U-Turns...

[MtFoxx]

Ok ... As U most know I'm knew at this and really have been studying logs, time strategies and reading all of the diary entries.

WTF is up with the no u-turn you'll be fired issue?

Please be nice as I am learning this in-lieu of the hard way. :wink:

[LA to Cleveland]

the big OTR training companies will likely fire you if you get a ticket for an illegal uturn violation on a 2 lane highway at night or a similar situation, it's a big time safety violation.

[headborg]

mostly it's a catch-22.

My company has a 0 u-turn policy- the safety department states that under no curcumstances are you allowed to make a u-turn.

Then the real world hits them in the ass and they start making exceptions:

Take Unilever- Baltimore, Md for example:

In our directions- it clearly reads- you make a left turn on US1- go to top of hill and make u-turn and park along the fence and walk to guard house.

This is the ONLY way into this customer.
When/If you call in and point this conflict of policy out----- you're told to just be careful.

__________________________________________________ ____

Never make a illegal U-turn (where posted) in a commercial vehicle.

Never make a u-turn anywhere there isn't at least 300yards of visibility in both directions. If someone flies up and runs under your trailer-- you're going up the river.

Now, there are usually other safer methods to turn around.
(1) 3 rights then a left or 3lefts then a right
(2) you can turn down a street-- then back across the intersection( believe it or not--this is considered safer than u-turn)
(3) circle a cloverleaf interchange
(4) find a large parking lot and turn around.

[Uturn2001]

The U-turn policy at companies usually mean, no uturns in the middle of the road, or no illegal u-turns. There are places that it is perfectly safe and legal to make a u-turn.

Most of the time these type of policies have been implemented because one or more morons at some point or another have attempted to make what amounts to an illegal u-turn in the middle of a street and either get stuck in the ditches along side the road, tear up the truck, signs, or something else, or end up causing a wreck and often times ends up being a fatality.

[MtFoxx]

Cool.... Relief I was envisioning a nightmare of right or left turns to avoid a U-turn at all costs. Like southernpride missing his dock entrance and having to travel 14 miles down the road and others I have read.


headborg Quote: mostly it's a catch-22.

My company has a 0 u-turn policy- the safety department states that under no curcumstances are you allowed to make a u-turn.

Then the real world hits them in the ass and they start making exceptions:

The safety issues and obviously the illegal U-turn makes sense.
Thanks All.

[Fozzy]

Not when three rights make a left and vice versa...

[southernpride]

First of all about my U-Turn... It was in a HUGE intersetion that had more than enough space and a left turn light. Unfortunatley for me it also had a NO u-turn sign that i didnt see. (partially because of snow) BUT i wasnt fired just got a write up. a level 2 write up!

The way i understand the big no-no is uturns in the middle of the road, or other unsafe places.

From now on i'll just keep going untill i find a big parking lot.

[AC120]

Good thread.

Southernpride: Thanx for your posts. Hang in there. You're doing good.

I once drove 21 miles on two-lane roads in Illinois before I could turn around; shipper's directions had left and right mixed up. Oh, well--better safe and out-of-route than sorry.

Years ago a friend who drove for Swift showed me one of their company newsletters. It had an article about uturns--and photographs. A Swift driver had pulled a uturn (like the one in the YouTube clip below) and had been hit by a pickup pulling a horse trailer. The photos showed two dead horses in the road. "Sorry" wasn't good enough.

So, speaking of uturns:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr-YF1pbGuE

Folks, there's LOTS of truck-related clips on YouTube. Search "truck crash," "truck wreck," "truck drivers," "swift driver." (Off-topic, but
there's lots of great music clips too.)

[MtFoxx]

First of all about my U-Turn... It was in a HUGE intersetion that had more than enough space and a left turn light. Unfortunatley for me it also had a NO u-turn sign that i didnt see. (partially because of snow) BUT i wasnt fired just got a write up. a level 2 write up!

The way i understand the big no-no is uturns in the middle of the road, or other unsafe places.

From now on i'll just keep going untill i find a big parking lot.

Thanks....

I've been following your diary.

[TomB985]

I've seen other drivers from my company do u-turns, legal and otherwise. So long as nobody says anything, everything goes fine...but if someone reports the driver as making a u-turn, they will terminate him on the spot.

I WON'T take that chance...I've seen others do it, and that's their choice...but not me

[gmh]

I've seen other drivers from my company do u-turns, legal and otherwise. So long as nobody says anything, everything goes fine...but if someone reports the driver as making a u-turn, they will terminate him on the spot.

"It's only illegal if you get caught"

Or something.

[tweety bird]

To be perfectly honest, I've never heard of this policy- I haven't been a company driver for 8 or 9 years! Doesn't surprise me, though. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the companies have a "no training" policy from the low-quality training I've witnessed.

[inmate1577]

Its simple
If you attempt a u-turn you can kill someone if they run into you!
If you attempt a u-turn and block a highway because you got hung up on a center divider, you'll get fired from most companies.
A "0" u-turn policy has to be enforced because idiots keep doing it and risking other peoples lives.
I have no problem with that policy, then again most of the time the need for a u-turn is because the driver did crappy trip planning, didnt read the instructions, didnt call the company DIRECTLY for any hints/tips about getting into the facility, etc etc

I've only missed an entrance ONCE and I drove another 4 miles to get to a safe area where I could turn around. After that I called shipper/receivers directly for instructions and have not missed one since.

