Driver Hits My BF's Truck in Parking Lot...Should he be blamed

[cosmo1]

The driver should tell the person who hit him insurance that ups found him at fault so that lady could sue ups.

Maybe they could split the settlement.

 

[Benben]

Based on your drawing the center manager was right---your bf was parked illegally.

If on/in a private property parking lot, no he wasn't parked "illegally".

Now the question is this, "did he choose the safest place to park?" Of course not because he got hit and hindsight is 20/20 or so the saying goes. I promise you that if you were to ask your boyfriend right now if he thinks he made a safe park he will admit he didn't, if he is honest about it. Why, because he is a UPS driver and 99.9% of us are smarter than your average bear and we learn from experiences.

Hit While Parked has to be the most common accident for UPS. It has been at my center for the past 6+ years. Its damn hard for us be so good that we drive and park is such a manner that WE prevent the idiots (and there are soooo many out there) from being stupid and hitting our BIG BROWN TRUCKS. But thats exactly what we strive to do 100's and 100's of times a day, day in and day out.

As stated earlier, fault has no bearing in this situation. Its about avoidable/un-aviodable. Was the decision to park in that place the best choice? NO, he allowed an idiot to be stupid and hit the BIG BROWN TRUCK. Choosing to Park 4 foot away from their rear bumper, totally blocking them in while using the horn to get EVERYONE's attention around him-at the same time looking for signs of life. UPS drivers have to think on a whole different level above your average "civilian" driver out there, and we have to do it 100's of times a day. UPS drivers are the best of the best! No offense intended.

I feel for his seasonal feeder possition, that blows! I pray that next season the powers that be take into consideration the time and money already invested in training him to be a feeder driver before automaticaly DQ'ing him. But that is a decision they will have to make.

 

[Hroller]

I had a supe at one of the centers I work at tell me to block the motorists in. Make it impossible for them to get out. He told me, "you would rather have them cuss you out or flip you off rather than try to back out and hit you"

 

[5yrssafedriver]

No matter what happens in this situation, you will always be wrong. Want proof? Simple. If a supervisor is riding with you on a performance ride, where do you think he will tell you to park? That's right, he will say, "No, park as close as possible, even if you are blocking cars in a parking lot." I've been in more than one argument with sups about this very situation. He would say, "You need to park closer." "No," I would say, "I need to park SAFE, not close." Bickering ensues. But all you have to do is point out that other drivers have been charged with accidents when parking that close to other vehicles. They, of course, will still argue, but that's just too damn bad.

I can't remember what the argument was, but it had to do with something unreasonable being blamed on me. So I asked my driver sup, "If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, is it still the driver's fault?" He didn't get the joke...

If Im having a saftey ride I follow all of the rules and work safe. Sometimes this is going to conflict with performance. If the sup has a problem with anywhere I park, Ill tell them to put down a checkmark for not getting closest to the entrance. You are always at fault because there is always a better place to park.

 

[Leftinbuilding]

I had a supe at one of the centers I work at tell me to block the motorists in. Make it impossible for them to get out. He told me, "you would rather have them cuss you out or flip you off rather than try to back out and hit you"

This was SOP in our building. Make it so they won't even try. Worked for me.

 

[barnyard]

There is a center near me that delivered to a couple of metro downtown areas and went with HWP is just part of the game. One year, they decided it was not 'the cost of doing business' and focused on reducing them. They cut their HWP'd frequency in half for 5years running and had their overall frequency in the low single digits.

Hearing how they did it and working some of that into my thinking, I changed the way I park and choose parking spots considerably. I have never had a HWP, so I cannot not say that it has helped......

 

[brown_trousers]

A big brown truck is a hard sight to miss. That lady would have to be a pretty ignorant driver to drive right into such a huge blatantly visible obstacle. So the real question is..... how do you park to become idiot-proof to other drivers? If such a thing is even possible.

I think idiot drivers will always find a way to get into accidents with you no matter how well you park

 

[barnyard]

So the real question is..... how do you park to become idiot-proof to other drivers? If such a thing is even possible.

That is the rub.

In order to have a serious discussion about avoiding HWP, both management and drivers have to recognize that a driver is going to walk more throughout the day. That also means that an overloaded driver might choose closer, riskier spots to save some steps so they can finish the end of a 10.5-11 hour dispatch.

