11-16-2013, 11:28 PM
As a truck driver, I always preferred to back into a tight space rather than drive ahead into one. If you ever go to a truck stop you will see the trucks backed against the back line, all straight, separated just enough to swing open the cab doors. Much harder to do going forward because our eyes/brains need the cues that are available going backwards.
When the Feds started requiring retesting of drivers during the implementation of the commercial drivers license requirements in the 1980's I took my test in my daily driver, a five axle semi truck-trailer belly dump (gravel hauler). I routinely backed up any number of times a day. So the first thing the license examiner had me do was back around a corner and end up next to a painted line without touching it. One shot, no correcting, and I was full length an inch from the line. He said, "You pass," and I was on my way without wasting his or my time taking the rest of the test. Not bragging, routine for all the drivers where I worked, backed around the corner, pass. I knew of no drivers who failed the entire test. The Feds quickly ended skills retesting and now concentrate on drug testing.
I can parallel park a truck on a street more easily than I can a car. I just need a bit more space. I once had people applaud me when I did this because they thought doing this in a truck must be harder than in a car. It's not.
space-time wrote:
Interesting, I think Speedy knows his stuff
When the Feds started requiring retesting of drivers during the implementation of the commercial drivers license requirements in the 1980's I took my test in my daily driver, a five axle semi truck-trailer belly dump (gravel hauler). I routinely backed up any number of times a day. So the first thing the license examiner had me do was back around a corner and end up next to a painted line without touching it. One shot, no correcting, and I was full length an inch from the line. He said, "You pass," and I was on my way without wasting his or my time taking the rest of the test. Not bragging, routine for all the drivers where I worked, backed around the corner, pass. I knew of no drivers who failed the entire test. The Feds quickly ended skills retesting and now concentrate on drug testing.
I can parallel park a truck on a street more easily than I can a car. I just need a bit more space. I once had people applaud me when I did this because they thought doing this in a truck must be harder than in a car. It's not.