Delivery drivers endanger others during holidays
If you have a driver’s license and the ability to drive a box truck (a small U-Haul), you can probably find yourself a job this holiday season.
If you happen to have a commercial driver’s license (CDL), you can probably find a place willing to give you a bonus just to sign on for the season.
Delivery drivers of any sort are in high demand this year — partly because more and more people are ordering gifts online. The major shipping companies are having trouble keeping up with the trend — making “delivery driver” an occupation that’s suddenly in high demand. Employers are willing to compete for good drivers.
There also sometimes willing to hire not-so-great drivers and cross their fingers and hope the holiday season passes without a serious accident.
While companies aren’t reducing some of their hiring criteria (if you fail a drug test, for example, you’re out of luck), they are willing to forgo traditional training methods and the ability to drive a stick shift. UPS is even hiring people willing to suit up in their brown uniform to drive their own cars in particularly rural or areas that are desperate for drivers.
As a result, there are lot of sudden “professional” delivery drivers out there — and that’s bound to increase the chances that other drivers are going to get into accidents with some of them.
As you travel your daily commute, head out to dinner with the family or do a little holiday shopping of your own, keep in mind the following statistics:
- Fatalities from car and truck accidents can jump by 25 percent during the Christmas season
- The next big time for drunk driving is the weekend New Year’s is celebrated.
- Approximately 37,000 people die in car accidents every year in the United States.
- Another 2.35 million people in the country are disabled or injured due to car and truck accidents.
Play it as safely as possible this holiday season. Practice defensive driving and be aware that there are a lot of inexperienced drivers behind the wheels of delivery vans and trucks this year.
If you are in an accident, consider exploring your options for a personal injury claim before you agree to accept an offer from the other driver’s insurance company. It’s always wisest to be well-informed before you make a decision that can affect your entire future.
Source: www.unionleader.com, “U.S. delivery companies dig deep to hire holiday help,” Eric M Johnson, Nov. 18, 2017