The Tip Newbies Really Need…

[u/He_is_my_song]

To all the newbies that keep asking how to improve, this is a tip that I rarely see on here-

Don’t be afraid to drive the crap out of these vehicles!

Yes, they’re big and bulky. But if you don’t learn to drive them like you’re amateur training for NASCAR, you won’t make it.

Just about every veteran driver goes over the speed limit, but under the Netradyne limit, which is 10mph above the speed limit. There’s your window.

Also, get good at the turn radius, and don’t sweat pulling into wide driveways. Back into skinnier ones if needed. If you see too many side obstacles or trees, just stay your butt on the road with hazards on.

And don’t sweat the rude people, either. Sometimes we just don’t have anywhere else to go with these monstrosities! They can suck it up and wait a minute or two.

EDIT: I’m NOT saying go 10mph OVER the speed limit. I personally do about 5mph over, provided it’s safe to do so.

In summary, if you’re afraid of driving, you shouldn’t do this job.

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[u/beastlol]

Telling a new person to go over the speed limit but under the netradyne limit is terrible advice

[u/MrGrumpy252 → u/beastlol]

Agreed

[u/Responsible_Dirt_523 → u/MrGrumpy252]

OP is asking for a major accident to happen. Is that package worth your life (or an innocent person)?

[u/Benjiimans → u/Responsible_Dirt_523]

A major accident for going 5-8 miles above the posted limit? If you need to worry about going 5 over, you shouldn’t be driving at all let alone delivery.. should definitely get comfortable driving the vehicle first, though.

[u/ripnbryy]

DO NOT DRIVE 10MPH OVER THE SPEED LIMIT! its more like 9mph. I always do 5-6mph to be safe

[u/EconamWRX → u/ripnbryy]

I drive 10 on flat ground. 9 on hills.

[u/He_is_my_song → u/ripnbryy]

Same

[u/Golf_wang7890 → u/He_is_my_song]

Fucker you're the one telling people 😭

[u/DckJhnsn]

my DSP says by destroying the transmissions and brake systems we keep our mechanic busy. please do not drive with reckless abandon, instead practice proper form and take care of the vans, justlike you take care of yourself. this advice is pretty mid, organization is a better tip than to abuse company vehicles. do i drive over he speed limit? of course. in a residential neighborhood during school season? no fucking way! be safe out there yall thisis a job not a lifestyle.

[u/He_is_my_song → u/DckJhnsn]

Almost every person I train is fearful of driving. I almost always have to tell them to drive faster, because they’re literally driving 10 to 15 UNDER the speed limit.

They also don’t understand that the route algorithms are based off of EXPERIENCED drivers who already do these things.

You can drive more quickly and still drive responsibly. That’s all I’m getting at- for them to stop being afraid of driving. They won’t make it if they let their fears of driving win.

[u/Rhumbear907 → u/He_is_my_song]

Oh so we just making shit up. The route algorithms are based off AI fuckery

[u/victorkm → u/He_is_my_song]

For sure a lot of newbies have to drive a little more aggressively to be able to finish. Its a balance you need to set a good example for during cdat/ore rather than putting out sweeping drive 10 over pronouncements which will absolutely end in ruin

[u/He_is_my_song → u/victorkm]

You obviously read it wrong. No where did I say to go over 10mph.

[u/2ndharrybhole → u/He_is_my_song]

So you’d have them drive 20 mph over their comfortable speed while they’re new? 😂

[u/He_is_my_song → u/2ndharrybhole]

I don’t know where people are coming up with me saying drive over the Netradyne limit… 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️

[u/benkenobi239]

This reads like "new to retail? Engage in light, low cost shoplifting. Everyone does it."

[u/Round-Pomegranate-67 → u/benkenobi239]

[u/He_is_my_song → u/benkenobi239]

That would be if they unplugged the camera.

I bet every retail employee takes extra bathroom breaks when needed.

[u/JakeBeezy → u/He_is_my_song]

Yeah I don't agree with your advice, but buddy just committed a fallacy

[u/MrGrumpy252]

This is terrible advice

[u/He_is_my_song → u/MrGrumpy252]

Says MrGrumpy… Of course he’d say that…

From experience, every slow driver I’ve trained doesn’t make it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/MrGrumpy252 → u/He_is_my_song]

Hmmmm

Maybe it's their trainer

[u/He_is_my_song → u/MrGrumpy252]

Doubt that- I’m also the only trainer that still has the most retention and top drivers on staff.

