SMOOTH OPERATION

here you are coming back to the terminal the end of the day and brother it's been a busy day a day filled with stoppin turnin starting shift and signals pedestrians a hundred other things you finished up eight or more hours as city driving in all kinds of traffic and now that you're back how does the end of the day look to you are you grouchy irritable worried about another day of the same darn thing all right you're still showing some pep and smiles happy to have the kind of a job that you have what do you suppose makes his difference in drivers we're all professionals yet one guy is always fighting traffic making it tough on himself the other guy relaxes he doesn't fight traffic he flows with it he's a smooth operator and fellas that's an c smooth operation that's what can help all of us in just about the toughest league of them all city driving just how tough city driving is depends a lot on us so now let's take a look at this driving job and let's see what there is to it we've got some pictures here and some questions about our daily driving in other words we've got a quiz think you know the answers the things you meet up with when you're behind the wheel will take five seconds for each question you're ready let's go here's the first one how many miles do you cover in an average day look at the figures we have up there on the screen and pick the one that you think is right ok let's go on to the next one how many traffic lights do you meet in an average day come on pick your answer ok then let's have the next how many stop signs do you meet in an average day you're ready for the next one here it is how many times do you make a left turn at an intersection each day next how many times do you turn right at intersections now answer this one how many times do you back up in an average working day and now for the last one how many times a day do you park ok now let's go back for the answers you might have known it the right answer was the highest number in each case that's right studies show that on the average you do drive 42 miles every day and brother that's a lot of driving and here's why you meet up with a hundred and thirteen signal lights and forty stop signs in those 42 city driving miles you make a hundred and five of left turns and 90 right turns all at intersections only we're not even counting it turns out of alleys and driveways it's necessary for you to back up an average of a hundred and seven times every day and you park 90 times a day but wait a minute every time you park you have to unpack so it's actually 180 and there's your job tough well it can be plenty tough for the traffic fighter but it doesn't have to be tough fellas and it's not for the driver who knows the answer smooth operation that's the secret to this whole business a commercial vehicle driver now just what does smooth operation consists of well just three things one your vehicle to traffic and three you now of course these three things are present in any traffic situation but it's the way you fit them together the way you coordinate them that results in smooth operation you can't have smooth operation if you treat your truck like this you can't have smooth operation if you behave this way in traffic and your cat a smooth operation if you're at odds with the world if you let yourself get all worked up like this guy okay smooth operation depends on properly coordinating your vehicle traffic and you just think about that for a minute your vehicle your truck is the two of your trade it's an expensive machine worth thousands of dollars matter of fact it costs more than you'd pay for your own car and this truck of yours whatever type it is is engineered to operate at a certain pace now light trucks are speedy heavy ones are slower and whether the truck is loaded or empty makes a big difference to look your truck just isn't made to stand up under quick Jackrabbits arts like this it can't take those fast to wheel turns either nor these sudden Stonewall stops hotrod driving is mighty tough on any machine your truck can't take it and neither can you wear and tear driving just doesn't pay off so give yourself a break respect your vehicle loaded or empty don't try to make it do things it wasn't built to do treat it right it's the best partner a professional driver can have now traffic that's the second part of smooth operation and the more traffic there is the more important smooth operation is if you were the only driver on the street driving that truck could really be a snap nothing to it but you're not you've got lots of company and you can't control all those cars and trucks nobody could but you can't forget them either so what you do is this you adjust your vehicle to other traffic for speed and for direction of movement and you do it every mile every minute every second you're behind that wheel all day long you're meeting up with all sorts of things things that force you to change your speed and movement take the guy ahead as an example you're driving along when without warning he stops and there you are right on top of them and then some darn fool cut you off swears in from the left a few minutes later somebody else cuts in from the right each time you had to adjust your vehicle hit your brakes or cut your speed or do some dodging to prevent an accident an accident that could have happened because of the guy ahead but now how about the other guy you know the guy behind what are we do to protect ourselves from him we make no sudden starts turns or stops that's what in other words when we change speed or direction in any kind of traffic do it gradually that's the main idea and use your signals let the other guy know what you're gonna do suppose you're this driver you're on a one-way street and it's plenty busy you want to change lanes what should you do that's right give the signal make sure everything's clear and then change lanes gradually that's the right way to handle a change in direction but now what about speed the idea making time here for instance this passing in city driving and this this Lane weaving it's even worse worse on your nerves worse another traffic and leads to plenty of accidents that hurt and kill yep the straight line is still the shortest way to get between any two points so we should stay in one lane the right lane as often as we can and there are three good reasons to back us up on this first keep to the right as a general rule of traffic second commercial vehicles belong naturally on the right because of their slower pick up but the third reason is best what's these next two pictures taken only a few seconds apart the arrow shows an approaching driver who's sticking to the right as he should while a second driver already at the intersection is in the inner Lane now watch what happens when the light changes the truck in the proper lane goes right on through while the other truck is stuck behind traffic this is the most important reason for sticking to the right for traffic study shows that the right lane usually moves faster through intersections and you make better time as for the lights well you really can't beat him so why try you're gonna hit half of those lights green that's a fifty-fifty chance and that's mighty good and in some places your chances are even better like here where the signals are set for a certain speed if you keep to this speed you'll be able to flow with the lights smoothly and look speed limits are important city streets can carry just so much traffic in a given time that's why they hire traffic engineers to figure out these limits to move traffic as fast as possible with safety they're not trying to slow things down the speed limit set for any street represents the maximum safe speed under normal conditions so stay at the legal speed in the right lane and adjust your truck to the other traffic now for the third point of smooth operation you where do you fit into smooth operation what are the things you do that affect your driving all right let's look at you hey wait a minute this can't be you a speed demon the guy who races traffic he's always in a hurry no matter what and this can't be you can it well this guy's like a spoiled kid if he can't have his own way he just hasn't grown up heck this can't be you either well this boy's a lazy driver he just can't take the time and effort to stop and shift and then get started again no you're not any of these we hope because the speed demon the lazy driver and the guy that hasn't grown up they don't know how to flow with traffic they're all traffic fighters they think all the traffic's against him while the truth is they're against traffic with you we hope the story is a lot different you're a guy who knows he's got a job to do a guy who wants to do it right and who wants to play the game according to the rules if you're a smooth operator you've got a sportsman like feeling toward the whole business you've got the right attitude toward everything we've said about driving you respect your vehicle because it's your truck a tool of your trade you respect the guy in front you're ready for anything he might do you respect the guy behind you let him know whenever you have to adjust for speed or for direction you make no sudden starts turns or stops it would be confusing other traffic you get in line and you stay in line no unnecessary passing or racing you stick to the right lane because you know that's where commercial traffic belongs and because you know the travel will be smoother in that Lane all day long and you take the lights as they come because you know they're with you as often as they're against you all these things combined add up to smooth operation the perfect coordination of your vehicle traffic and you but now let's hold on just a minute let's get back to that problem of time it may seem like you're always racing the clock race in traffic never ever halftime you're always tempted to push up your speed make time in traffic and then one day yes you have an accident you risked your neck and you didn't make it don't try to make up time in traffic save time instead another a simple way just do this have your route already planned before you start out so you can make all your stops in the most logical sequence then wherever possible try to pick the rod with the least congestion and every time you make a pickup or delivery don't lose time chewing the fat those are all points of smooth operation the key to good driving the key to a better day a safer day and easier day smooth operation is working for lots of fellow let it make your job easier for you