Never ever let your guard down

[bubsdad]

Yep....been there.... not fun seeing a deer coming at you at 65mph and knowing your gonna blast the hell out of it. But better to deal with the deer flotsam than dumping the set and having to deal with answering for that.

Also, you will have evidence to support your story. If you swerve to miss the deer and crash there isn't anything to show proof that that is in fact the reason for the accident.

 

[JonFrum]

The pick-up was un-manned. The guy who owned it was putting something in the front seat when he, quotation fingers, "knocked it into gear". Anyways, In the accident report I was hit by an un-manned vehicle.

What was funnier was my center manager trying to come up with something to review with me about the accident.

Open and shut case.

Employee failed to make eye contact as instructed in Five Seeing Habits.

Guilty as charged.

Next!

 

[anonymous6]

We had a very seasoned driver get into an accident today and unfortunately I was the steward that had to sit in with him when he returned to the hub. This guy was 1 month away from "Cicle of Honor" status and a lapse in judgement cost him that recognition. It was just one of those "freak" things that happen, but it did happen. Luckily, noone was hurt in the accident and things could have been alot worse. I know how it is to get very comfortable in driving the same routes everyday and taking things for granted but we need to remind ourselves that behind the wheel is not the place for complacency. Sometimes when they ask,"What are the 5 seeing habits?", it seems like a pain in the butt, but it is for a reason. What happened to this driver could happen to any driver on any given day. But if we keep our awareness up, hopefully, it won't.

I agree with you but sometimes an accident is an accident. I was charged , yes charged, with an avoidable accident when a deer just jumped out right in front of me.

now, how is that avoidable?

I don't know myself but it is on my permanent record.

 

[anonymous6]

Seems like bad things snowball. Had a driver flip his pup Tuesday night and then our top seniority driver, (43 years safe driving) flipped back box of a set of 45's Thursday morning. Both said they swerved to miss deer. It is a natural reflex, but you would be better off hitting the deer.

yes, that's right. I was a logging truck driver for several years before this gig. a little trick i was taught is if a you see a deer on the road a ways ahead of you, shut off your headlights for a couple seconds and turn back on and the deer will unfreeze and get out of the way. works almost every time for me.

otherwise, veteran drivers told me to try to center punch it. too many drivers have been killed by rollovers trying to avoid deer and other animals.

 

[pickup]

yes, that's right. I was a logging truck driver for several years before this gig. a little trick i was taught is if a you see a deer on the road a ways ahead of you, shut off your headlights for a couple seconds and turn back on and the deer will unfreeze and get out of the way. works almost every time for me.

otherwise, veteran drivers told me to try to center punch it. too many drivers have been killed by rollovers trying to avoid deer and other animals.

Hey , that's a great idea about the lights.

 

[dilligaf]

Also, you will have evidence to support your story. If you swerve to miss the deer and crash there isn't anything to show proof that that is in fact the reason for the accident.

+1 You hit it dead on. This is the exact reason why you should hit the animal rather than trying to miss it. When I first started driving trucks this was drilled in to me repeatedly. And another thing that I was told was to never leave the roadbed.

 

[satellitedriver]

+1 You hit it dead on. This is the exact reason why you should hit the animal rather than trying to miss it. When I first started driving trucks this was drilled in to me repeatedly. And another thing that I was told was to never leave the roadbed.

Dilli is correct, never swerve for an animal. It is a natural reaction to swerve and try to miss. The simple laws of physics will be in your favor, if you hit head on.

 

[bubsdad]

Explain this to me, if you can anyone. A driver is sitting in his truck, stopped in the yard on his way to the phones. Ahead of him is another guy with a lead and dolley. The guy with the dolley backs into the guy who is stopped and then drives away around the building. The driver who was stopped jumps out to check out his truck and sees that his bumper is tore up, goes in the direction the other guy went and cannot find him. Driver then goes to supes office and explains what happened. The supes check to see if anyone called out with a single and a dolley or just a single. Noone did. Apparently it was a guy who had already dropped his pup and was going to drop his dolley. The guy that got ran into didn't get the trailer number or dolley number so he gets charged with an avoidable. I do not understand how this guy can be charged. If anyone can enlighten me I would appreciate it. BTW, conveniently he was given his letter tonight by dispatch because there weren't any on-roads available and it was at the very end of the time limit. The only answer to why he was being charged was, "We have to have a name to put with the damage".

 

[UPSNewbie]

Explain this to me, if you can anyone. A driver is sitting in his truck, stopped in the yard on his way to the phones. Ahead of him is another guy with a lead and dolley. The guy with the dolley backs into the guy who is stopped and then drives away around the building. The driver who was stopped jumps out to check out his truck and sees that his bumper is tore up, goes in the direction the other guy went and cannot find him. Driver then goes to supes office and explains what happened. The supes check to see if anyone called out with a single and a dolley or just a single. Noone did. Apparently it was a guy who had already dropped his pup and was going to drop his dolley. The guy that got ran into didn't get the trailer number or dolley number so he gets charged with an avoidable. I do not understand how this guy can be charged. If anyone can enlighten me I would appreciate it. BTW, conveniently he was given his letter tonight by dispatch because there weren't any on-roads available and it was at the very end of the time limit. The only answer to why he was being charged was, "We have to have a name to put with the damage".

You know, I've never noticed, but does UPS have cameras in the yard and buildings? If they don't, it seems kind of silly not too, since UPS moves ~14 million packages a day...

 

[dilligaf]

Explain this to me, if you can anyone. A driver is sitting in his truck, stopped in the yard on his way to the phones. Ahead of him is another guy with a lead and dolley. The guy with the dolley backs into the guy who is stopped and then drives away around the building. The driver who was stopped jumps out to check out his truck and sees that his bumper is tore up, goes in the direction the other guy went and cannot find him. Driver then goes to supes office and explains what happened. The supes check to see if anyone called out with a single and a dolley or just a single. Noone did. Apparently it was a guy who had already dropped his pup and was going to drop his dolley. The guy that got ran into didn't get the trailer number or dolley number so he gets charged with an avoidable. I do not understand how this guy can be charged. If anyone can enlighten me I would appreciate it. BTW, conveniently he was given his letter tonight by dispatch because there weren't any on-roads available and it was at the very end of the time limit. The only answer to why he was being charged was, "We have to have a name to put with the damage".

I hate to say this but I think you answered your own question. Sorry.

 

[bubsdad]

You know, I've never noticed, but does UPS have cameras in the yard and buildings? If they don't, it seems kind of silly not too, since UPS moves ~14 million packages a day...

I asked a supe about this and he told me that there are alot of places to put cameras but they only use them if they suspect something is going on. Usually it is LP that uses the cameras. Don't know if it's the same at other buildings.

 

[bubsdad]

I hate to say this but I think you answered your own question. Sorry.

Unfortunately, dilli, I believe you're right.