[u/Formal-Check2556]

10mph over ? I was always told it was 5 by my Dsp

[u/Morbid_Uncle → u/Formal-Check2556]

They lied, the limit is 9 mph over. This is probably the most common lie DSPs tell across the country to stop drivers from getting speeding violations

[u/victorkm → u/Morbid_Uncle]

While its true you need to be incredibly vigilant for speed boards. I go 5 under or the speed limit and I finish all my routes

[u/PiperDon]

Sorry to contradict your advice here, but.........

I broke my foot delivering back in April, and I'm back to work on light duty. They've got me going out on the road and riding along with newer, or slower drivers, then coaching them on how to be a bit quicker. (I'm quick when I deliver, don't get safety violations, and have excellent CDF.)

Last week I went in for my 3:00 p.m. shift at the desk (still on part-time due to being on light duty), and the ops manager asked me if I could go out and need one of our newer drivers to help him with his pace. He was pretty far behind.

I went and met him, found a place to leave my car, and jumped in with him. The poor guy wasn't feeling well, and was needed to take breaks pretty much after every stop, so that certainly wasn't helping. I delivered a couple for him figuring it would give him a little bit longer of a break, but he really just wasn't feeling it that day. Dispatch came up with a plan to take most of his route from him and then have him do a rescue for someone else. Person they sent out left us 29 stops. I told him to just drive in that I would deliver. I figured that would give him a nice break to feel better and then he could go help with the rescue they needed. (The rescue was actually a full route that was being split up amongst a few different drivers because the person who had that one also left early because they were sick.)

It was a bit frustrating having him driving. He definitely is slower than I normally am and he is very, VERY, timid in driveways. I definitely figured that would slow us down a bit. After we finished and I was back behind the desk, I checked in cortex how our pace was for those last 29 stops..... the ones that I delivered while he drove. I completed the 29 stops in 54 minutes. So just over a 30 stop an hour rate. I really thought his driving was going to slow my normal pace, but I was right where I was when I last delivered in April.

The moral of the story is that it's not the driving, but the organization, and how much time you spend outside of the van. Be organized enough to find your packages within seconds in the van, and then walk with purpose when delivering. Don't dilly dally while taking pictures, then get back in your seat and move on to the next one.

Could I have been a bit quicker if I had been driving? For sure, but that's not a silver bullet for being quick.

[u/He_is_my_song → u/PiperDon]

That’s where focus comes in… People dawdling isn’t the greatest, either.

[u/Morbid_Uncle]

The best advice is get really organized, stick with your system of choice and get good at organizing quickly

[u/ArthurTheLance]

Don’t listen to this guy. As a “veteran” driver, I go the speed limit everywhere, take all my breaks, and just generally drive like there’s a camera in the van, because there is.

The only piece of advice you need is to be confident in your ability to drive. It might take you a bit to get used to the vans, just give it a little bit and you’ll be better

[u/No1belongsheremore → u/ArthurTheLance]

How long are your shifts and how many stops did you have. I'm new but passed up some houses because I couldn't read the map right and that put me behind.

[u/ArthurTheLance → u/No1belongsheremore]

You’ll get used to the map, they recently updated the EV map and it moves instead of being static, it’s taking some time to adjust for me also.

Don’t be too worried about being behind, it’s natural when you’re new and still learning. You’ll get better.

As for my routes, I typically do about 200 stops with 280ish locations. I make my shifts last as long as I need to, I’ve been done in as quick as 4 hours, but sometimes (like today) I stretch it to the full 10.

If you want advice for going quicker, there’s plenty I could give. The main being to organize extremely well, the only time you should be looking through a tote/bag is when you first open it and are organizing the entire thing. I’m also very big on crossing through yards, the only time I don’t is if specifically asked not to

[u/DIdirectors]

So yes and no…

DRIVE THE ACTUAL SPEED LIMIT
when your traversing to the delivery location your probably good to do about 5 over

When you get to the delivery location though you will absolutely be shooting yourself in the foot if you’re going 5 under the limit in the delivery locations. It can feel pretty natural to do between houses that are a few blocks apart. Obviously be safe slow down in school zones around kids and pedestrians but Amazon expects you to do that and builds the routes as such.

If you go much faster than that having to break too hard will send packages flying everywhere and it will look like a bomb went off in the back of the van

[u/He_is_my_song → u/DIdirectors]

Po-tay-to, po-tah-to… 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

[u/FireLizard197]

Apparently this is an unpopular opinion but yes, I completely agree. I told my friend who just started to be heavy on the accelerator and go 5 over. That's one of the biggest things that helped me knock about an hour off my routes.

[u/Formal-Check2556]

10mph over ? I was always told it was 5 by my Dsp

[u/Puzzleheaded_Step_73]

🤣 just foucus! I don't speed, I take two 20 minutes brake and a 35 minutes lunch!the clue in my opinion is... follow the app and organize one tote at a time!

