White tall Amazon vans
 

I've noticed recently that those unmarked white vans, the tall ones are clogging my neighborhood more than before. I now know that they are Amazon deliveries. Some are also dark colored. The drivers are looking at their screens and not paying much attention to the rest of us. This has happened quite suddenly, the vans used to be marked as subcontractors. It's the new way to do business. Make the subs buy the vehicles and don't take any responsibility. Similar to the plain white Google buses running up and down to Mountain View. When I see them blocking the road or wandering about I display my finger. I don't know what else to do, they are destroying my neighborhood and I don't like it.

Remember the big media thing in the 90s about Domino's 30-minutes-or-less guarantee causing a fatal accident? Those vans are for Amazon same-day/next-day delivery and do the same thing (drive/park unsafely due to heavy time pressure), except since it's subcontracting, Amazon gets to dodge responsibility.

Giving them the finger is unnecessary, though. They're already getting that from their employer.

Thought it was more like the shaft. :D

noticed the same. always speeding. parking wherever, and loud noise so they can hear it from the porch they are delivering

Some of them drive like madmen around here. I mean driving like a sports car. I keep expecting to see one of those tall vans flipped over.

I'm not sure if delivery drivers get ticketed much if at all, I've never seen one pulled over yet.

UPS, FedEx, and DHL drivers are downright smooth and cool headed by comparison.

I've not noticed that the numerous Amazon vans are any different than UPS, USPS, FedEx, etc. Other than parking oddly, which I'm OK with because they don't stay long, they all seem fairly courteous and attentive. Maybe they haven't been trained yet! :lol:.

Co-published by The New York Times and ProPublica.

NYT's: The Human Cost of Amazon’s Fast, Free Shipping
ProPublica: THE DEADLY RACE How Amazon Hooked America on Fast Delivery While Avoiding Responsibility for Crashes

-mr. bill

So, should Amazon pass blame to all the Prime members?

White tall Amazon vansThanks to @Joe Bikerider for starting this thread. Just minutes before reading this thread, I read an article very similar to the article cited by @mr.bill, a fellow Metro Bostonian. Indeed I was getting ready to cite it myself:

The human cost of Amazon's fast, free shipping

Previous critical articles I have read in the past few months concerned the relentless pressure on Amazon employees in the warehouses to fill the orders.

So before the cell phones became new distractions to drivers, were alcohol,sleepiness, inattention or whatever, and now a new class of hazards is emerging.

mr.bill’s article cites not only auto crashes, but also pedestrian incidents, as well as Amazon’s strategy to shift / diffuse liabilities on to the subcontractors, and even a blurred out photo of a white tall Amazon van involved in a crash.

How soon before we read of cyclists’ envelopment? :(


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c2a334aa2d.jpg

Photo of a typical white tall Amazon van.

That's a normal height full size van made by Ford. Much like American vans have been since the 1970s. I rented that exact model from UHaul last weekend. That thing is surprisingly nimble, sure footed, and smooth driving. Sure, it has some truck bounce to it over bumps, but otherwise very easy to drive for someone used to driving small cars.

The tall vans are the ones a normal sized adult can stand fully upright inside. Pretty much the Mercedes/Freightliner/Dodge Sprinter class vehicle. https://topnewsgazette.com/business/...very-business/

By the way, Amazon vans and firetrucks don't mix. :innocent:

https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/...h-13658939.php

Thanks for the reply. The picture I used was from the article I cited, The human cost of Amazon's fast, free shipping

I did employ some "poetic license" in my reply, using the title of the OP of this thread, "white tall Amazon van" implying "non-descript." :innocent:

Perhaps you may recall this sinister association with white vans: In the past I have replied to this thread, “Do you meet people on the street?” He was very friendly.

I live not far from the Richmond Amazon facility, which is next to UPS. About 9:00 every day you you get a mass of white and brown Van's turned loose onto the roadways. You can sure tell the difference between the two sets of drivers. I'm not sure how Amazon trains their drivers, but they need to step it up some. I talked to one about his job and he was pretty frustrated. He was leaving for a delivery at 3:00 PM for a delivery in Santa Rosa. I'm guessing around a 3+ hour round trip.

Around here FedEx ground is all contract drivers. They buy the vans and get paid by delivery. For FedEx and other companies it is a great way to shave expenses. Driver do get screwed in the process though as FedEx is always messing with them.
There is a slight difference in visibility. If a contract FedEx driver drives like a maniac, it reflects badly on FedEx and the contracting company can be easily identified. With white vans containing no identifying markings, the contracting company gets protection from that level of identification.
This bodes poorly for street safety.

A little over dramatic, but okay. ;)

This.
And I certainly hope he isn’t one of the anti LBS crew that only buys online :innocent:

What would A&S be without drama?:innocent: