Watch Your Surroundings Both On Ground And Up High.

Went back and forth sharing my stupidity from this weekend. Its not a semi trailer but it just as well could of been. We have gone up about 5 years to help with a Poker Run "Motoring for Mammy's" in Wisconsin. Pulled in without incident for four. I have to come in tight to building to get under a guide wire for a radio tower. Most times a dumpster is at this corner of building I need to go around. This time across the drive on pavement. No overhang on Gable end and I assumed none on eve side. I looked in mirrors and I was about 3ft out with the tires from the corner. I thought I was golden. Mirrors only show about bottom 1/2 of this trailer. Big mistake on my part. I have pulled campers for over 20 years and people laugh at me when I get out to look and I could care less. One time I did not ....let's just say it was a long weekend of people going way out of their way on my left. Don't care going back to getting out and looking for obstacles both low and high. This just cost me my pride and a few $$. Once I work for someone could cost me my livelyhood.

Dee Squared that is some tight quarters! Ya think? Its worth going around if all possible, to avoid this costly one. Sometimes, its like looking into mirrors that you think are further away but they are not. I'd rather take a hit on the mileage, than to take a hit on the trailer. But we have all been there. Getting out to look is a very reality in trucking.

Thanks Dee Squared, this is a good reminder, and it's actually something I was going to make a post about today. Since you beat me to it, I'll just use your post as a springboard to add a little more emphasis. Failing to be aware of all six spaces surrounding our truck is something that causes a lot of grief for drivers of large vehicles. Making Sure We Read Signs carefully is one thing that helps in this area, but we also just have to pay special attention to anything that is overhead.

Sometimes we find ourselves in unusual situations where there can be low hanging electrical lines or tree branches. These kinds of things are common for flat bed drivers who frequently deliver to job sites or construction projects. Yesterday I was parked at a customer's location in Riverdale, NJ and took a walk through a neighborhood to get to a local cafe for lunch. While walking I came upon this poor P & D (pick up and delivery) truck driver who was having to navigate a residential area. Fortunately he had a "pup" trailer which made it easier on him, but he failed to pay attention to how low his overhead clearance was as he went under a large tree with a branch spreading out above the road.

Now he has damaged the front corner of his trailer, the homeowner's tree, and he's stuck and unable to drive the truck because he's toting a huge tree limb atop his trailer! This kind of thing makes for a really bad day, and it's completely preventable.

Take a look at this thread about Three Blind Mice for some additional information and images concerning this topic.

Dang old school, thats crazy. It seems like almost weekly we're getting a message on PeopleNet from safety reminding us of roof hanging over edge of buildings and electrical lines because drivers are still hitting them. I regularly deliver to 2 places that have a low hanging wire, as in possibly 2 inches of clearance with my 13' high trailer. One of the best pieces of advice i received is regardless if i was there yesterday and cleared it just fine if it looks close G.O.A.L. You never know if the pole is leaning more today than it was yesterday or any other factors that may result in you bringing the wire down.

Unfortunately that driver hitting the tree like that im sure happens somewhat frequently. LTL and food trucks are often required to go on roads that arent truck friendly. Today the only option i had to deliver at a stop was to take roads that the little village implemented a 5 ton weight limit (no bridges).

Ultimately the driver is at fault in that instance although the tree really shouldnt have been hanging that low. Regardless, as a professional its our job to spot hazards like that and avoid them