fine. There is no load out here worth killing yourself or anyone else for.

Keeping you space is tough to do in the city. As soon as you backoff from the car in front of you to give yourself so room some other *****hole will dive into the space you just created. Just try to do your best.

[Ian Williams]

City driving requires a lot of patience and not caring that you are making everyone behind you wait.

Go slow and steady, don't be afraid to use your horn & 4-way flashers when backing or maneuvering.

Assume all the 4wheelers around you are going to be doing boneheaded stupid moves.

Don't be afraid to use two lanes or roll 50-75 yrs in a bike lane to avoid curbing you wheels on a right turn.

Easy does it.

[K.POP]

How do you guys n gals find out what streets are legal to go on? Is there maps or do you just go by visual refreance?

I rember in my years of tagging along as a teen during the summer, I would tell my buddy, "why didnt you go that way if we are going over there. He repleid "we are to heavy."

I know over here I have seen a couple times some rigs get stoped by the local PD on a 4 lane. I know signs are posted but this one was only posted about 500 feet before a small bridge.

[DBW]

How do you guys n gals find out what streets are legal to go on? Is there maps or do you just go by visual refreance?

I rember in my years of tagging along as a teen during the summer, I would tell my buddy, "why didnt you go that way if we are going over there. He repleid "we are to heavy."

I know over here I have seen a couple times some rigs get stoped by the local PD on a 4 lane. I know signs are posted but this one was only posted about 500 feet before a small bridge.

Most cities have truck restriction/weight restriction signs posted. Problem is that many of them aren't visible until you get headed in the wrong direction.

[Aligator]

How do you guys n gals find out what streets are legal to go on? Is there maps or do you just go by visual refreance?

I rember in my years of tagging along as a teen during the summer, I would tell my buddy, "why didnt you go that way if we are going over there. He repleid "we are to heavy."

I know over here I have seen a couple times some rigs get stoped by the local PD on a 4 lane. I know signs are posted but this one was only posted about 500 feet before a small bridge.

GENERALLY, the numbered highways are safe. And if they aren't there will be a sign telling you about height or weight restrictions.

TWICE I have ended up where I should not be and have called 911. I told them I was a trucker, that I had made a wrong turn, and needed traffic assistance. Both times they were super nice and blocked traffic so I could get going in the direction I needed to go.

[lucky13]

One thing I allways try to do when delievering in a big city that I am not famillar with is; try to get there in the middle of the night less traffic and if you miss a turn shopping centers and large parking lots are empty for you to turn around in, if you drive in the Chicago area truck stops around there sell low clearance maps of the Chicago area,plan your trip very carefully.

[lucky13]

Drive it slow and easy,..don't let other drivers intimidate you. Besides,......your bigger and the biggest vehicle always wins :wink:

Good luck driving like that

Trucking wonders why we have a image problem with the general public I really hope you are not a driver trainer for some company out there :shock:

[sidman82]

He's kidding around. Don't be silly :P

[Douglas]

I drive a dumptruck in the City limits, but we're in a mid-sized town, not a big city. And the dumptruck that I drive is automatic, so it's pretty easy. It's also a small 6-wheeler. If it were an 8-speed 10-wheeler, it might require a little more effort.

[silvan]

Most cities have truck restriction/weight restriction signs posted. Problem is that many of them aren't visible until you get headed in the wrong direction.

I can't remember the route off hand, 76? I used to go from Seneca, SC through Anderson to Greenwood. On the road going into Anderson, they redid the downtown with all kinds of nice brick stuff and what have you. There was some bypass around there somehow, but it wasn't posted, and wasn't on my map, so I used to just go on the main road.

One day I was doing my regular thing, and after they completed the downtown project, they closed the middle of town to trucks. I rolled up to the stop light, and saw three signs:

TRUCKS NO LEFT TURN
TRUCKS NO RIGHT TURN
NO THRU TRUCKS

Great! WTF am I supposed to do now? Talk about not having an out.

I drove right through town the same I had been doing for months or years previously, but the next time I finally got around to figuring out that truck bypass, by watching other trucks.

Having stuff in the middle of town closed off to trucks, with a poorly- or completely un-posted bypass is a pretty common occurrence in the world. There are lots of times when you have to just do what you have to do, and take your chances. Turn left at a no left turn sign, go the wrong way down a one-way alley, and most of all, you have to piss dozens of angry, impatient people off on a regular basis. Especially backing in off the street, which I've always hated. Especially when you have to do something really crazy and unexpected, like pull across an intersection diagonally, or go the wrong way up a turning lane or something.

Cops usually understand, but sometimes they get pissed off. "HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO BE HERE? YOU'RE BLOCKING UP MY ENTIRE ROAD!" "Well officer, I didn't order this, and I didn't build this building with a dock facing the road in such a way that it would be impossible to back a trailer to this door without blocking the entire road. I wish there were some other way I could get the freight to this door, but there isn't. If you want me out of the way faster, grab that extra hand truck, and pitch in."

I've run into a few situations like that. One time in Hampton, VA, I think, the cop made me unload a piece, then circle the block and unload another one, or something stupid like that. He hated me being double parked with an intense passion, but he didn't have any better ideas where the hell I was going to park the truck either.

I used to pull up to a stop light in Asheville, NC, and unload off the street, blocking one lane through town. That was never a problem for years until the day my truck in addition to a construction backup held up some cop with a chip on his shoulder. He raised holy hell, and I started having to back into the alley. So instead of holding up one lane for a few minutes, I had to coordinate three police officers, and negotiate one extremely horrible turn to come into this place the other way, in order to sight side in (I don't blindside if there's absolutely any way to avoid it, no matter what the damn beer truck driver delivering next door does twice a day.) Then I had to block up that entire road, and one, two, three cross-streets while I backed in. If I hit it right, it wasn't too bad, but there were all kinds of reasons why I'd get set up wrong, and have to wriggle around, while traffic backed up in all directions for a mile. That was much better than just blocking one lane for 15 minutes. ******* cop.

If I sit here awhile, I can come up with more and more of these stories. Going around the block to correct a missed turn can frequently be a BAD BAD BAD IDEA, for example. Some blocks aren't remotely square, and there was the other time I made the last turn and came directly up against a 12'6" underpass.

Fun, fun, fun. Being a furniture hauler, I was a "local" driver in many different places. I did much more city driving in proportion to the total miles under my belt than most drivers rack up in a career. In east coast terms, city driving up north is much worse than down south. I have no idea what out west looks like, but it might be easier, with all those nice big squares everywhere.

Heh, I just flashed back to the time I missed a sign going around some roundy round thing in Cumberland Maryland, and I wound up going up a hill in a residential neighborhood. It was so steep I had to stop when the engine stalled out after I had gotten all the way down to 1st gear. That was FUN!!!

Oh, I could write my memoirs for sure, but I'll stop this rambling now.