Few vehicles are more recognizable than brown UPS delivery trucks. UPS has a delivery fleet of around 120,000 vehicles and is the world’s largest package delivery company. Unlike their competitors, all UPS delivery drivers are company employees. Their drivers are unionized, so they receive additional compensation and training. The company has its own driving school and spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year on driver safety training. Per 100,000 hours of driving, UPS trucks average about nine accidents.
Their good safety record is backed up by a large liability insurance policy. Because UPS drivers are employees, it means that the company may be held liable for the actions of its drivers, a legal concept known as vicarious liability.
A UPS truck can weigh around 15,000 pounds and cause serious damage, so accident victims may need to pursue every possible avenue of compensation. Also remember that UPS has a fleet of tractor trailer freight vehicles. Usually, these 18 wheelers make overnight deliveries to UPS facilities.
Nonetheless, as you might expect from a company that logs nearly 3 billion miles per year, accidents do happen even with UPS. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that, over the last two years, UPS trucks were involved in nearly 3,000 crashes, including 1,000 injury crashes, and that UPS was cited more than 7,000 times for safety violations.
There’s no mistaking when you’ve been in a crash with a brown UPS truck. But you may be unsure of what to do next, and mistakes could cost you money. Don’t take chances. Contact Jim Adler & Associates and let our lawyers take the guesswork out of your delivery truck accident claim.