Don't know what I would do if this happpened...

[browniehound]

brownie I agree with you as so much as its serious,
but I don't agree that we take it lite-hearted, we had
a UPS video last year, that "over dramatized" a situation
just like this, it was so poor it was hard to take it seriously.

We all know our jobs, and well I know I would have a hard
time living with myself if this happened to me, even though
accidents happen it is one of my biggest fears.(I used to be
on a very child-loaded route, 3 grade schools and a highschool
on my route)

Fredly,
I think you misunderstood me. I don't think ANY driver takes lightly the fact of fatal accidents or any accidents for that matter. I do, however, believe that some drivers take lightly the 5 seeing habits and they find it amusing that they can't recite them when asked by management. I myself would be embarrassed if I could not tell my sup: what they, what they do for you and how you do them. This stuff has been drilled into us day after day year after year. I was just saying, I think these drivers should be more aware.

 

[Griff]

This was an accident, lets save all the monday-morning quarterbacking for management. UPS gives you one second to make a decision, but they have days to analyze that very same decision. It's a sad reality, but this sort of thing is almost a guarantee with how large UPS is. (Do all the methods until you turn blue, this will still happen somewhere)

Edit -- This head counting stuff is overkill. Just park in a spot where you'll be able to see whats infront of the truck on your way back.

 

[MR_Vengeance]

it just hurts me to see something like this happens. The emotion that goes through the mind of the Family and the new driver must be overwhelming.

WHERE THE HELL WAS THE PARENTS WHEN THIS HAPPENED?TO LET A 4 AND 6 YEAR OLD OUT ALONE UNSUPERVISED IS A CRIMINAL act!!!!!!!

 

[toonertoo]

This was an accident, lets save all the monday-morning quarterbacking for management. UPS gives you one second to make a decision, but they have days to analyze that very same decision. It's a sad reality, but this sort of thing is almost a guarantee with how large UPS is. (Do all the methods until you turn blue, this will still happen somewhere)

Edit -- This head counting stuff is overkill. Just park in a spot where you'll be able to see whats infront of the truck on your way back.

Its not over kill. And I can see the front and thanks to the camera and mirrors whats on the bumper and on the sides. What you may not see is what may kill someone, such as a child climbing under the truck. Happened in our center before I got there. If there is one missing you gotta know where they went. Thats where the parents should come in but often dont. I wouldnt want to live with it. If parents were doing their job kids wouldnt even THINK of jumping on the bumper of a truck or in a cab. But they are not in some areas, and kids do what they do, and have never been taught to have fear of anything.

 

[cheryl]

i lost my 23year old to a 15 min femail medical procedure it is the worst thing to see your children pass away there is nothing you can do but miss them and cry a lot

I am soooo very sad to learn of your loss. How difficult that must be for you. I can't imagine how terribly difficult it would be to lose a child

 

[Griff]

Its not over kill. And I can see the front and thanks to the camera and mirrors whats on the bumper and on the sides. What you may not see is what may kill someone, such as a child climbing under the truck. Happened in our center before I got there. If there is one missing you gotta know where they went. Thats where the parents should come in but often dont. I wouldnt want to live with it. If parents were doing their job kids wouldnt even THINK of jumping on the bumper of a truck or in a cab. But they are not in some areas, and kids do what they do, and have never been taught to have fear of anything.

I guess it's a good point. But nothing is foolproof and the scenario can change drastically from the time you counted heads. 3 more kids could come out from the house nextdoor behind your back and join in the crowd. The best you can hope for is to minimize the chance of something bad happening like this, it cannot be prevented. If you're climbing under a delivery truck, hate to say it, but that is natural selection at its finest.

 

[toonertoo]

I guess it's a good point. But nothing is foolproof and the scenario can change drastically from the time you counted heads. 3 more kids could come out from the house nextdoor behind your back and join in the crowd. The best you can hope for is to minimize the chance of something bad happening like this, it cannot be prevented. If you're climbing under a delivery truck, hate to say it, but that is natural selection at its finest.

I agree with the added kids syndrome, sometimes there are so many, I lose count, in the summer especially. I do like the natural selection at its finest, but I prefer for them to be old enough to have gained some common sense, from somewhere since they could not learn it at home. aka knowing the repercussions of such action. I mean I wouldnt lose much sleep over a 15 yr old who got hurt draggin on my back bumper, as I would over a small child that didnt asked to be unsupervised in his short life.

 

[Sammie]

I can’t imagine the pain everyone is feeling. My family will pray for all involved.

