This is why I refuse to cross behind the package car

[brownelf]

like so many things regarding safe work methods the key to this practice is adjusting for changing conditions. Many times the safest way is not the required way due to a change in conditions, for example in the winter when the snow is piled high on the side of the road I exit out the drivers side door for del that require crossing the street, rather than step into a pile of snow that I have no idea what lies beneath it, if the pkg can be carried in one hand (gotta use that handrail) In fact our safety commitee has made changes to many of the rules to adjust for changing conditions from winter to summer including park positions on deliverys in winter that block driveways to enable the driver a safer walkpath when the snows piled up. As others have said adjusting your order of del to minimize having to cross the street at all is the best way, but if you can't the bottom line is it's up to you and no one else when it comes to making the right decisions when it comes down to your own safety. The key to every decision I make during each day is to make it to retirement in one piece so I can enjoy the fruits of my years of indebted servitude to UPS. In regards to the OP, if the person driving that pkg car was behind that car prior to it being hit he would have saw the vehicle that struck it coming and had time to get out of the way. If he was standing in front of it do you think that would have been the case?

 

[menotyou]

Must be nice to work in a building that isn't micro-managed to death.

 

[tracker2762]

Must be nice to work in a building that isn't micro-managed to death.

Does that place actually exist?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Does that place actually exist?

Clarksville.

 

[soberups]

In regards to the OP, if the person driving that pkg car was behind that car prior to it being hit he would have saw the vehicle that struck it coming and had time to get out of the way. If he was standing in front of it do you think that would have been the case?

I do not have any information about the specific incident in question, so I cant answer one way or another.

What I do know is this; if we get rear-ended while parked, one of two things happened. The driver who hit us was either distracted and didnt see the package car at all before he rear-ended it, or he was driving too fast and lost control of his own vehicle before it hit the package car.

If the road is straight or turns to the drivers side, then the best way to cross the street is in front of the package car. You should have no trouble seeing around the front of the pkg car before crossing, and it will act as a shield against out of control or distracted drivers. Remember that a vehicle that loses contol on a turn will always drift to the outside of that turn, so on a road that curves to the drivers side the natural tendency will be for the vehicle to veer to the right and hit the back of a package car that is parked. So the driver who happens to be standing behind that package car, waiting to cross the street with an armload of boxes, is going to get squashed.

If the road you are parked on turns to the passenger side, then crossing behind the package car is the safer method since you will not be able to see around the front of the car and a vehicle that loses contol and drifts to the outside of the turn will veer away from the car and into the oncoming lane.

It goes without saying that avoiding the need to cross the street in the first place is the best choice, and I personally have no problem driving around the block in order to be able to deliver out of the passenger side. But that isnt always possible in the real world.

 

[soberups]

You don't get a choice..do what we tell you. Any questions?

Keep on dreaming.

 

[DorkHead]

It`s the same as left, right, left at a intersection. Greater possibility of getting hit comes from the left first.

 

[TheKid]

You don't get a choice..do what we tell you. Any questions?

Yes . . . one question . . . .where do you think we are 70's Soviet Union ? I get paid to make decisions all day. Go back behind your little desk.

 

[soberups]

It`s the same as left, right, left at a intersection. Greater possibility of getting hit comes from the left first.

No, it isnt the same.

The greater possibility of being rear-ended while parked comes from the vehicle that is overtaking you on your side of the road. And the last place I want to be standing when that happens....is between the back bumper of the package car and the front bumper of the vehicle that is running into it.

Looking left-right left at intersections is about avoiding collisions. Crossing in front of the package car is about having your body someplace else when the collision occurs.

 

[DorkHead]

No, it isnt the same.

The greater possibility of being rear-ended while parked comes from the vehicle that is overtaking you on your side of the road. And the last place I want to be standing when that happens....is between the back bumper of the package car and the front bumper of the vehicle that is running into it.

Looking left-right left at intersections is about avoiding collisions. Crossing in front of the package car is about having your body someplace else when the collision occurs.

