Category Archives: UPS
UPS Guy vs The Drones
Still humping at 73 ! OMG
UPS driver has no crashes in 51 years
DETROIT — UPS driver Tom Camp and his big, brown truck have done something no other UPS driver has accomplished: 51 years without an accident.
That’s after an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 miles on the road in metro Detroit, ringing doorbells in Detroit and western Wayne County since 1962, according to the Detroit Free Press.
“Oh, sure I’ve had close calls,” said Camp, 73, of Livonia, who began working for UPS after graduating from St. Francis de Sales High School in Detroit and serving three years in the Marines. “And 90% of it is paying attention. I drive so defensively now — it’s not just in my package truck, it’s in my own car — you can almost anticipate what other drivers are going to do.”
The next-safest UPS driver retired in 2012 in Dayton, Ohio, after 50 years, the only other UPS driver to achieve 50 years accident-free. The company has 6,486 drivers out of 65,000 in the United States and 100,000 globally who have 25 years or more without an accident, earning them a plaque and a place in the UPS Circle of Honor. UPS spends $118 million annually on safety training.
“We have a notion of a fair’s day work for a fair’s day pay — he is worth every penny, and so are the other drivers like him,” said UPS spokesman Dan McMackin. “He is one of a kind. He’s the pinnacle.”
Here are some of Camp’s best driving tips from his route through Livonia, where he has been delivering since the mid-1990s:
• “Stay focused,” said the longtime bachelor who loves to watch Notre Dame sports teams. “Stay focused out there and drive defensively. And leave enough space.”
• Leave a minimum of 15 or 20 feet between your car and the vehicle in front of you, he says. He gets annoyed when other drivers veer into the space, he adds. But he never has waved the one-finger salute or sworn at other drivers behind the wheel, he said.
“You don’t know who you might be talking to. It might be Mike Tyson or something,” Camp quips.
• Avoid switching lanes as much as possible, Camp advises. And he follows UPS’ recommendation of backing up only when necessary, noting that 19% of accidents occur when vehicles are in reverse.
He has seen craziness on the road, like drivers putting on makeup and reading the paper behind the wheel. But when you ask him about the craziest antics, he focuses on drivers’ missteps, like swerving across lanes to make an exit on the highway or not stopping when they should.
• “Assume other drivers are not as aware as you are,” Camp said. “If you assume the other guy is daydreaming, that’s a good first step.”
Livonia Holiday Inn daytime front desk supervisor Matt Moultrie said Camp “magically” delivers at about the same time each day, regardless of the number of packages or whether the big brown truck is jammed with deliveries.
“Guests ask me, ‘What time is my package going to be here?’ ” Moultrie said, adding that Camp is always in a good mood. “I can always give them a ballpark time … no matter if it’s one box or 50 boxes, even during the holidays.”
Camp’s after-work rides are a Toyota RAV4 and a black 2006 Corvette.
“That’s my little toy,” he said, adding that he doesn’t remember ever getting into an accident with his personal vehicles, either.
And he has no intention of retiring. “I’d be bored — too much free time,” he said.
“You’re out on the road by yourself. You don’t have someone looking over your shoulder all the time. And you’re more or less your own boss out there. And you have a lot of nice people. They almost become family, you know these people so well.”
Tammy Stables Battaglia, Detroit Free PressIs it well packed?
Park close
Oh my my
(NewsOn9) We know, we know, there are plenty of opportunities in a job filled with packages of various sizes and shapes to move things in a sassy direction. But UPS is highly displeased over a photo floating around out there as evidence that one of its drivers allegedly had a sexual encounter in the back of a delivery truck. Not only that, the lady partner in question — who reportedly posted the photo, says NewsOn6.com in Oklahoma City — appears to be clad in a UPS uniform jacket (and not much else) while preening among the packages. A spokeswoman for UPS corporate tells the statoin that this kind of behavior is grounds for termination, and that the company is working on tracking down the driver as fast as it can. The woman apparently posted the photo of herself in the driver’s jacket on a personal website (where she’s listed as a “happiness consultant” with the caption, “Look at my naughty time from yesterday.” Another follow-up post reportedly described exactly what happened with the driver, saying there could be more photos to come if people sign up as members of her site. “It disrespects UPS drivers and customers. This is not behavior we would ever condone for anyone, let alone for our company. We want to assure other drivers and our customers that this will be fully investigated,” the spokeswoman says.
UPS Driver In Trouble Because You’re Not Supposed To Have Naughty Times On The Job
Only in your dreams
Safety first
Tell the children
Run Forrest, Run