I use a method I call “counting the kids”. If kids are playing near my vehicle when I park, I count them. When I return to the car and prepare to pull away, I count them again. If I come up short on the numbers I stop what I’m doing and try to account for the missing children. At the very least I make sure they aren’t hiding around the package car.

We love to bash UPS "safety" at times (I know I do), but we can never ever be too safe in a package car.

I wish parents in general could somehow adopt YOUR MENTALITY!

IMHO, there are WAY too many articles in the press about people who space out about where their little kids might be and end up with fatalities in their own driveways with their own babies.

Or somebody FORGETS that they left their baby in the van all day as they pranced off into their office and left their infants in their cars for 10 hours to perish. Give me a break!!!!!!!!

In my opinion, as UPS drivers, we do a spectacular job. But we can not be expected to spot for the increasing number of absentee parents...

 

[BoogaBooga]

Woodenfoot-I am very sorry for your loss. Life is so fragile, unpredictable, and unfair. Our best friends lost their infant daughter, and their pain was so deep and lasted so long. It was a good 5 years untill they could laugh together again, and there is a permanent sadness in their lives. My condolences to you and your family.

I think counting kids-to account for their wearabouts, and glancing up at the rearview monitor when their are kids around are two ideas I will definitely take back to our Safety Committee

 

[Covemastah]

we have a mili second to make up our mind and that decision can be looked at over and over again,while using the 5 seeing habits is the best thing ups has taught us,something can still go wrong. i was in pkg car ror 15 years and i know in a blink of an eye a kid can pop out of any where lets hope he did the right thing and the police can prove it! although it may never leave this driver any comfort it will take burden off fault off of him. it could of been anyone of us. let's hope brown will get him some proffesional help.

 

[Covemastah]

one time i had a kid fly out of his drive way on roller blades to retrieve a ball while playing str. hockey. luckily i had just pulled away from house two doors up. i was only in 2nd gear and hit brakes so hard every thing hit the floor. i stopped just inches from the boy. i knew the whole neighborhood, i was so upset after i yelled at him i grabbed him and marched him up driveway and banged on door till his father came out. his father thanked me for caring so much and layed into him! like i said before one miili second could have changed everything ! always take it slow and use the 5 habits dont worry about 9.5 when a kids life may be at stake !!!!

 

[RockyRogue]

Maybe this is off-topic but I'll post it anyway: I was leaving for work at my old hub on a bright, sunny Illinois summer day. I came out of the house, saw kids playing in the yard, sidewalk, street and just kinda registered I had kids in the area of the car. I pulled my keys from my pocket and my brother asks, "Can I hitch a ride to the corner on your bumper?" I looked at him aghast and answered, "Not a chance! I can't guarantee your safety!" His eyes flashed and I knew he was up to no good. I climbed in the car, realized I'd forgotten to turn the radio off when I'd parked, turned it off and rolled down the windows. I checked my mirrors (rearview and sides) and put the car in gear. I had to turn around to head to work and as I was doing so, I kept track of the kids. My brother suddenly wound up at the rear of my car, hands grasping the bumper or other part of the car in an effort to "hitch" a ride. One of his friends was right with him, too. I saw the hitchers and my wheels stopped. I slammed my Delta 88 into park as I swiped the four-way hazards in the same motion. I threw open my door and the kids were gone. I went inside, freaked on my mother and she sent the kids home. I was fuming when I got back to my car. I called my Dad's office/voicemail from the hub and said, "We need to talk when I get home tonight!" I got home, flipped on him and after he'd calmed me down, he said, "You did everything right. I'll take care of this in the morning. This won't happen again." Keep in mind I was enraged, afraid some kid might get killed if they did this again. I didn't want an injury, God forbid a death on my conscience, never mind the liability. I wanted details. He said he'd spell out consequences for my siblings if they did it again and would communicate to them that their friends weren't welcome at the house if they were going to undertake or encourage dangerous stunts. Two days later, going to work again and the kids stood where I could see every single one of them. That was three years ago. I haven't heard of any problems in the neighborhood since. -Rocky

 

[diadlover]

Ghost ride the whip!

 

[Sammie]

Maybe this is off-topic but I'll post it anyway: I was leaving for work at my old hub on a bright, sunny Illinois summer day. I came out of the house, saw kids playing in the yard, sidewalk, street and just kinda registered I had kids in the area of the car.. -Rocky

On this same "off topic", would like to share this.