[Darin Younce]

It never occured to me that someone would attempt a uturn , especially on an interstate but about 4 years ago I was traveling out west , we had been on I-40 headed west and got off to go see the Ice caves in NM . Anyway we were off the interstate for several hours, when we got back on somewhere around Gallup I stopped at a truck stop to get fuel and they were very busy, lots of trucks for the middle of the day. I ask the attendant why it was so busy, she said that I -40 was closed for several hours because an older couple in a Motorhome tried a u turn on I-40
and a 4 wheeler or truck ( notsure) slammed into them killing them and I think the driver that hit them. We went on west on I-40 and sure enough in the median was a charred and (I mean nothing but a frame) of a motorhome. As the old saying goes "Haste makes Waste".

[Drew10]

Werner has a very strict, no U-Turn policy. I really believe that a U-Turn in a Semi truck is very dangerous. Im not talking about in parking lots, warehouses etc. Im talking about on roads, Intersections, medians, etc. Even at posted U-Turns, it may be OK for the 4wheeler, but you need to THINK TWICE about it before attempting in a truck, even if its a legal U-Turn intersection, and you get hung up, you will probably still be held liable.
Because alot of drivers cant use enough common sense, as to when, where, and how to execute a proper U-Turn, a company must simple apply common sense for the driver in the form of a policy, that if you break will result in termination.
I cant say that Ive ever seen a full size 18wheeler pull a U-Turn through the median of an Interstate (Im sure its happened), but it surprises me not when 4wheelers, and even Motorhomes do it. I just gotta shake my head.
I seen a 4wheel go into the median to "flip" and sitting in the median was a Smokey, laughed my azz off over that one.

[AC120]

[quote="inmate1577"]
"If you attempt a u-turn you can kill someone if they run into you!"

That's the best reason not to do it. If a company's policy is "no u-turns," then that's what it is.

"most of the time the need for a u-turn is because the driver did crappy trip planning, didnt read the instructions,"

No disrespect intended, but how can you know that unless you were in the truck with a driver? Even directions on the Qualcomm can be wrong, and if you're going where you've never been before you can't know the
directions are screwed up.

"didnt call the company DIRECTLY for any hints/tips about getting into the facility, etc etc"

Actually, I DID call that consignee in Illinois. I wrote down what they said, read it back to them, and heard them loud and clear when they said, "You've got it. Come on down."

I once had an LTL outfit give me wrong directions--on the phone--to their lot near Orange, NJ.

Bad directions on the phone (and into my dispatch buster) sent me right into Boston's Logan Airport--that's not where my customer was.

In Fayetteville, AR a dock manager's directions got me to his OLD, boarded-up warehouse (and up a gravel road with precious little room to turn around), not to his NEW place, where he was wondering where I was.

A Puyallup, WA a clerk gave me directions--on the phone, of course--that took me to the EAST side of I-5. His store was on the WEST side.

Then there were the directions to a mall in Miami that assumed a truck coming from California would be headed north.

It all goes with the territory. I think there's some goofy trucker u-turns on YouTube.

[rvrjr7]

mostly it's a catch-22.


__________________________________________________ ____

Never make a illegal U-turn (where posted) in a commercial vehicle.

Never make a u-turn anywhere there isn't at least 300yards of visibility in both directions. If someone flies up and runs under your trailer-- you're going up the river.

Now, there are usually other safer methods to turn around.
(1) 3 rights then a left or 3lefts then a right
(2) you can turn down a street-- then back across the intersection( believe it or not--this is considered safer than u-turn)
(3) circle a cloverleaf interchange
(4) find a large parking lot and turn around.

If and when I have to get turned around ill do all three but i have done a u turn down in queens ny ordered by the cops cause the ramp i needed to take was closed due to an accident but it was at a traffic light and could clearly see for a good ways

[Drew10]

[quote="rvrjr7"]

mostly it's a catch-22.


__________________________________________________ ____

Never make a illegal U-turn (where posted) in a commercial vehicle.

Never make a u-turn anywhere there isn't at least 300yards of visibility in both directions. If someone flies up and runs under your trailer-- you're going up the river.

Now, there are usually other safer methods to turn around.
(1) 3 rights then a left or 3lefts then a right been there many times, it can be a mystery, what you will find on your next turn.
(2) you can turn down a street-- then back across the intersection( believe it or not--this is considered safer than u-turn) Done that a few times also, when you back, just make sure you are in the opposing lane, facing traffic, or you will get a "pile up" of vehicles behind you. When backing trough the intersection, go very slowly, to give the vehicles a chance to react to you. (Its still quite dangerous, but....)
(3) circle a cloverleaf interchange, Yup....and got me dizzy...
(4) find a large parking lot and turn around.

If and when I have to get turned around ill do all three but i have done a u turn down in queens ny ordered by the cops cause the ramp i needed to take was closed due to an accident but it was at a traffic light and could clearly see for a good ways This is the exemption, when directed to do so by the local Law. In fact if you must do a U turn on a road, have the local Law there to help with directing traffic[/quote]

I had gotten myself tied into a real knot, around Wilkes Barre, Pa. I was at Saint Marys college (I think that was the name ), didnt want to be there, but non the less. Got to a T intersection, but not enough room to make the turn in either direction and the parking lots would not accomidate a Semi. I offset into the opposing traffics lane, and started backing up. Had to back up a mile or so, having to stop at stop signs, and traffic lights. Meanwhile traffic in front of me was "pushing" me up the street. (They must have thought I was Nuts). Finally got to a traffic light intersection the I could do a 90 degree sight side back into. Which got me positioned to make the right and turned around. Will never forget that day.