What and getting squished between the back bumper and another vehicle is not about avoiding collisions??? Exiting your vehicle and crossing from behind it gives you better visibility. You don`t have to stand directly behind your truck. Stand off to the side till it`s clear

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

It`s the same as left, right, left at a intersection. Greater possibility of getting hit comes from the left first.

+1

 

[kingOFchester]

Me:

Sometimes I cross front, Sometimes I cross rear. Depends on conditions. How I feel safe. Wish I had the same ability to choose the truck I drive. yea, safety is number 1.......BS.

 

[UPSGUY72]

When I cross in back I never stand in back of the car I always stand on the grass or sidewalk where I have a view of cars coming in both directions and wait till I have clearance to safely cross. I don't walk out in back of the car and try to peak around the corner to see if a car is coming from the other directions that is a recipe for disaster.

Back 20 or 30 years ago that might have been a good thing but these days nobody is paying attention. They are on the phone, texting, surfing the net, doing their hair, eating, etc. This is why getting hit while parked makes up most of the accidents at UPS.

 

[Anonymous 10]

In certain situations crossing in front of the vehicle is a lot safer than the rear. If you are observed in one of these situations and disciplined grieve it under article 18 of the master. Somewhere somebody changed something in the contract by filing a grievance.

 

[Dragon]

When I saw that you had posted on this thread I was hoping that you would offer an explanation as to why this method is in place. So much for that...

I try to plan all deliveries so that I am delivering out of the passenger side door. When this is not possible and I am on a two lane or wider street I will cross behind the pkg car. This lets me see and be seen by the cars behind me and allows me to see incoming traffic while being protected by the PC. If I am on a smaller street with light traffic and the pkg is small I will deliver out of the driver's side door.

During Peak one of the first things that I will review with the helper is that they are to always cross behind the pkg car if making a delivery on the other side of the street. I will try to plan so that this doesn't have to happen but when it does I let them know that crossing in front is not an option and will remind them when they "forget". I have had the same helper for 3 years so this is not an issue; however, it was an issue this past Peak in my district as helper injuries were higher than in previous years.

Upstate - some employee's think they do not have to abide by methods, policies and procedures set forth by UPS, for some reason they think they can do what ever they want, when they want. Thats all that reply was about.

Now for the other part. In my district we have had 3 UPS employees hit while crossing in front of the UPS truck..we have never had a UPS vehicle hit in the rear while the UPS driver was standing there waiting to cross the street ----- EVER.

So for Sober and everyone else who disagrees, follow the method...please.

Thanks for the negative Rep, means I made an impact.

 

[toonertoo]

It takes longer, its harder to walk, whatever they want. Sometimes I just flip up the rear door and go out it, when it isnt safe to walk beside in the high weeds, beer bottles, pop cans, trash etc.

 

[Jones]

I always walk behind the car, both because it's the proper method and it's the safest way imho.

 

[UPSGUY72]

It takes longer, its harder to walk, whatever they want. Sometimes I just flip up the rear door and go out it, when it isnt safe to walk beside in the high weeds, beer bottles, pop cans, trash etc.

I do that in the winter when the snow banks are high. Pull past the driveway as close to the snowbank as possible out the back door down the driveway back to the car. I told my manager and SUP they said that was a good choice then PCM'd it the next day.

 

[toonertoo]

I do that in the winter when the snow banks are high. Pull past the driveway as close to the snowbank as possible out the back door down the driveway back to the car. I told my manager and SUP they said that was a good choice then PCM'd it the next day.

Thats what I found, and the ankle breaking treelawn, isnt up my alley in some hoods. But when you cant get through the car, thats another dilema. Ive given up trying to make time, its all about safety. Thats what they want and they pay me to be safe. That other report is greek to me. You cant have it all.
Of course the day you are lifting the back door, and you have an Impala, drive inside, well there will be another PCM.

 

[whiskey]

I normally just drove across the street, parked facing the wrong direction and exited the drivers door. Now I suppose you are going to tell me there was something wrong with that.

I do the same thing. I put on my hazards. I don't care what it looks like to the neighbors, or if it is illegal. It's safe. And you'll never end up like a squirrel.