Utah UPS driver killed 12/1/08

[chev]

Very sad, indeed.

I wonder if the UPS vehicle had a lap belt or 3 point belt. I'd bet lap belt.

If something like that were to happen to me, I pray that none of my customers have to witness it or be 1st on the scene....

TB

Looks like on of those pre-shoulder restraint pc's. Really sad. He might have lived if that is the case. I am disgusted with UPS's so called safety standards when they can't protect a drivers life. Would it really be that costly to have replaced these belts when these cars are in for a PM?

 

[kingOFchester]

Not only are lap belts useless (other then keeping you from being ejected) but they can cause more damge to the body then good. Do a search on it and you will quickly learn that they can be more dangerous. Think about it, at 35mph and you hit a solid object, your upper body and lower body will still me moving at 35mph while your waist (the part secured by the belt) basicly tares your insides in half.

 

[skid mark]

I am so sorry to hear this. I will pray for the family as many people prayed for my family with the passing of Jim.

 

[rocket man]

what dose it matter if he had a 3 point belt or not /? HES gone its tragic. i did towing for years not many people walk way from a head on.OUR package cars are safe as they are gonna get. They are made for wok not for crashing. I feel for his family.

 

[dannyboy]

rocket

i rarely agree with you, but on this one, you are dead on. this is one of those accidents that would be God's grace to survive.

if you did look at the photos well enough, you will have noticed that the drivers side of the package car was not only crushed into the driver, but to the left. that means that what little protection was there in front, got shoved to the side. the door frame was about all the protection he had. against a dump truck that was loaded, dont think he ever felt a thing. the whole cab on the passenger side is 2-4 inches, while the drivers side is not much more. he did not stand a chance with the three point hitch, which brings me to

sober,

while i agree with your crusade, i must disagree that this was a survivable accident for the ups man, strapped or not. God determined it was his time to go.

i misunderstood the direction the dump truck was going.

our driver had milliseconds to react, and no time for evasive action. as for the proper safe driving methods, there is not one that i can see he failed to follow. if you disagree, please pm me and correct me.

and to think, he was looking forward to spending this christmas with his new grandchild..........

d

 

[stringerman85]

thoughts and prayers out for his family and friends

 

[UnconTROLLed]

The UPS driver was travelling 60 mph? What was the speed limit? There is no way the UPS driver is at fault because he must have the right of way if the speed limit is that high?

 

[stringerman85]

It's a terrible thing...You'll either get killed, Or get fired, Obviously the one is better than the other but still....

 

[trplnkl]

rocket
our driver had milliseconds to react, and no time for evasive action. as for the proper safe driving methods, there is not one that i can see he failed to follow. if you disagree, please pm me and correct me.

Danny, I don't know of a method he failed to apply either, however I can guess what Cements center manager wrote down to show that our guy could have prevented the crash. Expect the unexpected, he didn't slow down when he was approaching the intersection to allow the other driver to make an illegal turn, he didn't use his lights, horn or signals to communicate, or he didn't clear the intersection.
Don't get me wrong, I am in NO WAY saying this poor man did a thing wrong.
If he had survived the crash, those are some of the points they would bring up to try and fire him.

 

[Johney]

We had the exact type of accident at our building last year. Although the UPS driver was not hurt, a man and his 15(?)y/o grandson were killed when they crossed into the path of our driver. Let me say UPS management was quite compassionate with our driver. Not only did they not try to fire him they let him work part time to handle his grief. It took him a while before he could get behind the wheel of another package car. So this talk of getting fired for all accidents is not always true.

 

[trplnkl]

We had the exact type of accident at our building last year. Although the UPS driver was not hurt, a man and his 15(?)y/o grandson were killed when they crossed into the path of our driver. Let me say UPS management was quite compassionate with our driver. Not only did they not try to fire him they let him work part time to handle his grief. It took him a while before he could get behind the wheel of another package car. So this talk of getting fired for all accidents is not always true.

The only constant at UPS is inconsistency.

 

[Cole]

Terrible thing for anyone. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and all concerned.

The 3 point harness should be in every truck. I have no idea if it would have prevented our brothers death, but it gives us a much better chance than the outdated lap belt. It takes a severe death that draws nt'l media attention to get them to move on such a thing. That's why we have backing cameras now, because a little girl got killed, and it made nt'l news when we were on strike, or just prior.

Very sad either way. Looking at the vid and pics would leave one to believe the dump truck driver would have been killed and our guy survive.

 

[dilligaf]

The UPS driver was travelling 60 mph? What was the speed limit? There is no way the UPS driver is at fault because he must have the right of way if the speed limit is that high?

It happened on a 4 lane highway so I am guessing the speed limit to be 60 or 65. UHP said that speed was not a factor in the accident. I agree with Danny and others that even a 3-point belt would probably not have saved his life. The damage to the cab of our truck was far to extensive.

