Amazon Delivery driving practices

Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Messages
1,166
Location
NJ
I have noticed many Amazon delivery drivers having unsafe practices while driving in my neighborhood such as pulling into or backing into driveways, backing down the street, leaving vehicles running with doors open while unattended. In addition many drivers jump out and run to make each delivery. Are they under that kind of pressure to make deliveries or have to many stops to make. I dont see Fedex or UPS acting recklessly as they do.
 
Amazon is known to push employees. Plenty of videos and testimonials on that from warehouse employees. As in: a 5 minute break is fine, but a 5 minute and 23 seconds break can get you fired. Did I mention this break includes your walking time to and from the breakroom or restroom? I guess that type of ridiculousness is in the driver/delivery department too. Creating unsafe environment for sure.
 
I have noticed many Amazon delivery drivers having unsafe practices while driving in my neighborhood such as pulling into or backing into driveways, backing down the street, leaving vehicles running with doors open while unattended.
What's so unsafe about those? How are they supposed to turn around without pulling into or backing into driveways or backing down the street? Leaving vehicles running causes less wear on the engine than starting it every 2 minutes, and leaving the doors open makes it easier to get back in.
 
More like AMZN MALPRACTICE around here! Most of their Fiat/FCA Dodge vans have been banged up multiple times, and dodging them when one is in the area of their terminals is an everyday job. The no-name Amazon semi haulers aren’t much better, and we have a ton of them around since they opened the big CVG terminal in northern KY.
 
What's so unsafe about those? How are they supposed to turn around without pulling into or backing into driveways or backing down the street? Leaving vehicles running causes less wear on the engine than starting it every 2 minutes, and leaving the doors open makes it easier to get back in.
There’s ways to do it-use hazards (& let traffic pass) when backing, don’t stop in the middle of a 2 lane road & block it, use a 2nd key to lock the door if you have to leave it running, act like you have a frigging clue. Very few of the Amazon drivers do.
 
What's so unsafe about those? How are they supposed to turn around without pulling into or backing into driveways or backing down the street? Leaving vehicles running causes less wear on the engine than starting it every 2 minutes, and leaving the doors open makes it easier to get back in.
Go around the block unless it's a dead end. No need to back into people's driveways.
 
Go around the block unless it's a dead end. No need to back into people's driveways.

Going around the "block" (it's usually not even close to being square or straight) in places like Virginia can mean going several miles out of your way. Virginians have this thing against building roads, and if they do build a road, it had best connect to another road at only one end.
 
I don't think some of you know the time constraints/performance expectations they are under... Some resort to diapers/bags/bottles to relieve themselves because they don't have time otherwise. Some items also come with installation or assembly and they are allowed a scant few moments to do that too.
 
The USPS is very strict about their carriers driving practices. It is not uncommon for supervisors to shadow employees on the route to see if they are parking the vehicles correctly on hills or backing up too often / not checking mirrors. It would be nice if Amazon applied some of the same safety analysis to their drivers but I'm sure the bean counters have figured this all out.

 
UPS, Fed Ex always leave trucks in middle of roadway with flashers on. In between both lanes, in lieu of pulling to the side. I know they are very busy and overworked. Although; you can't fix stupid. At least they are working!
 
I try to give these guys the benefit of the doubt, but I saw something the other day that was just beyond description.
This is on a 2 lane city street, vehicles parked both sides.
Dude had his Transit van parked diagonally across the northbound lane. Snout of van almost aimed at parked car facing north,
Left rear corner of van was over the line in the southbound lane.
Then, on top of that, he leaves the driver side door open.
Where do they find these people at?
 
The main problem is probably how the whole system is set up. UPS, Fedex employs their drivers directly. Amazon usually contracts it out to a company that just delivers exclusively for Amazon. If their marks are too low, they get cut off. Now you own a bunch of Amazon delivery vans without a contract with Amazon. I see Amazon drivers just pull into a spot and leave the tail end of their van sticking out. Would just take a few more seconds to actually parallel park it, but that takes too much time so Amazon gets higher throughput but meanwhile that van jammed up an entire lane so basically reduced a two lane road to one and ended up missing a couple light cycles. You never really notice such atrocious driving from Fedex or UPS or even the USPS. Oh and the best part of that model is that if the Amazon driver kills you or someone you know, they're just a contractor so you sue the contractor not Amazon as it's not Amazon running the company. So if you get a big payout and their insurance doesn't cover it, that contract delivery company folds and Amazon doesn't have to pay.
 
So...what is wrong with turning around in someone's driveway? Is that now a faux pas? If the end of the block is in site, I don't mind just flipping a U-turn at the next intersection, but if it isn't clearly in site, the first open driveway will work just fine.
 
So...what is wrong with turning around in someone's driveway? Is that now a faux pas? If the end of the block is in site, I don't mind just flipping a U-turn at the next intersection, but if it isn't clearly in site, the first open driveway will work just fine.
It's private property. You're basically trespassing.
 
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