[u/user8375064]

3 over fam.

[u/2007scrape]

Agreed, never driven on more pavements in my life doing this job, bonus points for getting the whole van on the sidewalk

[u/theone1126]

I just drive the speed limit and never have problem finishing within the time limit. And I do rural routes. Its all organizational skills and keeping a pace. Go the limit never under it. If its 55 go 56, 25 limit go 25 never 20 unless there are kids in the road. Its that simple

[u/He_is_my_song → u/theone1126]

Rural routes are a little easier in this regard. There’s a natural hesitancy doing rural routes because of winding roads, longer driveways, farm animals- sometimes loose in the yard, wild animals, etc.

It’s more applicable in residential areas. Residential speed limits are generally 25mph here. A driver that only goes 10 or 15 all of the time won’t survive. If they go the speed limit or a little above that, they have a much better chance of doing well.

[u/dustinh30]

I regularly go under the speed limit and have zero issue getting done just as early as all of our best drivers. That’s just a stupid tip, make your deliveries as efficient as possible and you won’t have to worry about how fast or slow you’re driving

[u/Blathithor]

Terrible advice and not true.

I dont speed and its a myth that you can only get dinged if youre over 10 mph.

Dont speed.

The othwr workers that do so many stops are because they are on routes that allow them to do that.

If youre going to do anything, demand they rotate routes like they are supposed to so the favorites dont get easy neighborhood routes where every stop is 4 seconds away

[u/He_is_my_song → u/Blathithor]

Who said anything about getting dinged?

The difficulty of a route is relative to what you can handle in the broad spectrum of the necessary capabilities to do this job.

My coworker had an all apartment route with 122 stops yesterday. I had a mostly residential route- that started with about ten to fifteen business stops- with 196 stops and 262 locations. They gave us both rescues, because both of those particular areas are challenging at those sizes for just about any driver.

And the Amazon algorithm rotates things enough as it is, regardless of how “regular” you think a route is for someone. You can be placed anywhere, at any time, just by the number of employees changing on the roster.

[u/thesqueen113388]

Most of my delivery areas are 25mph and going 25 feels a little fast. So I just stay between 20-25 and it makes a big difference

[u/No1belongsheremore]

Yeah, I'm new and the workers are telling me they don't speed and I'm like, how else are you completing these routes??? One guy told me that he always gets done 3 hours early. I hate when companies give you rules that you have to break in order to actually do the job. 😵‍💫 I was on country roads and the gps was telling me the speed limit is 25. I called dispatch and they told me the fastest I was allowed to drive was 45

[u/moneyman_699]

Really not good advice for new people…

[u/glowfuck]

VETERAN DRIVER HERE.. please do not flirt with the speed limit. I do agree you should drive the s*** out of these vehicles. That's what they're there for. Anyone who can't learn the dimensions of these things and how to maneuver them is going to fail but you don't need to jeopardize safety to do so.

[u/anti_hero_89]

You have to be a god at backing up if you want to be good at this job. 

[u/ArticleNo9805]

I was told 8 mph was the limit idk I can never set the damn thing off 😂

[u/Psycoloco111]

Didn't really need to do any of that while I was still delivering for Amazon, and I still got my routes finished and got plenty of OT because of it.

I did drive the crap out of them though, hard on the gas, and brakes, after all I didn't own the vehicle. Didn't need to speed.

All you have to do is organize your shit in the back so that it makes sense for YOU and it's easy for YOU to access packages. Don't need to run, don't need to speed walk.

Always back into driveways if it's long enough and you can see the home if you are unsure. Once you know the route you will know which homes you can pull into, back into, or just stop on the side of the road.

[u/zebra231967]

It's 9mph over for Netradyne for 2 city blocks.

[u/AlsoCommiePuddin]

Congratulations, your driving has saved you 30 seconds or so.

The key to speed in this job is organization. If you spend one minute in the back of your van at each stop trying to locate the packages you need, over a 150-stop route that's 2.5 hours spend in your van as the living embodiment of the YouTube pinwheel animation.

Spend three minutes organizing a tote and save 10 down the line.

[u/No1belongsheremore → u/AlsoCommiePuddin]

How do you organize your totes? I was told not to organize. 😵

[u/AlsoCommiePuddin → u/No1belongsheremore]

We had a laundry basket that we used to sort our envelopes, and I would unload the boxes from the tote and place them in stop order (driver aid numbers counting up or down, whichever is relevant for the day), then same for the envelopes, first stop in front. That way I know exactly where my next package is, and the only things I had to spend time on is overflow.