As a trucker, I believe I'm qualified to say, if the ground guy's hand is behind the truck, the driver can't see if he's signaling to back up, turn, or stop. He needs to keep his hand in sight of the driver's mirror.
The last few feet of land is usually unstable, so the truck could sink. The bulldozer needs to pass several times over the ground to consolidate it first, then the trucks can pass over it.