Interesting Question

[UPSCAREER]

Just interested on how the drivers find the addresses so quick. How do they do it? They know where to go without even thinking, (i know many have had the route for a long time) but how did they learn and what did they do when they were beginners ? How can i learn the addresses in my greater city?

And what about the seasonal drivers, do they train them on where to go and how the streets line up?

Thanks!

 

[cachsux]

Experience. Get out there and pay attention and it will come.

No try and grab the pebble from my hand ,Grasshopper.

 

[Indecisi0n]

 

[old levi's]

Area knowledge,experience,years of being out there. There are no shortcuts.

 

[Indecisi0n]

Area knowledge,experience,years of being out there. There are no shortcuts.

If you cut through the bowling alley parking lot its a shortcut to the doctors office.

 

[Catatonic]

Just interested on how the drivers find the addresses so quick. How do they do it? They know where to go without even thinking, (i know many have had the route for a long time) but how did they learn and what did they do when they were beginners ? How can i learn the addresses in my greater city?

And what about the seasonal drivers, do they train them on where to go and how the streets line up?

Thanks!

Come on folks - he is asking how you can help as you get experience.
I'll try but I'm sure others will have better tools.

Writing things down helps a lot when first getting started. I used 3x5 cards myself (way back when) and it helped.
It is a common learning technique - ie. Take notes in class.
I would organize off the clock in my 3x5 box. It also was of great use to consequent drivers on that route.
And experience helps a great deal.

 

[gman042]

On streets try to pick out a landmark for yourself. Start small. Not too many. Just one one here and there. A large house that impressed you. A certain business. A pretty lady. Commit that location and its address to memory. Then in the future you can use this address as a basis to get your bearings when in the area.

It does not come easy. It has taken me 10 years to learn all the routes in my center. Now I can run them all efficiently but it has taken time and experience. If there was an easy way to download all a driver's area knowledge to the next that would solve the issue. Unfortunately, there is no solution such as that. EDD/PAS has helped to a degree but we still do not have that in my center. We load our own cars and set up each area we deliver to.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Learn the number breaks of the streets.

 

[Leftinbuilding]

]On streets try to pick out a landmark for yourself. Start small. Not too many. Just one one here and there. A large house that impressed you. A certain business. A pretty lady. Commit that location and its address to memory. Then in the future you can use this address as a basis to get your bearings when in the area.[/B]

It does not come easy. It has taken me 10 years to learn all the routes in my center. Now I can run them all efficiently but it has taken time and experience. If there was an easy way to download all a driver's area knowledge to the next that would solve the issue. Unfortunately, there is no solution such as that. EDD/PAS has helped to a degree but we still do not have that in my center. We load our own cars and set up each area we deliver to.

Used this method for 35 years. Relating the unknown to a known. That said, I once delivered on a street where, years ago, they let the residents pick their favorite number for their address. Now that was a nightmare because there was no rhyme or reason. Luckily it was only 5-6 blocks long, and the city has since rectified the problem.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Used this method for 35 years. Relating the unknown to a known. That said, I once delivered on a street where, years ago, they let the residents pick their favorite number for their address. Now that was a nightmare because there was no rhyme or reason. Luckily it was only 5-6 blocks long, and the city has since rectified the problem.

Have you ever gone through a 911 number/address conversion?

 

[cachsux]

Ok,seriously. Like Upstate said learn the street breaks. Most street numbers are layed out consistent within a town. Odd numbers on the East ,evens on the West for example. Same for North and South. On some routes you`ll have regular customers that receive every day. If McDonald's is a regular stop and its 105 Main st then you know that this new delivery at 188 Main is across the street and down the block a bit. Landmark stops make it easier than actual addresses. I`ve lived in my home town since birth and still don`t know names of streets or addresses but I can go down to the Taco Bell to turn and get to Menard's.

It`s not as hard as your making it. Once you get out there and stop at a few places you`ll begin to put the puzzle together in your head.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

No one has mentioned it yet but using GPS as an overall aid would not be a bad idea. I do not recommend it for going from stop to stop as you would waste more time programming it but I would use it for the map function, especially on a rural area. You can also ask your OMS to print out the delivery records for that area so that you can see the trace the driver took to complete the route on that day. Also, a properly set up DOL will help you learn the streets and the way the route should be run.

 

[Anonymous 10]

Really pay attention to the supervisor who trained you and has absolutely N O driving experience. That's the new ups

 

[cachsux]

P.S.

Sorry, my package experience was from back in the old days that we had routes that actually stayed the same from day to day. Nowadays............put your name on the feeder list.

 

[old levi's]

If you get a 317 1/2 Elm street, look in the back yard of 317. Could be an apt. over the garage.

 

[dilligaf]

Like everyone said, it's area knowledge and that takes time to build. Hoax's card idea is a good one. GPS- I would not become dependent on that. It is time consuming and it is harder to get a big picture of the area. Get a good map. Not a laminated one. Make notes on the map. I write down gate codes for the different areas and streets that may not be in the map. With a map you can get a better picture of where you are and which direction you need to go. It has taken me several years to know all of the rtes and there are still 1 or 2 that I don't know very well. I was using a map yesterday. Been doing this for 6 years.

 

[UPSGUY72]

Just interested on how the drivers find the addresses so quick. How do they do it? They know where to go without even thinking, (i know many have had the route for a long time) but how did they learn and what did they do when they were beginners ? How can i learn the addresses in my greater city?

And what about the seasonal drivers, do they train them on where to go and how the streets line up?

Thanks!

It all comes from knowledge of the area.

On a normal day 75% if not more of your stops are the same as the day before and on a normal week 95% of your stops you have been there before sometime during the week. With that being said most driver already have a picture of the houses in there head when they look at there EDD they don't read house numbers they just know where to stop for that address. They already know the delivery location and whether or not they are going to need to put the package in a bag in bad weather. they also know the most efficient place to park to make the delivery.

If your new then you learn as you go. You have to drive a little slower and read more house numbers. You learn which streets are dead ends and one way. After a couple of times it just comes to you.

For some people it's harder to learn an area for other they can pick it up after 1 or 2 days. I'm a cover driver I can do 15 routes in the current building I'm in. I also no 7 routes in another building and 3 in the third building in my area.

 

[UPSGUY72]

Really pay attention to the supervisor who trained you and has absolutely N O driving experience. That's the new ups

The best is when they send you and a SUP to a different center to do a route on the blind. That is on the blind for both of you.

 

[Cementups]

Practice, practice, practice. I hear it makes perfect.

 

[9.5 everyday]

There are many ways to learn. Everyone has their curves. If you take a route and break in down into quadrants, you can learn a route in four pieces.From there you learn the streets and how the numbers run, if they go from high to low or low to high, and if the evens are on the left or right. When you sort your truck you sort it by the four sections you have studied. If you are really having trouble, you can always drive the route on your own personal time. Supervisors are supposed to train drivers on routes for multiple days but often we are showed the area once and expected to to learn it, and sometimes sent out in the blind......A map is a drivers best friend.