People watching delivery vehicles from major companies may notice something strange. The same delivery driver might travel a specific road two or more times on one day. Instead of delivering every package on the road at once, they loop around multiple streets, making seemingly random deliveries.
Delivery driver routes often involve circuitous driving, which may seem counterintuitive given the importance of efficiency. However, collisions that lead to financial claims are far more costly than worker wages or fuel for vehicles. Companies often plan seemingly circuitous driver routes as a means of protecting the company from costly collision-related expenses.
Why do companies design such strange routes for their drivers?
Turning left is a safety hazard
Delivery drivers frequently loop around neighborhoods because the routes planned for them have the lowest number of left turns possible. A large percentage of intersection collisions occur when motorists turn left.
As such, companies trying to limit crash rates and liability typically try to minimize left turns by their drivers. Left turns are slow and also leave vehicles exposed to approaching traffic. Side-impact collisions can destroy vehicles and leave occupants seriously injured.
The risk isn’t just a concern for transportation companies. It can also influence the likelihood of people in passenger vehicles experiencing major wrecks. Drivers hoping to reduce their personal collision risk may want to adopt a similar practice.
Avoiding turning left whenever possible, especially at busy intersections, can reduce the likelihood of a major crash occurring. Drivers who end up injured by left-turn crashes caused by other drivers may have grounds to pursue compensation from the party at fault. Both insurance claims and civil lawsuits can help people recover their losses after collisions.
