3 day ride and my experience

[NI1]

DAY 1:

Well, today was the first day of the so called "3 day ride" ..everything went well (was going well) until I had this situation. Around 4:30 pm

I was going to make a right in an intersection and I saw the green light (stale) as I approach the intersection, it then became yellow then red so I have to stop right in the corner. The supervisor then told me that it was green and why am I slowing down? "it was green and its green right there, why did you slow down?" so I then said "It is yellow (stale green) and it turned red" then he said, "no its green" and then all of a sudden he lost it!

He said:
"You know what, ALL DAY you have been driving slow UNDER speed limit" "we have to change that" etc.etc.... I told him that I am not really that slow and that I am not comfortable driving at speed limit at the residential where I am delivering at for obvious reasons = Kids, cars, and more kids popping up everywhere. He said you will have to change that and that is what I want you to do (drive at speed limit). I told him no I wont do that because i dont feel comfortable/safe doing that. He then kept going and I told him that I wont do it (speed up and go on speed limit) and he told me that "then you should not be working here"...


In closing, NO I did not do 5-15 mph on a 25mph street. Otherwise I wont ever finish my route. My day was great and I heard no comment from him regarding my habits etc...etc... before that incident happened. I think he cant find anything wrong and he is trying to find something to report. its 4:30 for crying out loud, my shift/route is almost over. And whats with the "you shouldnt even be working here" when I said I dont think I can drive like that?

Yeah, I am not rookie too. just sayin...

 

[bubsdad]

DAY 1:

Well, today was the first day of the so called "3 day ride" ..everything went well (was going well) until I had this situation. Around 4:30 pm

I was going to make a right in an intersection and I saw the green light (stale) as I approach the intersection, it then became yellow then red so I have to stop right in the corner. The supervisor then told me that it was green and why am I slowing down? "it was green and its green right there, why did you slow down?" so I then said "It is yellow (stale green) and it turned red" then he said, "no its green" and then all of a sudden he lost it!

He said:
"You know what, ALL DAY you have been driving slow UNDER speed limit" "we have to change that" etc.etc.... I told him that I am not really that slow and that I am not comfortable driving at speed limit at the residential where I am delivering at for obvious reasons = Kids, cars, and more kids popping up everywhere. He said you will have to change that and that is what I want you to do (drive at speed limit). I told him no I wont do that because i dont feel comfortable/safe doing that. He then kept going and I told him that I wont do it (speed up and go on speed limit) and he told me that "then you should not be working here"...


In closing, NO I did not do 5-15 mph on a 25mph street. Otherwise I wont ever finish my route. My day was great and I heard no comment from him regarding my habits etc...etc... before that incident happened. I think he cant find anything wrong and he is trying to find something to report. its 4:30 for crying out loud, my shift/route is almost over. And whats with the "you shouldnt even be working here" when I said I dont think I can drive like that?

Yeah, I am not rookie too. just sayin...

They have to "gig" you on something. In feeders they have to find at least 8 things.

 

[anonymous6]

Should you then SIGN the ride along report then ( that has negative info on it ) that they can use against you in the future?

 

[TheOCbaby]

My pet peeve is people driving under the speed limit. But, with that said, I admit that I often feel much more comfortable driving under the speed limit for certain residential streets - especially those that are narrow and have many families with young children living on them. You, the driver, have to deal with those people on a daily basis, not the supervisor. Kids are often lackadaisical about where they run, and parents are often overly paranoid about a large truck driving down their street even doing 15 mph. I usually drive over the speed limit most places I go EXCEPT for high density residentials. It's generally better to err on the side of caution when children are involved.

 

[helenofcalifornia]

I have been told at least three times in the past three months by the center manager (in all seriousness) that if I don't like the conditions at UPS, I can quit. Is this a new national campaign by UPS? Or a new kind of harassment? And they want sales leads from us?

 

[helenofcalifornia]

I thought the first day was strictly for observation with no feedback. Am I wrong?

