Last night as I was watching news in bed there was a story involving a motorcycle fatality accident on a simple flat rural road. A FedEx Ground truck was taking a left into a residential driveway from the main road across traffic. He did not see the motorcyclist coming toward him. Maybe he was too busy, too much in a hurry, texting or using a powerpad. Maybe he thought he could save a few seconds by not waiting. The motorcyclist was dead in the middle of the road. The Ground driver had to stand there with him on the side of the road until emergency help arrived. It must have been a long horrible wait with the deceased thinking about what had just happened.
In the news around the county, everyday are similar stories and in 90 percent or more I see that it is Ground that is involved. It is really sad that FedEx is boosting profits and making statements to the media about cost cutting but at what price and to whom. If you think for a second that FedEx gave a crap about safety for it's employees or the general public you are wrong. Taking the time to do things correctly costs money and productivity. Tell that to the children, parents, brothers, sisters, parents, friends of the deceased.
I see Ground drivers nearly everyday driving while on the phone, using powerpad, eating, smoking, leaving truck running on side of the road unattended, double parking live in center dedicated turn lanes, cargo doors open, etc, etc. What I see everyday is appalling. While there may be some seasoned dedicated ground drivers out there I think the majority of them are under experienced and thrust into a situation that a veteran that has been there and done that would handle better everyday in all conditions. You can dummy down and cheapen the workforce but it will cost somewhere down the line. It really sucks this guy had to die for that.
The driver of the Ground truck had to step over the body of the dead motorcyclist at his side door, see the photos on KTVU link.
Motorcyclist killed in collision with FedEx truck in Brentwood - ContraCostaTimes.com
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