Why do they have to back it in and put the little pylon on the ground in front of the truck, no matter where they park? I can understand doing it at a job site, but they park this way at the Kwik-E Mart or McDonald’s too.
I believe to ground the truck to ground. Telephone lines carry voltage. Why at McDonalds etc., maybe the guy is new and likes pushing the button?
I asked a Bell South employee this question once. His reply was that it’s just habit so they remember to check around the entire area of the vehicle as to not run over anything.
That reminds me of a funny call on the Tappet Brothers PBS radio show (Click & Clack discuss automotive things). The guy said he’d been keeping track for two years now, and never yet seen a UPS truck legally parked until the day before. He then said he was going to take a picture of the truck and send it in to UPS, but then he became afraid the poor driver might get fired.
I have been told by a utility company employee that it is policy (I’m sure this varies somewhat) to follow this procedure everywhere / anywhere, and that being seen not following proceedure by another employee can result in getting sacked.
The origin of the procedure is to make the driver walk all the way around the truck looking for hazards / pedestrians / kids before moving the truck.
-rainy
Most safe driving classes these days emphasize that it is much safer to back into a parking space and pull out forward. When backing in there is very little chance that random cars or pedestrians will already be moving through that space. When pulling out it is much easier to see who is coming from all directions when one is facing forward than by checking the rear-view mirrors.
The utilities I’m familiar with require this parking at all times. This lessens the chances of accidents and of liability.
And it’s a habit I’m trying to acquire for myself because of the obvious advantages.
Backing into an overnight parking space, particularly if it leaves the vehicle facing down hill, particularly if it has a manual transmission, makes it far easier to steal.
I used to make a point of always backing in until I went to leave for work one day, and no car!
I assume you’re alluding to the issue of popping the clutch while the car is moving in order to kick the engine over and start the car?
In my experience, having had a few cars with dead batteries in the past, this technique works just as well using “reverse” as using a forward gear.
Actually, I speculate that the thieves were able to roll out of my driveway, down the street, around the corner and be about 2 blocks from my house (with really vigilent dog) before ever having to start the car at all, thus they were able to leave the scene of the crime silently.
About nine months later, my neighbor’s (1 block uphill) truck was left in front of my house. Thieves had coasted it that far, but were unable to start it for some unknown reason, possibly broke the ignition switch when the slidehammered the lock.
Back in the day, so to speak, the Bell System was a highly rules-based operation and had a specific procedure for everything, even down to how to sweep the floors.
If someone decided it was a good idea to drop the cone when parked to enforce looking around the truck when leaving, then you dropped the cone, no ifs ands or buts.
In my company (oilfield service work) head in parking (even at the office) is subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.
When I started with these guys they were considering the “cone thing” for ALL vehicles on company business (even privately owned vehicles) because one of the big wheels had run over one of his kids in his own driveway.
We are also subject to disciplinary action if we are seen taking a phone call while driving.
Unclviny
More anecdotal evidence, but it bears considering:
Utility trucks are often parked near open manholes. Walking around the vehicle reorients the driver to these easy-to-overlook hazards.
At one synagogue near my house, most people park their cars “cop style”, backed in with the front side out rather than front side in, even in spaces next to landscape islands where you can’t pull through to another space. I dont’ see this at the JCC or at other synagogues.
The parking lot where I work, though, displays a sign that reads “no back-in parking.” I have no idea why, except to speculate that it’s a very,very subtle form of anti-Semitism. ;j
Many places try to prevent back-in parking because they got tired of people backing into the wall or the building. 