Backing and Parking Combination Vehicles
Backing and Parking Combination Vehicles
Backing causes more collisions per mile than any other maneuver, and the exam tests the habits that prevent them: get out and look, back on the driver's side, use a spotter, and correct early.
Backing rules
- GOAL - Get Out And Look - before backing if you are unsure of clearance.
- Back toward the driver's side (left) whenever possible so the trailer stays visible in the left mirror.
- Use a spotter when one is available, agree on signals first, and stop immediately if you lose sight of the spotter.
- Turn the steering wheel toward the direction you want the rear of the trailer to move, and make small corrections early.
- Back slowly, in low gear, starting with the wheels straight.
- If the combination gets badly out of line, stop and pull forward to reset rather than oversteering.
- Check overhead clearance: wires, bridges, tree limbs, dock doors.
- Do not back across a sidewalk, a highway, or railroad tracks.
Parking
Park on firm, level ground away from traffic. Set the parking brake, place the transmission in the lowest gear or park, and chock the wheels on any grade. Turn the wheels toward the curb or road edge when parked on a hill. Avoid parking where the trailer blocks a driveway, fire lane, or crossing.
Worked example. You must back into a dock on the right, but the right side is blind. Pull past the dock, set up so the trailer approaches from the left, and use a spotter at the building corner. With no spotter, GOAL, then back in short moves, stopping to check.
Traps that cost marks. Backing on mirrors alone at speed; ignoring the spotter's signals; forgetting landing gear or overhead clearance; parking on a grade without chocks.