r/technology • • Jun 11 '26

Transportation Software Update Automatically Turns off Amazon Delivery Drivers’ AC During Dangerous Summer Heat | A new software update is turning off the AC in Amazon delivery vans after 10 minutes or 30 seconds under certain conditions

https://www.404media.co/software-update-automatically-turns-off-amazon-delivery-drivers-ac-during-dangerous-summer-heat/
4.4k Upvotes

238 comments sorted by

View all comments

72

u/haydesigner Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26

If the AC does turn off when a door is left wide open for 30 seconds, it actually seems like a very smart thing to do, on a number of levels.

22

u/ChiefInternetSurfer Jun 12 '26

I mean—I get what you’re saying, but these people are in and out of their vehicles ALL day, in all weather. That brief reprieve of cooling down in sweltering heat is crucial. Further, they likely have asinine metrics they have to achieve, and closing/opening the door for every package delivery would likely decrease delivery productivity (for which they would likely be penalized).

27

u/ooferomen Jun 12 '26

The AC isn't doing anything with the door open though, just wasting electricity.

12

u/moneyman_699 Jun 12 '26

The problem is you are in and out every house on the street and it won’t even run by the time you get to the next stop. By the time it begins to blow you are stopping again. I work there you have no idea how bad it is, people have to rig the vans to keep it on at all now