Discuss: UPS Drivers Discouraged from Making Left Turns

[BrownCafe]

UPS Drivers Discouraged from Making Left Turns - KSL
We didn't quite believe this when we first heard about it, but could it be that the drivers with United Parcel Service don't make left turns anymore?

Ken Lay is still alive on an island with Elvis & Jim Morrison!

Dear Friends,
When J. Edgar Hoover was alive, One of his critics wrote a book entitled, "No Left Turns." It seems that Hoovers chauffeur driven car was hit when it was in the process of making a left turn. An edict was sent out, whatever route the Director's car was on, it could make no left turns. This caused enormous difficulty for the FBI in plotting the routes that the Commissioner would take. In the rare event that a left turn could not be avoided, FBI personnel would have to block the intersection so that there would be no risk.
To Hoover, it seemed like a good idea - to his many critics it seemed insane. However he continued to hold his office. I hope that our computer directed routing has more and better motivation than Hoover's did.

This is not news and it is not new to most UPS drivers. As a driver I was aware of the avoidance of left turns over 20 years ago--long before UPS had any kind of high tech was of routing their trucks. We were encouraged to run our routes on a more or less circular direction, turning right wherewver possible without going out too far out of the way. After doing this for any given amount of time it became automatic. Going predominately to the right and in a circular pattern would help you avoid crossing your path repeatedly and encourage you to finish all the deliveries on any given area before you entered another area. Believe me, UPS would not do these kink of things if they did not save time and money.

[rushfan]

It sure as hell hasn't been fun for me to watch as it was for mr. goodrich. My route has changed, and the I.E. Guys promised that they'll reloop it so I don't make so many left turns. It has been 2 months, and the route still is a mess. I don't follow trace anymore. So much for the savings.

[wkmac]

Originally Posted by rushfan

It sure as hell hasn't been fun for me to watch as it was for mr. goodrich. My route has changed, and the I.E. Guys promised that they'll reloop it so I don't make so many left turns. It has been 2 months, and the route still is a mess. I don't follow trace anymore. So much for the savings.

Rushfan,
I'd follow that trace to the letter. Give em' exactly what they want. We had a local driver who didn't follow trace and in reality for the company and the customer he made the right call but this call forced him to not follow the trace as given. After his shift was completed and the next morning he was called into the office and chewed out for not following trace. He talked to me about being so frustrated and this guy is a good driver but I flat told him that the only way PAS/EDD will ever get fixed is for the numbers to slap them in the face. I know that's nuts and it's not in the best interest of the company or the customer but until these clowns clearly see how stupid some of the dispatches are with the results in heir face, they will never change.

Tieguy in another thread spoke of PAS/EDD becoming a good thing and I actually agree with him but the problem is not PAS/EDD but how it was setup and then has been used by management and specifically IE since they call the shots in this company now anyway. They are using it to chase a number and not as a tool to service the customer in the best and most efficent means. Service the customer and the numbers will automatically follow right in line. Casey always knew and preached this!

JMO.

[mrbill]

After a month of pas they told us to deliver the route the correct way and not to follow the loop.
They had bussiness set up at the end of the day in the loop and would not believe this could happen with the new system. After several weeks of missed bussiness stops,"DONT FOLLOW THE TRACE ANY MORE".After several times brought into the office for not following trace:confused1

[keith lestrange]

hi everyone
i work for ups in IRELAND,i wish we had the half of the tech of ups AMERICA,in a lot of ways we are so backwards in the way our vehicles are even loaded.
up to few years ago we loaded our own vehicles outside in all weathers as the centre was too small,we moved to new local and got new loaders,but dont speak english so we are back to square 1.
NO LEFT TURNS i wish we could get the right pkg on the right van

[helenofcalifornia]

Wait a minute. You work in Ireland and English is not spoken by the loaders? What do they pay loaders there?

[scratch]

Keith,

What language do your loaders speak? And I thought the U.S. had border problems! Have the Mexicans invaded over there too?