It was a tragic accident that could have been avoided by the driver of the dump truck. He will have to live with his decision for the rest of his life.

My prayers to the families (both) involved.

 

[dannyboy]

it does not say what speed he was going. but from the damage, and knowing the speed of the dump truck as he, at the last second pulled out in front of our delivery truck, i would hazzard a guess of 45+ What was stated, speed was not at issue on our drivers part. pure and simple, a bad mistake on the dump drivers fault.

if you look at the dump truck, our package car hit the cab of the dump. the torque was so strong, that it tore the front half off the dump, and pushed it over. look also at the front end of the tp60 and the rear of the ups truck. that impact to the front of our car was tremendous. as rocket said, they were not built for that type of encounter.

d

 

[local804]

Maybe the 3 point belt wouldnt have helped in this situation but I am sure it would help in MANY. There has to be a reason from a safety stand point that they use the 3 point belt otherwise my insurance company wouldnt be giving me a discount for having an automatic upper belt.

 

[dannyboy]

804

i agree.

problem is this on the three point seatbelts.

1, the "movement" to get the company to address the situation seriously is very fragmented. as such, the situation probably never gets past the district or division level.

for sure it does not reach the tree huggers that are worried about the snail darter, or we would have the correction yesterday.

2, the union has been aware of the issue, but does not feel it is an issue of significance, otherwise, it would have put pressure on ups to fix the problem. which goes back to the old saying, whats in it for me. and that is the way the union operates.

3, the only other option is a widespread movement. one that has popular support of the drivers (some would argue against you know) and is broad enough for a legal action against ups.

one of the things i did learn as a foster parent was our association was, in the view of the state, a nice little group doing good things.

when we began with our children's bill of rights, and the threat of legal action to speed up the process by which unfit parents are declared unfit, and the child is then allowed to be placed in a permanent home, when we started actively pushing that, we began to see action.

outside of taking an outside action against ups, i dont know how else to fix it.

i would be interested in the thoughts of Pman and tie, as well as some of the other management posters.

d

 

[tieguy]

please forgive me as i overlooked this little tidbit



so our driver had a green light, as did the dump truck driver.

so how are they going to charge either one?

d

I saw that too and wondered about it. I think they meant the light was green going north and south. The dump truck driver would still be expected to yield the right of way when making a left turn.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

it does not say what speed he was going. but from the damage, and knowing the speed of the dump truck as he, at the last second pulled out in front of our delivery truck, i would hazzard a guess of 45+ What was stated, speed was not at issue on our drivers part. pure and simple, a bad mistake on the dump drivers fault.

if you look at the dump truck, our package car hit the cab of the dump. the torque was so strong, that it tore the front half off the dump, and pushed it over. look also at the front end of the tp60 and the rear of the ups truck. that impact to the front of our car was tremendous. as rocket said, they were not built for that type of encounter.

d

you must be reading another story

Alan Christofferson, 54, of West Jordan, was traveling 60 mph south on SR-36 in a UPS delivery truck at approximately 9:20 a.m. when a Peterbilt dump truck in the northbound lanes pulled out in front of him while attempting to turn west onto SR-138, according to Cpl. Andrew Prescott of the Utah Highway Patrol.

 

[dannyboy]

tie

originally i thought he was entering the intersection at a right angle to our truck.

but after all the different views, it was pretty much a head on, with the dumptruck jumping out into the intersection as our driver entered it. dont know, maybe the mud he was loaded with was also on his boots, and the foot slipped off the clutch? have had that happen on a snowy day to me.

d

 

[tieguy]

804

i agree.

problem is this on the three point seatbelts.

1, the "movement" to get the company to address the situation seriously is very fragmented. as such, the situation probably never gets past the district or division level.

for sure it does not reach the tree huggers that are worried about the snail darter, or we would have the correction yesterday.

2, the union has been aware of the issue, but does not feel it is an issue of significance, otherwise, it would have put pressure on ups to fix the problem. which goes back to the old saying, whats in it for me. and that is the way the union operates.

3, the only other option is a widespread movement. one that has popular support of the drivers (some would argue against you know) and is broad enough for a legal action against ups.

one of the things i did learn as a foster parent was our association was, in the view of the state, a nice little group doing good things.

when we began with our children's bill of rights, and the threat of legal action to speed up the process by which unfit parents are declared unfit, and the child is then allowed to be placed in a permanent home, when we started actively pushing that, we began to see action.

outside of taking an outside action against ups, i dont know how else to fix it.

i would be interested in the thoughts of Pman and tie, as well as some of the other management posters.

d

I'm not sure the three point would help that much. Certainly not in this case. I would be curious more so about the tp60 he is hauling and its effect on his stopping distance in this case.

I take it the state does not require a CDL or air brakes to haul a tp60?

Back to your original point I'm not sure we have a process to have the three point harness considered. we almost need a joint panel process where you could come up and argue the merits of this equipment change.