Why does UPS driving around the block?

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toolmanmike

toolmanmike

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I've never had it explained to me and my logic can't come up with the reason why. UPS drops of a package and drives to the corner and turns right. Within a minute I see the truck driving up the street a block over, turns right, and drives right past my driveway, then drives to the corner and turns left. Couldn't they have turned left after leaving my driveway and saved driving around the block? No wonder why they charge so much. lol
tmm
 
I'm sure someone knows more about this but I read a while ago they avoid left turns as much as possible to save time.
 
Very well might be like the USPS........logic need not apply......But I believe there are more accidents involving left turns than there are rights......
 
A friend of mine drives for UPS and they concentrate them on right turns as much as possible, kooky eh.
 
They actually do it to save fuel. They have done extensive research and calculations and have determined that taking the least amount of left turns saves significant fuel. Google it, it's pretty interesting.
 
lilcuda said:
They actually do it to save fuel. They have done extensive research and calculations and have determined that taking the least amount of left turns saves significant fuel. Google it, it's pretty interesting.
Click to expand...

Time too, they spend less time sitting waiting to make a left turn.
 
exactly, they have onboard GPS's and HQ knows every move they make, the right turns are to save fuel (mostly cut down on sitting at an intersection and idling) and safety as well. At least thats how my UPS guy explained it. Fedex is the same way.
 
They follow a gps that has their route computed with as many right turns as possible because it's faster. They dont have to wait for traffic as much as they do turning left on average. It's especially faster in cities where there are more stop lights and they can turn right on red and not have to wait for the light to turn. I saw it on a Fed-ex documentary. Yeah, I know I watch some random stuff.
 
Mythbusters did a show on this. It's for time and gas savings, like others said. It may seem like out where there's no traffic, it doesn't make sense, but they have software that determines their routes, so, who knows?

There's a software company in my hometown that developed similar software 20 years ago for school bus routes.
 
It's also a safety issue - less left turns = less turns across multiple lanes of travel = less chances of getting t-boned.
 
Mythbusters proved this one - they showed that making nothing but right turns saves a bunch of time and fuel. They "delivered" a bunch of packages in a city like environment and showed that UPS has got it right. Over the breadth of their fleet, you are talking significant savings.
 
C'mon..the dude was lost!.I drive around when its cold/hot so I get a heater/AC as I cant idle for more than 5 minutes...Lame! The phone co. GPS tracks me but as long as I am "following" aerial phone lines, the dont sweat it. My friends mom never made a left turn and never drove at night...whatever..
 
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