ATLANTA – Atlanta based UPS is busy this holiday season with drivers who undergo rigorous training before hitting the road.
11Alive’s Commuter Dude got a chance to experience some of that training in order to share driving tips with others who will be traveling over the holidays.
Longtime UPS driver Joe Musey helps train others who are busy delivering your gifts.
“I don't want to just stare out of the front,” Musey says. “I'm moving my eyes to different things.”Musey teaches drivers to leave at least six to eight seconds worth of space between their vehicle and the one in front of them.
“In case something happens and I've got to use my brakes,” he says. “I want to check a mirror or gauge every five to eight seconds.”He teaches UPS drivers to anticipate what the drivers around him are going to do.
“Like that tractor trailer right there,” says Musey as he and Commuter Dude Jerry Carnes travel around Gwinnett County. “I figured he was going to come out so I start backing off. You could tell he was rolling forward a little bit. He was anxious to get out there. I want to avoid. Drive to avoid.”
After spending some time with Musey behind the wheel of a UPS truck, Commuter Dude took to the road under Musey’s watchful eye.
One lesson UPS drivers learn is to look left, then right, then back to the left again when driving through any intersectionCommuter Dude did a good job of checking his mirrors, but made one error.
“You checked one, then you went directly to another,” says Musey. “Check a mirror, then look forward. Don't go mirror to mirror.
UPS drivers log a total of 3-billion miles a year, and undergo twenty-two days of training before they’re allowed on the road.
