Spotting
I had a positive experience the other night. It was at the Pilot in Oak Creek, WI. I circled the parking lot looking for a parking place. It was 8 pm and I figured that there would be a few left. There was only one. It was in the back row and required a blind side angle backing to use. Without someone spotting me I would not have even tried. When I circled the lot the first time I saw drivers helping another driver back in. I was hoping to get the same professionalism.
I crept slowly past the spot and spotted up as best I could. Immediately, two drivers popped out of their trucks to help me. One of them had a shiny new KW 660 and was parked in the spot to the driver’s side of the spot I was aiming for. The other drove the truck that had backed in before me about 10 spots down. The KW driver was probably mid to late 40s. The other driver must have been well into his 60s. It took about 5 minutes and a few pull ups, before we got it safely into the spot.
It was a positive experience. It was also a display of professional courtesy. The KW driver and I chatted for a few minutes afterwards. He actually thanked me for taking that spot. Really, I had gone over to his truck to thank him as I should have. He was a huge help. He just did not want to go to sleep until that spot was taken. He was concerned that someone would hit his truck. The other driver just did it because it was the right thing to do.
We have a truck parking shortage in urban areas. Parking spots can be hard to find. The ones we do find can be harder to back into. This truck stop was the last one before the city of Milwaukee. Ordinarily I don’t chance getting a spot there. In this case I thought that I was early enough that it would not be a problem. The trucks that arrived after me, and a few that arrived before me, were taking spots that weren’t really spots. They parked along a drive that is barely 20 feet wide and trucks have to pass by them. Others parked on the ends after the marked spots, where trucks going around the corner had to pass within inches of them to get by. I was snug and safe in the middle of the back row.
Helping spot another driver into a tight spot is an act of professionalism. Experienced drivers should be setting an example to newer drivers. We need to teach them, first to just do it. Then we need to teach them how to do it. These two drivers quickly earned my trust. They both stayed where I can see them. Many times while having a spotter I lost sight of them. When spotting another driver you need to be where they can see you and where you can see the problem areas. In this case the two problem areas were the corners of my trailer and the fenders of the other trucks. Each of them watched one side. I was fairly close to the trucks in the other row, but I could watch my front.
I take pride and pleasure in helping a fellow driver by spotting them into a spot. But, I am not doing all that I can. Are any of us? We should be setting an example. We should also walk over to the parked trucks with younger drivers and encouraging them to help spot. They need to learn and I don’t think anyone is teaching them. It is up to us to show courtesy and professionalism by helping our fellow drivers. Someday it will be up to them.