Shoulder harness seat belts, seats and jump seats safety concern called in.

tieguy

Banned
If you feel that the equipment that you being asked to operate is unsafe and you have already written it up and it has not been repaired you have the right to refuse to operate that piece of equipment until the repair(s) have been made.

It is your responsiblity to pre/post trip any equipment that you use.

He's afraid they'll red tag his tug and make unload trailers until it gets fixed.:happy2:
 

tieguy

Banned
agreed. In fact I think they should supply us with crash helmets and padded coats to wear when we drive. this company just does not care enough to keep us as safe as possible.

Does beg the question. since some of you are so concerned about being as safe as possible , why not ask for crash helmets too?
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
Ultimately, YOU are responsible for your own safety. I find it odd that people complain so much about the lack of a three point safety belt, BUT obviously care so little about their own safety that they still come to work everyday putting themselves at grave risk.

You blame the company for not providing the three point seatbelt, but aren't you as much to blame because you knowingly wear the two point seatbelt every day??? Wouldn't it be safer to get a job where you are provided with equipment that is acceptable to you?

Some of you make it sound SO BAD. If it's that unsafe and dangerous, why do tempt fate every day??
 

Jones

fILE A GRIEVE!
Staff member
Ultimately, YOU are responsible for your own safety. I find it odd that people complain so much about the lack of a three point safety belt, BUT obviously care so little about their own safety that they still come to work everyday putting themselves at grave risk.

You blame the company for not providing the three point seatbelt, but aren't you as much to blame because you knowingly wear the two point seatbelt every day??? Wouldn't it be safer to get a job where you are provided with equipment that is acceptable to you?

Some of you make it sound SO BAD. If it's that unsafe and dangerous, why do tempt fate every day??
I think you're misreading the objection a lot of people have. It's not the fact that the company won't retrofit the vehicles, it's the fact that the company talks such a big game about safety but won't take a concrete step if it costs them a penny. They have a salaried employee following Sober around and writing him up for the way he grips his steering wheel but they won't pay a cent to do something that would really make an actual difference to his physical safety. We're all here for the money, it's the hypocrisy that rubs people the wrong way.
 

tieguy

Banned
I think you're misreading the objection a lot of people have. It's not the fact that the company won't retrofit the vehicles, it's the fact that the company talks such a big game about safety but won't take a concrete step if it costs them a penny. They have a salaried employee following Sober around and writing him up for the way he grips his steering wheel but they won't pay a cent to do something that would really make an actual difference to his physical safety. We're all here for the money, it's the hypocrisy that rubs people the wrong way.

yep. crash cages and crash helmets jonesy. And retaining harnesses on the doors . Dang it lets get it all to be as safe as possible and thereore prove the company wont spend the money so we then have an excuse to work unsafely.
 

Jones

fILE A GRIEVE!
Staff member
agreed. In fact I think they should supply us with crash helmets and padded coats to wear when we drive. this company just does not care enough to keep us as safe as possible.

Does beg the question. since some of you are so concerned about being as safe as possible , why not ask for crash helmets too?
I'll just say this: When you start talking to yourself in public, it's not a good sign :whistling
 

BrownArmy

Well-Known Member
Tieguy, do you honestly not see the disconnect between the company promoting safety above all else (a direct quote from my center manager - "safety above everything, even service") and the seat-belt issue?

I have no problem with the safety push or the ORO's. It's all part of the job that we signed up for, naturally. I have no doubt that, if conducted properly, ORO's with sup's following drivers and giving them feedback about their safety-related performance is rational and relevant.

But as many of us drive non-power steering vehicles with two-point seat-belts, the irony of the safety campaign is immediately apparent.

Bubblehead nailed it:

It's always about money, nothing else...

All of these modifications could be done for far less cost than is necessary to retrofit the same package car with telematics. Now ask yourself where this companies priorities are. To borrow a phrase from the company jargon, it's about avoidability. This is the hypocrisy that Sober and myself object to. We would much prefer to hear the truth. The company isn't concerned with making any modifications that do not show a monetary profit on some spread sheet and our safety programs are nothing more than smoke and mirrors and empty rhetoric designed to satisfy OSHA and our insurance interests.
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
yep. crash cages and crash helmets jonesy. And retaining harnesses on the doors . Dang it lets get it all to be as safe as possible and thereore prove the company wont spend the money so we then have an excuse to work unsafely.

I have never been on workmens comp in 23 years with this company, and I have 12 yrs of safe driving.

I was taking safety seriously long before the company decided to turn it into a buzz word or the flavor of the week.
 

IAMTHECDN

Member
Moved into a new "UPS" hub about nine months ago. Someone forgot to have the yard swept after the building was built, there were screws, nails & various other sharp pieces of metal all over the place. The outbound trailers were parked on these items. When I brought this to the attention of the PE guy he told me there is a process, I tried to explain to him the danger of a tire blowing apart on a vehicle and what flying pieces of tire can do to another vehicle or pedestrian. He looked at me like I was speaking a different language.