 

[UnconTROLLed]

I have been told at least three times in the past three months by the center manager (in all seriousness) that if I don't like the conditions at UPS, I can quit. Is this a new national campaign by UPS? Or a new kind of harassment? And they want sales leads from us?

Nothing new...

 

[PassYouBy]

My pet peeve is people driving under the speed limit. But, with that said, I admit that I often feel much more comfortable driving under the speed limit for certain residential streets - especially those that are narrow and have many families with young children living on them. You, the driver, have to deal with those people on a daily basis, not the supervisor. Kids are often lackadaisical about where they run, and parents are often overly paranoid about a large truck driving down their street even doing 15 mph. I usually drive over the speed limit most places I go EXCEPT for high density residentials. It's generally better to err on the side of caution when children are involved.

So its o.k to run over an adult but not a child?! I know here in the state of Louisiana that speed limits are set for a reason!

 

[stevetheupsguy]

IMO, I think you should do the exact speed limit, as posted. I think that, technically, they can get you for trying to take your time, if they want to, as, you were going under the posted speed. Just keep a keen eye, and you'll do fine. For those that exceed the speed limit, you may want to rethink doing this. If anything happens, while traveling over the speed limit, it may cost you your job.

 

[Jones]

IMO, I think you should do the exact speed limit, as posted. I think that, technically, they can get you for trying to take your time, if they want to, as, you were going under the posted speed. Just keep a keen eye, and you'll do fine. For those that exceed the speed limit, you may want to rethink doing this. If anything happens, while traveling over the speed limit, it [-]may[/-] will cost you your job.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Speed limits are set for optimal conditions and are generally set below the speed that a driver could travel on that street. Weather, children, construction, etc., all factor in to the speed that we can safely travel. My route is all within the city so the speed limit is something I take seriously. I also have a trailer park on my area and we all know that they have nothing better to do than to call in a concern for excessive speed so I really back it down when I drive through there.

As for the on-car's comments, take them with a grain of salt and move on. As was mentioned, they have to find something to gig you on but it does sound like he may have taken it too far. You might think of asking him for a minute of his time when things are quiet and ask him what he meant by that. It may turn out to be nothing more than a heat of the moment thing but by no means should you take it personally.

 

[trplnkl]

Posted speed limits are set at the maximum allowed for the area, not the minimum.(some freeways and such do have minimums posted as well)
The driver of a vehicle is responsible for safely operating the vehicle. no one else. The sup either thought you were being too cautious with the intent of softening your SPORH or he was just being a jerk and looking for something to gig you on. Regardless of what he says, YOU are the one that is held accountable for the save operation of that truck. YOU are the one making the decisions. I can promise you that if you ever have an accident, it won't matter what he told you, YOU will be blamed and more than likely told that you were going too fast.

Lines like "then you should not be working here"...and" if you don't like the conditions at UPS, you can quit." are Terms of Harassment not Terms of Endearment. Keep a record of the days happenings and things said. Don't get mad and compete in an exchange that takes you out of control. DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT
As far as SIGNING the three day ride report, read everything on the report then instead of signing, write short to the point replies instead of your name. Example, when the report says he counseled you on driving too slow, write " I drove at the safest speed for the area and conditions".
NEVER EVER sign anything you do not agree with, it can and will come back to bite you in the butt.

 

[HEFFERNAN]

Everyone is screwing this up !!

If you are on the highway, you should be near the speed limit because otherwise you become an obstacle for other cars and tend to have more people avoid being near you causing more lane changing.

In a residential area, you should be no closer than 5 mph less than the posted speed limit. I can understand if you were on a major road in town and you were holding up traffic driving too slow. We are to drive safe and in complete control at all times and for him to remark on this means 2 things.

1. He had nothing else to ride you with

2. You have been paid over and his perception of your speed seemed slow

Regardless, I don't remember an 11th point in the 10 point commentary about driving the speed limit.