Last summer I was showing my out of state son in law around the Denver area. We both love to garden and I was driving him thru some scenic neighborhoods where we were admiring people's gardens and landscaping. I was going VERY slow, 5 mph or less, thank God. One family on a particular street was having a large gathering of people in their front yard and as I drove by their house, an 8 yr old or so little boy raced out into the street and right into the front of my van. There was just a slight enough impact to knock him down.

Derek and I flew out of the van to see if he was OK and the "lawn party" was oblivious to what happened for too many minutes, in my opinion. The boy was not hurt or bruised, nothing that we could see and the parents weren't terribly affected....??....

We went home and the more I thought about it, I called the police, who very politely reamed me a new one and told me to get my sorry butt over to their office ASAP.

FYI!!!!

If you and your bicycle, motorcycle, car, whatever, make contact no matter how slight with a person or with that person on a bike, motorcycle, car, please go to the police dept and fill out a report or it could come back at you
in the manner of a law suit you don't EVER want to contend with.

According to the police, people often expand on "incidents"
and if you haven't covered yourself, you could find yourself in some very deep doo.

 

[RockyRogue]

Again, off-topic. A friend told me a story a few years ago of a family member or friend involved in a car accident. The parties exchanged information and went their separate ways. The person my friend knew went to file a claim and was told, "Uhhhh...we don't have that person in our system!" The police investigated and it turns out the insurance was fake! I don't know the result of the insurance fight. Moral of the story: take down license of other vehicle!! I was involved in an accident and took down the license plate number. I understand being in a tizzy after an accident but calm down and you'll probably think of it. I didn't have problems but ya never know! -Rocky

 

[Coldworld]

does anybody find it disturbing that the driver was out delivering at 645. Drivers are also out regularly after dark. Ups drivers have been hit by cars themselves because it has been too dark to see them, especially with a brown uniform on. NO OTHER DELIVERY COMPANY IS OUT AS LATE AS UPS MAKING DELIVERIES. These are the times that children are out playing, 5-8 pm. I would like to know how many children are hit after 530 in the evening. It would be interesting to know. The company will always blame the driver for everything that goes wrong...EVERYTHING. I think UPS should take some responsibility,. especially when drivers are out so late...all in the name of production and profit.

 

[Sammie]

does anybody find it disturbing that the driver was out delivering at 645. NO OTHER DELIVERY COMPANY IS OUT AS LATE AS UPS MAKING DELIVERIES. These are the times that children are out playing, 5-8 pm.

PLEASE tell me you're joking when you surmise that the Fed Ex, DHL and UPS guys are home by 6-6:30 having dinner with their families. When my husband was in packages we were lucky if he got home by 9:00.

Do you work here?

 

[RockyRogue]

PLEASE tell me you're joking when you surmise that the Fed Ex, DHL and UPS guys are home by 6-6:30 having dinner with their families. When my husband was in packages we were lucky if he got home by 9:00.

Do you work here?

I see drivers getting back to the building starting around 4:00, maybe 4:15. However, I don't know start times. There's a parade of them coming back starting around 5:30 or so. I guess it depends on the route as well as the dispatch they have. Maybe the drivers I see have an 8 hour request?? I don't know anything about package car operations. -Rocky

 

[Sammie]

I see drivers getting back to the building starting around 4:00, maybe 4:15. However, I don't know start times. There's a parade of them coming back starting around 5:30 or so. I guess it depends on the route as well as the dispatch they have. Maybe the drivers I see have an 8 hour request?? I don't know anything about package car operations. -Rocky

Like "UPS Dude" shared about picking vacations:

I'm #12 out of 65 on the list so I pretty much get the weeks I want. This was my first time taking the week before Easter. With my kids being out of school we had a good time. Shoot, just being able to have dinner together was a treat.

And I think Tooner mentioned earlier about getting chewed out by a customer for delivering a package "after 5:00."

There are staggered start times for the drivers; some of our customers require late pick ups so there are a million different
senarios for them.

When I was working full time I would come home, have dinner with my boy, help with homework and go run some errands 2-3 hours later only to see the UPS guy is still running around my neighborhood.
Definitely not an 8-5 job.

We are in the service industry and I "react" when people think we should roll up the carpet and complete our work by the end of a normal business day, as most businesses close at 5:00.

 

[brownmonster]

21 year old driver. Still delivering at 6:45. Probably hasn't eaten or peed yet. Way to pound the new people. Safety will never improve at this company with the constant increasing production no matter how many DOK questions and 10 Point Commentary BS we have to memorize. Company should thank us everyday for not geting in more accidents.