I pretty much always come in when it snows. Many drivers don't. To each his own. I don't blame anyone. I've driven in some pretty crazy storms. Having said all that, it's one thing to come in, but it's quite another to get anywhere on time, or make service. I'm not afraid of driving in snow, but that's because I adjust and drive at the speed I feel is safe. And that ain't very fast. I know UPS, and how they work. It really doesn't matter the reason, because if you wreck, they will simply say if it was as dangerous as I said it was, I should have pulled over. It will always be your fault.
Now, ice is a completely different story. Our hub pretty much shuts down when our roads get covered in ice. Ice is much more dangerous than any kind of snow. Earlier this year, we got a decent ice storm, and I was going to take a pup to the railyard. I got on the highway and noticed a Fed-Ex driver pulling doubles all twisted up on the overpass I was heading to. I stopped on the highway, on a very slight incline to see what he was going to do, and as I did, my trailer started to slide sideways towards the shoulder barrier. I stopped sliding before I hit the barrier, but I was done. I called dispatch and told them so, and waited for a salt truck to come by so I could get traction and came back. I've done enough of inclement weather driving to know my limits, and that is when I quit.
Also, feeder management doesn't want a bunch of drivers and loads stuck on the side of the road. And we are a big hub, so we have packs of drivers driving to a lot of the same locations and sorts, so if one guy can't move, chances are the rest of them won't either. So what usually happens in heavy weather is they will simply shut down the trouble areas.
What the package car guys might not understand is most feeder drivers rarely call in sick. Feeders isn't miserable like package car. There isn't that dreaded feeling of coming to work like there was in the bread box. So, if we call in, it means something.