 

[trplnkl]

<snip>
As for the on-car's comments, take them with a grain of salt and move on. As was mentioned, they have to find something to gig you on but it does sound like he may have taken it too far. You might think of asking him for a minute of his time when things are quiet and ask him what he meant by that. It may turn out to be nothing more than a heat of the moment thing but by no means should you take it personally.

UpState, I obviously agree with your first paragraph. I do have alternative thoughts on the second. No flames, no insults just a difference in opinion.
Anyone that reads on this board for a while understands that you pretty much live in "optimal conditions", that can't be said for all of the country.
Never take what a sup says as a grain of salt, the one time you do can be the one time they nail you.
As far as asking him what he meant, I wouldn't ask him anything without a witness present. When a sup is addressing me, I take everything they say personally because they mean it personally. I really doubt any of my supervisors know the words to "Kumbaya"

 

[JustTired]

A speed limit is just that......a limit. I travel at speeds that I feel comfortable with. If that is under the "limit", then so be it. If it's a little over, fine. Now, if you're traveling at 25 in a 55, then I would consider that to be somewhat unsafe and possibly ripe for discipline.

I can't tell you how many times I was told to slow down on certain residential streets when I wasn't even near the posted limit. These vehicles make a lotta noise and sound like they're going faster than they are.

Of course conditions can dictate how fast you travel. Whether that be weather or road condition. Bottom line....just like a pilot has the last word in whether his plane will fly.....you have the last word on just how fast you are willing to drive in certain areas. As long as you are not obviously "dogging it", I wouldn't worry too much. Safety first! JMHO

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

My very first center manager gave me a catch-phrase that I use to this date:

Safely Aggresive

When he first said this, I had no clue what he was talking about. Now I do.

Heff, 5 mph is not going to make any difference in re: to controlling the vehicle and will only reward you with a tailgater. They put those signs on the side of the road for a reason and then put cops on the side of the road for another reason.

I am by no means advocating speeding--I do advocate driving at or very near the speed limit (within 2 mph at most).

BTW, I have drive through CT enough times to know that you are definitely in the minority.

 

[HEFFERNAN]

My very first center manager gave me a catch-phrase that I use to this date:

Safely Aggresive

When he first said this, I had no clue what he was talking about. Now I do.

Heff, 5 mph is not going to make any difference in re: to controlling the vehicle and will only reward you with a tailgater. They put those signs on the side of the road for a reason and then put cops on the side of the road for another reason.

I am by no means advocating speeding--I do advocate driving at or very near the speed limit (within 2 mph at most).

BTW, I have drive through CT enough times to know that you are definitely in the minority.

What I do in my personal vehicle doesn't mean I can do it in my company truck !!
Trust me, I probably drive 75 on the highway in my personal truck. But I am under different rules and insurance in my UPS vehicle. There is no SAFELY AGGRESIVE in any safety jargon I have to memorize. Your safely aggresive is different than someone elses.

But you are right about CT, are there even speed limit signs on the side of the road ??

 

[ups1990]

In residential areas, my speed is just under the limit, due to the fact that a pc, will need more stopping space than a normal car. If children are home from school, you can bet, I'll be just under the posted limit.

Commercial corridors is where you'll find me driving at the limit.

 

[soberups]

Your sup's actions are nothing more than the behavior of a scared little man who has been given yet another impossible expectation to fullfill.

Your methods are good and your workpace is good, so his only choice is to invent something to complain about in order to justify his presence on the car and, ultimately, at UPS.

The bottom line is that YOU, not him, are responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle. If he instructs you to drive at a speed that you do not feel is safe, agree to do so only if he will put it in writing that you will not be held responsible for any accidents that occur by doing so.

 

[pickup]

I have been told at least three times in the past three months by the center manager (in all seriousness) that if I don't like the conditions at UPS, I can quit. Is this a new national campaign by UPS? Or a new kind of harassment? And they want sales leads from us?

Just in case the center manager is reading, I am here to inform him that he can quit anytime he likes as well if he doesn't like the attitudes and beliefs held by the employees at his center.