Delivery vans are everywhere these days. The growth of home delivery has not just put shops out of business, but it has added huge volumes of traffic to the roads.
With this trend has inspired an additional risk to other road users. It’s no secret that driving deliveries for a living is tough work – and as a result, drivers may not be at their best much of the time and could, therefore, cause a crash.
High-pressure schedules
Companies force their drivers to work fast, often with insufficient breaks. One report found that one in five Amazon delivery drivers had been injured on the job in the previous year. While not all those injuries resulted from crashes, many did. And, these crashes probably injured many non-delivery professionals as well. Driving safely requires patience, calm and adequate rest – which can be hard to come by when your boss is pushing you to hurry up or risk losing your job.
Dangerous parking
Delivery drivers do not always have time to find a nice safe parking space and then walk to make the drop. Their schedules pressure them to pull up on the curb and jump out to deliver fast. This can make things more dangerous for pedestrians and those who need to get past a vehicle that is half on the curb, half blocking a lane of traffic or sidewalk.
Continuous navigation and inadequate training
Drivers must constantly search for house numbers or work out the route to a new address. The need to always be navigating takes attention away from driving.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that while commercial truck drivers undergo thorough training, there is very little training involved in becoming a delivery driver – so their standard of driving can be poor.
If a delivery driver injures you, it’s essential to understand your legal options. Depending on your circumstances, you may be entitled to significant compensation at this time.