Many of you have mentioned safety along the way, having worked for this company for over 20 years safety is a joke! And for those of you who have not heard of any serious injuries sustained by drivers of P5's or other vehicles with lap belts only, ask around, i'm sure there are many cases out there.
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
Ever see what holds the windshield in? Rubber. I doesn't take much to push one out (or in). Steering columns and wheels are made to break away (since the 70s) when significant force is applied.

Because of the weight (inertia) and design (high body with heavy steel frame extending outward) you are more safe in a lap belt package than you are in nearly all passenger vehicles.

Putting a three point seat belt in is kinda like putting one in an airplane. If you get into a wreck thats serious enough to need one its not going to make much difference.

What a load of BS.

If you smack your head into the windshield hard enough to "push it out" of the rubber seal, you will crush your skull. And our older package cars do not have the "breakaway" steering wheels that passenger cars of the same era had. The wheel is a steel loop bolted to a steel pole that is positioned such that the drivers face will be propelled into it at high speed in the event of a head-on collision.

The high body and steel frame of the package car will do nothing to protect the head and neck of the driver who is strapped into it with a lap belt in the event of a frontal collision or a rollover. The cars themselves are quite durable, but the lack of a $50 shoulder belt means that whoever is driving it will flail around like a rag doll, striking his head on the wheel, the windshield, and the side door.

At that point....all of the acronyms and commentaries and buzz words and Keter audits become pretty meaningless.
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
Moved into a new "UPS" hub about nine months ago. Someone forgot to have the yard swept after the building was built, there were screws, nails & various other sharp pieces of metal all over the place. The outbound trailers were parked on these items. When I brought this to the attention of the PE guy he told me there is a process, I tried to explain to him the danger of a tire blowing apart on a vehicle and what flying pieces of tire can do to another vehicle or pedestrian. He looked at me like I was speaking a different language.

Many of you have mentioned safety along the way, having worked for this company for over 20 years safety is a joke! And for those of you who have not heard of any serious injuries sustained by drivers of P5's or other vehicles with lap belts only, ask around, i'm sure there are many cases out there.

We have an old tractor called the "yard goat" that is used to shift trailers around on the property.

Someone had the very good idea of hanging a 60" wide super heavy-duty bar magnet underneath the front bumper of the goat. It hangs about 3" off of the ground, and as the goat moves about the property the magnet sweeps up whatever metal objects it passes over. Every few days they clean the magnet off and by then it has picked up an amazing amount of screws, nails, bolts, and other metal debris.
 

DS

Fenderbender
Moved into a new "UPS" hub about nine months ago. Someone forgot to have the yard swept after the building was built, there were screws, nails & various other sharp pieces of metal all over the place. The outbound trailers were parked on these items. When I brought this to the attention of the PE guy he told me there is a process, I tried to explain to him the danger of a tire blowing apart on a vehicle and what flying pieces of tire can do to another vehicle or pedestrian. He looked at me like I was speaking a different language.

Many of you have mentioned safety along the way, having worked for this company for over 20 years safety is a joke! And for those of you who have not heard of any serious injuries sustained by drivers of P5's or other vehicles with lap belts only, ask around, i'm sure there are many cases out there.
Welcome to the BC IAMTHECDN....I am CDN too ,there are a few of us here.Are you in Calgary? We in Toronto just got a huge upgrade and I know Calgary did as well.
We still have a few dinosaurs in the lineup,but they are phasing them out .I have a new p700 so I don't see the old p500's much but I do hear the complaints.
 

tieguy

Banned
Tieguy, do you honestly not see the disconnect between the company promoting safety above all else (a direct quote from my center manager - "safety above everything, even service") and the seat-belt issue?

I have no problem with the safety push or the ORO's. It's all part of the job that we signed up for, naturally. I have no doubt that, if conducted properly, ORO's with sup's following drivers and giving them feedback about their safety-related performance is rational and relevant.

But as many of us drive non-power steering vehicles with two-point seat-belts, the irony of the safety campaign is immediately apparent.

Bubblehead nailed it:
i
what I responded was conditional support of safety. Many posters here in one way or another make the statement that if the company goes out and buys every safety improvement or modification they think should be expensed then and only then will they support the companys efforts to promote a safe work environment.

if you want to believe the worst about the company and believe they only care about profits then you are forced to believe the company cares about safety. Our injuries and accidents are easily our costliest expense.
 
M

Mike23

Guest
Not sure if it was mentioned since I just read the first post and the cost effective one. In most provinces in Canada (and likely the states as well) and vehicle doesn't need to have a shoulder harness if it was made prior to such and such a date. I think that laws there to mostly protect antique car people from having to make the car less antique. Plus if you're driving a vehicle that old you likely can't afford to get it upgraded to a shoulder harness. UPS slides through the cracks like a snake again.

It's the same thing at this center with fire extinguishers (yes, I'm back to that!). Provincial law here says you need them checked every year and federal law says every 6 years. UPS says they follow federal law so it supersedes the provincial law.
 
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