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As the holiday season approaches, the arrival of packages at your front doorstep can be seen as hazardous to your health. Except in this case… Santa’s sleigh may be driven by drivers working part-time for Amazon.
One of the world’s largest companies, Amazon has prided itself on delivering packages on time. In 2017, Amazon delivered 5 billion packages worldwide1
The service for some Amazon customers offers delivery within a two-hour window, which incentivizes the need for speed rather than safety. In many cases, and especially during the holiday season, the number of part-time drivers increase in order to meet the demand from customers.
Amazon also uses FedEx, UPS, and USPS, as well as third-party courier companies that it calls delivery service partners, or DSPs, which manage their own fleets. 2 Amazon hires drivers through a program it calls Amazon Flex. With Flex, drivers receive no health insurance and if the employee is working part-time, there are no additional benefits Therefore, the incentive is to deliver as many packages as possible during a working shift. If one were to Google “Amazon Bad Drivers” a slew video footage would show drivers delivering packages from Amazon not being cautious.
Here’s just one example of an Amazon driver throwing safety to the sidewalk.
“We can expect a significant increase in traffic related problems, including accidents, as Amazon opens its massive new facility in Crystal City, “explains personal injury lawyer, Jeffrey J. Downey, licensed to practice in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. If Amazon is providing incentives to their drivers which endanger other drivers, they need to be held accountable. The fact that they are organizing their drivers as independent contractors is troubling, as Amazon could argue that they have no liability for the injuries caused by their drivers. We have already seen instances in which legal claims have been asserted in other states for the negligence of Amazon drivers,” explains Downey. Virginia lawmakers need to confront this issue head on before Amazon’s unchecked expansion harms Virginia’s residents.
If you have been injured in accident caused by a driver working for Amazon or another package delivery service, contact the Law Office of Jeffrey J. Downey for a free consultation. We are conveniently located in Tysons Corner.
Fully Licensed and Serving clients in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Address: 8270 Greensboro Drive, Suite 810, McLean, VA, 22102, Phone 703-564-7318. On the web at www.jeffdowney.com.
1 “Amazon Shipped 5 billion packages through Prime Worldwide in 2017,” The Verge, January 2018
2 “Missing wages, grueling shifts, and bottles of urine: The disturbing accounts of Amazon delivery drivers may reveal the true human cost of ‘free’ shipping.” Business Insider, September 11, 2018
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