Huge dispatches and safer parking spots are counter to each other. Driver's that go out with 8.5-9 hour dispatches will pick safer spots and work the methods way more consistently than someone that routinely goes out with 10+ hour dispatches.

I would bet dimes to dollars that somewhere an industrial engineer did a master's thesis on the effects of over-dispatches on productivity. I know of 1 and cannot find it now.

 

[Benben]

A big brown truck is a hard sight to miss. That lady would have to be a pretty ignorant driver to drive right into such a huge blatantly visible obstacle. So the real question is..... how do you park to become idiot-proof to other drivers? If such a thing is even possible.
I think idiot drivers will always find a way to get into accidents with you no matter how well you park

Had a safety co-chair in the center next to mine explain it this way.... "UPS has been in the community for 40 years and we are seen by everyone every day. We have become part of the background much like trees. May see them but not notice them."

This is why I try to use my horn alot, a double tap goes a long way to not getting hit.

 

[Dracula]

This was SOP in our building. Make it so they won't even try. Worked for me.

That won't matter. People still get distracted and forget their surroundings. If you're right on top of a car and that person backs into you, you will still get charged.

 

[gostillerz]

If the dispatch didn't put him on that route, the accident wouldn't have happened. Therefore, management should be charged for refusing "to expect the unexpected".

 

[brown_trousers]

That won't matter. People still get distracted and forget their surroundings. If you're right on top of a car and that person backs into you, you will still get charged.

I still don't see how management can claim this HWP accident as avoidable.

Give me ANY method this UPS driver could have used to park his package car... and I'll show you how that woman, driving her car with no visibility, would still hit a car while parked. You can't cure stupidity!

 

[Dracula]

I still don't see how management can claim this HWP accident as avoidable.

Give me ANY method this UPS driver could have used to park his package car... and I'll show you how that woman, driving her car with no visibility, would still hit a car while parked. You can't cure stupidity!

You never will be able to see how this could happen. That's the point. Only UPS has the vision to see how this can happen.

 

[QKRSTKR]

I have not seen union letter for a hit while parked in our center. If he gets a union letter he should fight it for sure. Don't know where you are at but here you can,t be moved to a permanent feeder position unless you have a yr. safe driving. In the eyes of the union no union letter, no avoidable accident. (at least here) I think it would be total bs for him to be dq from feeders cause of a hit while parked.

 

[talkingtalking01]

I have not seen union letter for a hit while parked in our center. If he gets a union letter he should fight it for sure. Don't know where you are at but here you can,t be moved to a permanent feeder position unless you have a yr. safe driving. In the eyes of the union no union letter, no avoidable accident. (at least here) I think it would be total bs for him to be dq from feeders cause of a hit while parked.

He printed out a map showing where he had to park and he is still trying to get the number to the helper that was with him that day. They refuse to give him the number yet when he works they always volunteer his number to other people whether they be permanent workers, customers or helpers. Another union rep in another hub said that happened to him as a package car driver and he was able to fight the case. He was able to get a witness.

 

[DukeofBoxes]

UPS makes anything that happens to your truck, or another vehicle or property the fault of the driver regardless of what the situation is. They do it exactly because of situations like these. The company hates to take responsibilty for training the drivers to park in firezones or other areas where we are at risk. There is no fighting this, he takes a hit on his record.

 

[QKRSTKR]

But is he going to be or has he already received a union letter? That is what the fight would be. If he doesn't get a union letter, the company can call it what they want. Should not be dq from feeders.

 

[laffter]

I can't tell you for sure until you post a picture of youself first.

Referring to those who "Liked" this post: aren't most of you married?

 

[packageguy]

if your boyfriend got trained with a supervisor on that route and he parked in the same place then you can fight it. We had a driver in the same situation supervisor told him park here you will okay, 2 weeks later a car hit his truck, we fought and they did not charge him with a accident. Good luck

 

[happybob]

UPS didn't find the driver at fault. UPS found the accident to be aviodable. Good luck getting any judge to find in the womans favor. He was stopped, she was moving when she hit him the she is at fault. UPS determines if there is something we could have done that would have made the accident avoidable. Parked in a legal parking spot! We don't get to make the rules, they do. Easy way to tell your supervisor that you could have avoided the accident. I could have stayed home today!