No left turns rule (UPS does it. Is it a useful fuel saving tactic?)

[Christ]

Actually, cabs and city bus drivers do flaunt the law. I took public transport for a length of time in every major city I lived in, including Manhattan, Boston, Baltimore, Harrisburg, Binghamton, and a few others. The buses hardly ever pull off the road to let passengers on or off at stops, they just stop. Same with school buses. They might pull over slightly, but they're not off the road ever. They have light signaling devices for exactly that reason.

Also, in NYC, whens the last time anyone saw a cab pull off the road? You'd sit in that cab for half an hour trying to get back into traffic in many cases, and the meter runs from the time you tell 'em where you're going.

The thought that no other company practices these ways is just ridiculous. They park in the street (according to UPS/Overnight drivers) because backing those trucks up is just stupid. They don't steer well, are heavy, and don't have clearance windows. Ask a truck driver why they'd rather pull in than back in, you get the same answer, even when they're not pulling a trailer.

In addition to that, it does take a substantial amount of time to slide into a parking spot and get out, then look, signal, etc and pull back into (potentially non-existent) traffic.

[Thymeclock]

In addition to that, it does take a substantial amount of time to slide into a parking spot and get out, then look, signal, etc and pull back into (potentially non-existent) traffic.

Yep, you are right. It's called obeying traffic laws.

But government and big business get a pass on not doing it and we (the little people) don't.

I guess Fed-Ex must be stupid to always park their trucks at the curb. Maybe they haven't caught on to the game of arrogance and power yet.

[Lazarus]

This is an endless loop and really has nothing to do with the OP original question. It time to move on.

The OP question was is "no Left hand turns a useful fuel saving tactic"? let's stick to that.

UPS says Yes.

As a result, UPS:
Saved 10 million gallons of gas
Reduced CO2 emissions by 100,000 metric tons, equivalent to 5,300 passenger cars off the road for an entire year.

[wdb]

My UPS guy has taken to backing into the driveway rather than pulling in. The FedEx guy does it too, if he turns around at my house; otherwise he just stops in the road and does not come up the driveway at all.

I wonder how many seconds per stop that (backing in) is supposed to save. On second thought it may be more for accident avoidance than time savings.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by wdb

My UPS guy has taken to backing into the driveway rather than pulling in. The FedEx guy does it too, if he turns around at my house; otherwise he just stops in the road and does not come up the driveway at all.

I wonder how many seconds per stop that (backing in) is supposed to save. On second thought it may be more for accident avoidance than time savings.

It has been suggested that drivers back into their parking spaces as well, because it's easier/safer/faster to pull forward into traffic than to back into traffic. It's a trifecta, really. Saves time, safer, and saves a minute amount of fuel.

Backing out of traffic is fairly safe, as well, although probably not as safe as forward maneuvering out of traffic.

[ATaylorRacing]

Originally Posted by Christ

It has been suggested that drivers back into their parking spaces as well, because it's easier/safer/faster to pull forward into traffic than to back into traffic. It's a trifecta, really. Saves time, safer, and saves a minute amount of fuel.

Backing out of traffic is fairly safe, as well, although probably not as safe as forward maneuvering out of traffic.

The Postal Servuce requires us to do this also as a safety measure. When we leave we can have a much clearer view of the situation whereas if we drive in things around the truck and traffc might change...AND there are no clear views out of the backs of these things at all!

[TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL]

i dont work for the ups or any other delivery company, but i do drive a trash truck, and youd be surprised what situations idiots in cars put us in. I had a guy parked next to an enclosure the other day, i honked and gave him 2 minutes to leave, he didnt move so i pulled in to pick up the bin, all of a sudden he decided to leave, almost ran me over in the process and cussed me out. I garentee when i park in the road to roll out a container, theres a reason for it. Some driveways cant support our trucks, and we would break through the concrete there. Ive had the front wheel of my truck actually cave in dirt into a septic tank.


funny thing is, ups, has a better saftey and accident record then any other delivery company. So your theory about unsafe doesnt hold water. And neither does the breaking the law statement. How about those cops that drive around at night with no headlights? Thats just as easily breaking the law, but they get away with it.

[Lazarus]

Originally Posted by TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL

funny thing is, ups, has a better saftey and accident record then any other delivery company. So your theory about unsafe doesnt hold water. And neither does the breaking the law statement. How about those cops that drive around at night with no headlights? Thats just as easily breaking the law, but they get away with it.

UPS works hard to improve their footprint also.

Newsweek magazine's greenest company rankings, which put UPS at No. 85 ahead of FedEx at No. 93. UPS began trumpeting this win in the blogosphere, chatting with ClimateBiz about why Big Brown is absolutely, positively greener than FedEx.

[JohnNeiferd]

Lets say UPS has 44,000 trucks worldwide. Even if not turning left only saved each truck $0.50 a year in fuel savings, that still a savings of $22,000. I suspect the savings are probably small, but companies (especially those who are suppliers of Walmart) are expected to squeeze out every last drop of waste (anything that does not directly add value to the product). So the savings may be extremely minimal on a per truck basis but taken on a mass scale it can add up to a lot. I suspect the savings are not noticable for single commuters like us.

[K2e2vin]

When I worked at UPS(about 2 years ago) I never heard anything about saving gas. Everything was really about time, which of course may lead to saving in fuel costs.

They also like to pack the trucks, so less trucks on the roads would also result in less fuel consumption.