Las Vegas NowMetro to Discuss Safe Driving with UPS

Metro to Discuss Safe Driving with UPS

After losing two officers to car crashes, Metro Sheriff Doug Gillespie is promising to get his officers to drive more safely. For guidance, he says he'll look to UPS, a company known for its impressive driving safety record.

The average UPS driver will travel 1,000,000 miles, about 350 trips across the country, without getting in a single accident.

Every day at UPS starts with a morning huddle where drivers stretch and talk safety. After the safety meeting, there was a safety check of the truck -- tires, mirrors, and lights.

Twenty-two-year veteran Joe Mueller trains drivers at UPS. He says the best way to describe their driving policy is space and visibility. But what does that really mean? "I want to see eight to 12 seconds ahead of me at all times. I have an intersection -- left-right-left. We're good to go," he said.

Mueller says it's all about defensive driving. He says you should always keep your eyes moving, leave at least one car length in front of you, give yourself three seconds before taking off, and use your signals, horn, or make eye contact to communicate with other drivers.

Mueller says UPSer's are trained to do all these things, all the time. Just to make sure everyone is playing it safe, managers watch closely. "In addition to management, we also have safety committees that are hourly employees doing safety observations and those really keep us on our toes," he said.

UPS says it stresses safety to keep employees productive, but also so that their drivers can make it back home. The company has been in communication with Metro, but they have not worked out any details.

Although the two jobs are very different, the UPS trainer says good driving it starts attitude of safety.