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This does not surprise me much. I think it comes down to incentives. The package handlers only have a certain amount of time per package. There are few if any c
by btrettel 8y ago
This does not surprise me much. I think it comes down to incentives. The package handlers only have a certain amount of time per package. There are few if any consequences for being rough, and it saves time, so of course the package handlers end up being rough.
This isn't the only time you see this sort of selfish behavior from delivery companies. As a cyclist I commonly encounter delivery trucks parked in the bike lane. This is a common problem: http://upshatescyclists.com/ http://upshatescyclists.com/
If you call UPS or Fedex you'll often hear things like "This shouldn't happen." But the drivers are basically incentivized to break the law, regardless of "company policy". They don't have much time per package, so if blocking a bike lane saves them 10 seconds, they don't care if it is really dangerous for others.
Given this knowledge, I hypothesized that an effective way to make a delivery driver avoid the bike lane would be to slow them down if they park in the bike lane. I did once try to block a UPS driver from exiting their vehicle as a test. I recall that I said something like "You're blocking me, so I'm blocking you. You can park over there if you want a legal spot."
It wasn't the worst reaction I've seen from a UPS driver, but it was among the worst. Not recommended, but if enough cyclists did this then I suspect delivery drivers would start to avoid the bike lane.
- kenneth 8y agoHow do you block a UPS driver from getting out of his truck with just a bicycle?
- btrettel 8y agoI stood directly in front of the side door with my bike in front of me, leaving perhaps a 1 or 2 foot gap between my bike and the delivery vehicle. I only blocked their typical exit, i.e., the exit bordering the sidewalk. The driver could have walked into traffic. They expect me to go into traffic, so it seems only fair for them to have to exit that way. Funny thing was that the driver seemed uninterested in exiting that way... As I recall the driver went through the small gap I left, though not without getting fairly irritated.
- reaperducer 8y agothe drivers are basically incentivized to break the law When a delivery company has a line item in its budget to cover parking tickets as a cost of doing business, it's already decided at the corporate level to disregard the law in favor of making a profit.
- eridius 8y agoThat's cute, but wrong. Even the most law-abiding delivery company is going to end up with some parking tickets, so it makes sense to budget for them. You may as well decry the budgeting for legal as saying the company wants to break the law.
- james_s_tayler 8y agoSure, but nothing precludes it from actually being the case that they really do operate that way. They can even mount your defense! It's perfect.
- chrisseaton 8y ago> Even the most law-abiding delivery company is going to end up with some parking tickets Why? If you don’t park illegally you don’t get tickets. They aren’t random or accidental.
- closeparen 8y agoIn a crowded urban neighborhood, there is not going to be anywhere for a delivery vehicle to legally stop. Unless the delivery company refuses to service the area, it’s going to do some double parking. Downtowns address this problem with yellow commercial loading zones but those don’t really exist in residential neighborhoods.
- komali2 8y agoThen, the delivery trucks shouldn't be parking there. Clear a spot and turn it into commercial parking only, i say. They're doing this right now on Polk street and it's so much safer for bicyclists on the portions that have this now.
- NullPrefix 8y agoEmpty his tire. Make sure it's visible to him when he comes back.
- hxsvui 8y agoLike you never do stuff that others think is wrong... Live and let live. The drivers deliver the shit you buy online.
- hannasanarion 8y agoIt's not a matter of "things you think are wrong", it's illegal activity. As a cyclist, they are breaking the rules, invading my space, and putting my life at risk by forcing me into car traffic, just to save a few seconds.
- hxsvui 8y agoJust as deflating the tire illegal. Imagine there's no bike lane and you ride on the street, or when you wanna ride more relaxed, you ride on the sidewalk. It's not a problem either way if everybody is somewhat relaxed. But with your mindset, everyone's against everyone. Phew... It just riddles me. If you were in a car, you would be the type of person that honks at cyclist because in their mindset, it's illegal.
- btrettel 8y ago> or when you wanna ride more relaxed, you ride on the sidewalk. Common misconception. Riding on the sidewalk is considerably more dangerous than riding in the street. While you are less likely to be hit from behind, you are much more likely to be hit by drivers turning. > If you were in a car, you would be the type of person that honks at cyclist because in their mindset, it's illegal. The difference is that blocking the bike lane is typically illegal (and dangerous to cyclists), and riding a bike on the road is typically legal (and at most irritating to drivers). The two are not equivalent.
- hannasanarion 8y ago
- closeparen 8y agoAny neighborhood with fully saturated street parking should probably just be off limits to delivery businesses, since every transaction is going to involve an illegal stop. If your street has a bike lane, Amazon should be fined for accepting your order. Bike lanes and delivery/pickup/drop off are fundamentally incompatible street uses and that’s not going to be solved by ticketing one violation at a time.
- fhe 8y agocan't wait for self-driving vehicles
- joejerryronnie 8y agoThen we can complain about anti-cyclist algorithmic bias when autonomous delivery vehicles still park in bike lanes.
- danilocesar 8y agoHonestly, I think the truck drivers are also a victim of this system. They have to deliver what's handled to them in a tight schedule. Often breaking some rules and sometimes being rude on trafic is the way they found to meet the requirements and don't get punished. I'm shure they could avoid doing a lot of those things, but blaming and punishing the truck driver is not fair.
- btrettel 8y agoI recognize this and am sympathetic. Ultimately changes need to come from management. But parking in the bike lane is not necessary a large fraction of the time. I always point out a convenient alternative parking spot when talking to drivers parked in the bike lane. It's not uncommon that the alternative spot is really no worse than the bike lane for the delivery driver. The problem seems to be that many drivers don't consider more than the most obvious parking spot, and that often ends up being the bike lane. Also, don't underestimate the number of delivery drivers who hate cyclists and intentionally block the bike lane. Having talked to dozens of delivery drivers I can say some of them seem to genuinely hate cyclists.
- sutterbomb 8y agoI can’t imagine a world where I’ve spoken with dozens of delivery drivers.
- btrettel 8y agoIf you cycle for transportation, you'll readily encounter delivery truck drivers parked in your lane. If you drive you probably aren't paying attention to this problem and underestimate its frequency.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- joejerryronnie 8y agoI guarantee more cyclists break the law than delivery drivers. Would you suggest I immediately pull my truck in front of every cyclist I see blow through a stop sign?
- btrettel 8y agoNo. Brake checking people is dangerous and illegal. What I did is neither.