It's a Team's Life
Fuel Islands are dangerous…
There is a lot of etiquette when fueling the truck and I am sure I will miss a few points. The first is safety as the fuel islands often have spills that can cause slips and injuries. Wear shoes with good soles and constantly watch where you are walking. There are hoses on the ground and sometimes the windshield cleaner handle can trip you are hit you in the head.
When walking in front of the trucks even in the rain walk at least 5 feet in front of the bumpers as the drivers cannot see you if to close to the grill. When walking in front of the trucks look at the driver, which will give you an indication if they can see you, if they are getting ready to pull forward, that will tell you how to proceed.
Bring along
a pair of gloves to handle the fuel hoses as they will get your hands filthy
and it is hard to get rid of the smell.
We keep the gloves in one of the side boxes and they are only used for
fueling.
Watch when pulling into a truck stop as there is a right way and a wrong way to go through the fuel islands and when there are no trucks fueling this can be confusing. We often see small moving trucks go in the wrong way and it can cause a mess.
Look carefully at the squeegee as some drivers use it to clean their truck and it can be covered in grease or full of mud which can scratch the windshield. We have a Dobie sponge that we purchased in the mop section of the grocery store that works great for removing bugs from the windshield.
When finished fueling pull the truck pull the truck forward so the next truck can fuel. There are lines marked on the pavement showing how far to pull forward. Very few truck stops do not have this are marked off. Once we have pulled forward we go in and get our fuel ticket, use the restroom quickly and move out of the way. It is very frustrating to have a driver pull forward, get our fuel, be blocked in by the truck behind us, and have the lead truck inside ordering food, or I am sure sometimes even showering. When this happens go inside with the trucks company name and ask the fuel desk attendant if they can ask the truck to move.
When we are aware of our surroundings we can keep ourselves safe and ready to haul that next load!
Bob & Linda Caffee
Leased to: FedEx Custom Critical 

TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO
Expediters 7 years been out here on the road 12 years
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 

Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;

Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;

Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.