Don't Get Hurt! Always, always climb in and out, on and off the truck or bus.

How to do 3 Points of Contact | Truck Driving School

Closed Caption

Overview

• We rarely fall going up, but we fall all the time going down!

• Get a firm grip on the steering wheel and put your ass out of the truck first.

• Always, always 3 points of contact: 2 arms and one foot; or 2 feet and one hand in firm contact with the truck's grab handles and steps.

• On the newer trucks, the handles are going to be on the inside of the doors. This will cause veteran driver's or those slip seating to be grasping at the air for time.

• Be especially careful in the winter because the steps and ground are going to be slippery.

• The most common injury for falling out of a truck is a torn rotator cuff in the shoulder. And these injuires often plague a driver for the rest of her life.

Introduction

Hi there smart drivers, quick tip for trucking smart: three points of contact!

Make sure you always have three points of contact when you get in and out of the truck, every time.

Create that habit - that way you're not going to fall down on your face when you come out of the truck.

The Debilitating Injury of Falling Out of a Truck

Worse yet, what happens is that usually when drivers fall out of the truck, because you always fall down, you don't fall up - when you fall down out of the truck.

And the falling driver reaches back like this and they ripped the rotator cuff out.

If you fall out of a large vehicle because you failed to employ 3-points of contact, you most often will sustain a rotator cuff injury in your shoulder.

It takes about a year for a rotator cuff to heal and even than it's never quite right after that.

So three points of contact getting out of the truck and I'm going to show you how to do that.

Handles on Inside of Truck

So open the door, most of the new trucks are going to have the handles on the inside.

Some of the older trucks will have the handles on the outside, so be aware of that if you're in a truck that the handles on the outside, and then you get in a different truck with the handles on the inside.

Many of the newer trucks will have handles on the inside of the cab, which may require attention on the part of veteran CDL drivers.

Be aware of that because that might throw you a little bit and you'll miss your grasp and potentially you could fall.

So essentially, you get in the truck - there's a handle on the door her; there's another one here.

2 Hand, One Foot; 2 Feet, One Hand

So when I say three points of contact - two hands one foot; two feet one hand.

So you grab here, climb up here - hands and step - grab on the steering wheel.

Have a Firm Grip on Steering Wheel When Getting Out

The steering wheel is your other hand hold for getting in the truck.

Use the steering wheel as a hand hold.<p>And when getting out of the vehicle, have a firm grip on the steering wheel.

You get into the seat and sit behind the steering wheel.

When you get out, take your right hand, grab on the steering wheel at the bottom here, grab the door and step out.

If you don't do this, in the wintertime if there's a bit of snow and ice on that step you're going to go down on your face or as I said previously your rotator cuff.

Ass Out First

Step out--so ass out first-- keep a firm grasp on the steering wheel and the door as you're coming down and step down out of the truck.

Not only when you're getting in and out of the cab of the truck, but also on the trailer as well - three points of contact up, three points of contact off.

When getting out of the vehicle, your ass goes out first to use 3 points of contact climbing out of the truck.

Always, always...Climb on the Truck, Always Climb Off

And I know that some of you guys coming into the industry are young and like to jump off trucks and trailers.

When you go to work for an employer and you do that on a road test and you jump off the truck, you're probably not going to get hired because you're a safety risk and you're probably going to get injured and end up on Workers' Compensation.

So three points of contact - always climb on the truck, always climb out; always climb on the truck and make sure you have a firm grasp when you're climbing down because that's the time you're going to fall - you're not goijng to fall going up.

Question for my smart drivers:

Have you ever fallen getting off and on a truck?

Leave a comment down in the comment section there - all that helps out the new drivers coming into the industry.

I'm Rick with Smart Drive Test, thanks very much for watching.

Have you ever fallen out of a CDL vehicle? What injury did you sustain?

If you like what you see here share, subscribe, leave a comment down in the comment section.

As well, hit that thumbs up button.

Check out the videos here - lots of great information for those of you going for a license or working towards a career as a truck or bus driver.

Head over to my website - lots of great online courses over there and more information for you to pursue your endeavors.

Thanks again for watching.

Good luck on your road test and remember, pick the best answer not necessarily the right answer.

Have a great day.

Bye now! [CLOSING CREDITS & MUSIC]

Posts in discussion: How to do 3 Points of Contact | Truck Driving School

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