Residential Driveway Safety

The vast majority of vehicle collisions occur when someone is in reverse backing up. Most of us that have driven for any length of time have had a backing collision or a near-miss backing collision. Insurance claim data show that 63% of all collisions are while a vehicle is in reverse, while we spend less than 1% of our time in reverse.

Please review these tips to reduce the chances of getting into a backing collision, especially when making residential deliveries:

1. Don’t back up! When approaching a delivery attempt use a pull-through option instead of pulling into a driveway. Backing up is dangerous – avoid if possible.
2. If you must enter a residential driveway, back up first when you arrive so you can pull forward when you leave. When arriving at a location: focus on backing up, turn off radio and no conversations, roll down your window, scan all your mirrors, turn on hazard flashers, and sound the horn two times.
3. When you have to back up and you are not 100% sure of what is behind you, “Get Out And Look” or GOAL. It might take a minute to get out, but could help prevent a collision. When you have completed your delivery, you can now focus on safely getting to your next location without the stress of backing up.

Please share this with LMD drivers and discuss other ways they personally have prevented backing collisions. This document does not include every way to prevent a collision but is intended to provide some proven ways used by professional drivers to prevent collisions.