An accident involving a United Parcel Service truck last year in Washington state resulted in a lawsuit against the company and has prompted a local new organization to launch an investigation into possible safety issues surrounding a new type of delivery truck model.
UPS is currently equipping its delivery trucks with a keyless ignition system, the safety of which some truck drivers have called into question. Following a nearly fatal collision, a former part time driver alleges that glitches in the keyless ignition system, which requires drivers to push a button on the dashboard to start the truck, caused the accident. According to the driver, who was delivering packages during the 2011 holiday season, his truck would not start, and after the vehicle began rolling down a hill at a high velocity, he was unable to stop or steer the truck. The parking brake was engaged, but was not sufficient to stop the heavy delivery truck’s momentum. The ensuing single-vehicle collision caused serious injuries to the driver, blinding him in one eye and severely damaging his spine, leg shoulder and hand. Police ruled that the driver was not at fault for the accident, but did not find conclusive evidence of mechanical or electrical failure. According to UPS, the company’s own investigators determined that there was no mechanical or electrical malfunction prior to the collision.
According to the driver, however, a warning alarm began sounding several hours before the collision, but rather than take the vehicle out of service, his supervisor gave him ear plugs to deaden the shrill alarm sounds. Photos taken at the scene of the accident reportedly show the foam plugs still embedded in the driver’s ear canal.
On behalf of the delivery drivers it represents, the union Teamsters Local 174 sent a letter to the state’s Labor and Industries agency expressing safety concerns regarding the new keyless ignition system on December 20, 2011. According to this letter delivery drivers reported experiencing issues similar to those that reportedly led to the near fatal accident, including trucks moving without starting and with the parking brake engaged. Drivers also alleged that the system allows them to start the truck without engaging the clutch or depressing the brake pedal. One driver reportedly provided a video of himself using the button to start his truck while he was still standing outside of it.
Journalists also obtained an internal safety complaint filed by a driver regarding this issue to which the company reportedly replied that the trucks were safe to operate despite the defect.
In 2011, the New York attorney general’s office received a settlement from the delivery company worth more than $1 million after investigators discovered that UPS drivers had continued to operate more than 120 trucks that inspectors had determined were equipped with cracked or rotted frames between 2004 and 2005.
