Amazon falling asleep at the wheel.

[D Fresh]

While I'll give you that many are not to the level they should be, 90% of private/personal drivers are 10 steps worse than your average commercial driver.

While I wouldn't disagree with you about private/personal drivers being bad as well. The ego is the problem. While most private drivers are over confident, the level of confidence most CDL drivers has borders on megalomaniac levels.

I"d be very surprised if that was borne out statistically, given the sheer number of miles driven per driver per year. That said, when a trucker makes a mistake we all know that it is going to be spectacularly bad...and that's a shame because when a truck wrecks, nobody wins.

You're probably right if you look at number of accidents. However your last point is also correct. In terms of sheer amount of damage done to dollars and lives the truck drivers might have a leg up.

https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/truck-accident-statistics/

Regardless, this industry has gained great notoriety over the years, especially in the last couple of decades; with a plethora of careless drivers of such large trucks, accidents are bound to happen. It is estimated that by 2030 it will become the fifth largest cause of death in the USA.

Currently number 5 is stroke at about 150,000 deaths per year.

Truck accident death rates rose over 50% from 2009 to 2017.

Again, the biggest problem is ego.

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[viperwolf]

As a group semi drivers have the biggest egos about their driving skills. And as a group semi drivers are the worst and most dangerous drivers on the road.

Ill counter that with Taxi drivers ?
Even worse, taxi drivers in other countries lol
Ask me how I know ?

 

[D Fresh]

Ill counter that with Taxi drivers ?
Even worse, taxi drivers in other countries lol
Ask me how I know ?

You might have me there.

Us milkmen are pretty unsafe too. There's just nobody around to witness it.

 

[Joeiconic]

in the past couple of weeks Amazon drivers have been delivering in my neighborhood in what appears to be their personal cars. I believe Amazon is so hell bent to cut UPS out of their business model they are cutting corners. They’re stretching their resources too thin. I’ve stated in other threads some of the recent poor experiences I’ve had with Amazons delivery services. I’m a long time heavy Amazon user, but I’m not very happy with them at the moment and am happy to consider other options.

 

[rang19ca]

Before I retired, I watched the quality of owner operator drivers diminish as they made deliveries to our warehouse. One day I watched a driver attempt 5 times, to back a 53 ft. trailer into the loading dock while his co-driver guided him. Finally they switched and the other guy took 5 attempts to back it in. True story!?

 

[Gerder]

I was behind one of the delivery vans in the line at chic fil a today. Roof damage, rear doors had dents in them and a missing emblem, and driver side looked like the guy ran into a pole and part of the panel behind the door was completely missing. Looks like Amazon continues to have very high standards.

and? u vote? u want ur ordered stuff overnight? what u think about unions? ?

 

[JTDay]

and? u vote? u want ur ordered stuff overnight? what u think about unions? ?

Fair enough. My last comment may have been unreasonable. Either way, people who drive for work shouldn't be permitted to damage company or public/private property without recompense. The truck I saw was pretty beat up. I'm sure Amazon has a rigorous selection process for most jobs. I think companies ought to treat their employees well enough that they elect not to attempt unionization. I work in manufacturing and have yet to have to work with a union and hope not to for the foreseeable future.

 

[Chris M]

and? u vote? u want ur ordered stuff overnight? what u think about unions? ?

I think @JTDay has a valid point. As someone that comes in contact with Amazon package delivery drivers in Amazon branded trucks, independent contractor trucks, and the gig-drivers in their personal vehicles on dozens of occasions every week, I can attest to the lack of care that Amazon drivers of all types have for their equipment, but also the lack of care they have for themselves as a general rule. I see them show up in badly battered trucks and personal cars, I see them in varying degrees of casual dress, right down to pj's and flip flops (gig drivers, mostly). Those that are driving the vans are in extreme casual dress more often than not, and rarely in anything that can be identified as a "uniform".

What I also notice many times from my work interaction with a lot of Amazon (and other package delivery personnel like DHL, OnTrac/Next Day) is that their ability to read and comprehend is not at what one would expect for someone that has to read and comprehend for a living. MANY packages delivered to the wrong streets AND addresses (subsequently returned to my guardhouse for proper distribution), and when I have the opportunity to speak to some of these folks I am amazed that they found their way to work at all, as they can't even seem to be able to read aloud to me a proper street address in order to get directions to the homes. It is SAD to me that so many people have been allowed to graduate with such a lack of ability to do the simplest of things like read an address.

Yes, I vote (although I don't see the relevance). No, I don't care if things I order (which I rarely do) come overnight or not. I'm a patient man most days. And I'm a former Teamster truck driver (Roadway Express and Preston Trucking)...for whatever any of that matters.

Thanks all for indulging me today.
Chris

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

Fair enough. My last comment may have been unreasonable. Either way, people who drive for work shouldn't be permitted to damage company or public/private property without recompense. The truck I saw was pretty beat up. I'm sure Amazon has a rigorous selection process for most jobs. I think companies ought to treat their employees well enough that they elect not to attempt unionization. I work in manufacturing and have yet to have to work with a union and hope not to for the foreseeable future.

Why specify drivers?

 

[Chris M]

Why specify drivers?

Because equipment doesn't beat itself up?

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

Because equipment doesn't beat itself up?

Copiers don't break themselves, nor computers, million dollar CAD, or printing presses, etc.

Employees are accountable or they are not. Drivers are no different than others.

 

[JTDay]

I saw the beat up van same days as OPs post, so it was just a response to something already specified. Thing was quite surprisingly beat up.

 

[Chris M]

Copiers don't break themselves, nor computers, million dollar CAD, or printing presses, etc.

Employees are accountable or they are not. Drivers are no different than others.

You are correct. People who do jobs are accountable for their actions...or should be held to be accountable. As relates to drivers...or maybe other people whose jobs require them to leave their company's building to do their jobs, the company is also responsible for their actions when they send these peeps out into the world to do things.

As pertains to the OP's original post...the driver is always responsible for how he drives his unit. His company is also responsible for his actions out on the road. Amazon is only guilty of hiring a subcontractor that has a driver that has obviously got some kind of problem that doesn't allow him to fully control his unit. The trailer only is Amazon's. The tractor belongs to a subcontractor, as does the driver unless the driver IS the subcontractor.

He could be sleepy (most likely), or impaired (a little less likely), or may be having a medical event that has rendered him unable to fully control the unit. There's no real way to know. But ultimately the problem here is the driver. I hope he's ok.

 

[Robert Elmore]

Two day Prime shipping is a thing of the past. Four days is normal and no guarantee you will get your package then. Two day delivery was the best thing about Prime and dependable service....not anymore. Getting too big for their britches.

 

[Langwilliams]

Two day Prime shipping is a thing of the past. Four days is normal and no guarantee you will get your package then. Two day delivery was the best thing about Prime and dependable service....not anymore. Getting too big for their britches.

I'm not a prime member an rarely order from Amazon (Bezos is the devil) but staffing levels an volume are causing reduction in services everywhere. The USPS just changed express overnight service from noon the next day to 6 PM the next day. I believe if you don't live close enough to a USPS major service center it's 2 day express.

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