A situation at work...

I was sent over to pick up this trailer at a customer and the first thing I noticed was this tree leaning very near the door of the container. Training 101 kicked in. I called safety and they asked for photos which I sent and then I was told to get the supervisors name and authorization to move this trailer without holding the company I work for damages it I pulled down the tree or broke a limb. The supervisor agreed to that with no questions as it was their driver who put that trailer there.. 

If you look closely, there is a gap between the door and the container - that gap would be the place a limb could be caught on causing damage including worst case - taking the door off.. As the driver, I am always responsible for damage - IF I don't get approval to do something first - as they say CYA - cover your a**.

The local driver came out and he was the one who suggested how to move the trailer - A 53 foot trailer has 5 feet or "swing" on the back end - that is if you turn the steering wheel right, the rear of the trailer will swing left before following behind you - of course the reverse is true too... Since I had a little room I backed up as much as I could, turned the steering left and once the door was past the tree, turned sharp right to finish pulling the trailer out of the parking spot.. Not only was I given a thank you from management for doing my job, I was told a rookie driver would have probably just pulled out the tree - and not think of the surroundings - sadly true..

The rest of the day was uneventful...