Few things feel better than watching that big, brown truck pull up after waiting for a highly anticipated package- that is, until the UPS driver launches the package at you or tries to back into your driveway.
While this isn’t how most UPS drivers deal with packages, some of them have either an extreme aversion to driveways or use them way too often- so what is UPS’ driveway policy? If you’d like to find out, keep reading!
UPS Driveway Policy In 2024
The official UPS driveway policy is that no driver, under any circumstance, should pull into the driveway of a residence in 2024. They are expected to park on the curb and walk up to the house to deliver the package- however, this can be unrealistic because of the efficiency standards drivers are held to and the lengths of some driveways.
If you’re interested in understanding why your UPS delivery person seems to have an aversion to the driveway, or want to keep your delivery person off your driveway, then read on!
Why Aren’t UPS Drivers Allowed to Use the Driveway?
The official UPS policy on driveways is that no driver, under any circumstance, should be pulling into a residential driveway when delivering a package.
This policy is in place for many reasons, namely that pulling into driveways takes longer and thereby lowers the driver’s efficiency when delivering packages.
This also creates the potential for costly damages or accidents.
While this standard sounds reasonable in theory, many UPS drivers (and even some customers) have pointed out that in practice, this policy can create some serious issues.
The first issue with the driveway policy is that UPS holds its drivers to an extremely high standard of efficiency.
To help enforce the efficiency standard for UPS drivers, each truck is equipped with a timer and GPS that track every moment of the driver’s day, including bathroom breaks and delivery times.
If a driver spends more than approximately 15 seconds at any given location, the information is transferred back to the UPS center and noted by the manager.
Beyond the fact that having a rolling computer for a truck is annoying, this means that UPS drivers have to find ways to cut corners and spend less and less time at any given address.
Nevertheless, many UPS drivers and customers point out that there are common instances in which avoiding a driveway actually costs UPS more time and money rather than less.
Residential driveways can typically be described as a smoothly paved surface that is 250 feet or less long.
Some residential driveways, however, fall far outside of that definition.
Many residents in rural areas have driveways that are loose gravel and can be up to a quarter-mile long.
Therefore, a policy that tells drivers they have to walk up that driveway to deliver the package would take much longer than driving up to the house.
This means that many UPS drivers are forced to choose between their efficiency rating, which can cost them their job, and the current standard, which can also cost them their job.
So, how do UPS drivers deal with this?
It largely depends on the driver and how familiar they are with their route.
For example, some drivers will ignore the standard and drive up to the house in an effort to protect their efficiency and their customers’ package and experience.
Other drivers, however, will do their best to comply with standards while also trying to protect their efficiency.
This means that packages can be left at the ends of long driveways rather than at the doorstep of a residence, or packages will be tossed rather than placed on the porch.
Either way, these situations tend to be lose-lose, with either customer satisfaction or a driver’s job security being sacrificed in the name of efficiency.
Another reason UPS has given for the current driveway policy is that pulling into a driveway with a big UPS package truck has the potential to cause a lot of damage.
UPS knows its drivers are in a hurry, and having a driver on a timer pull into and back out of driveways means there’s a higher potential of damage being done to a vehicle or householder.
If damage or an accident does occur, not only does that cost UPS money to cover the damages, but it also costs the company precious time and drives efficiency down further.
This rule tends to be a more reasonable explanation in terms of asking drivers to avoid using residential driveways.
However, there are some UPS drivers who also argue that more damage could be inflicted by not using driveways in some cases.
This is especially true for drivers dealing with uneven, unpaved, or long driveways while trying to make a delivery of multiple packages or exceptionally large/oversized packages.
Asking a driver to park on the road may protect a customer’s garage or a parked car from the potential of being dinged by the truck.
However, this puts their package, not to mention the driver themselves, at risk.
UPS allows customers to ship items that are hundreds of pounds- now imagine trying to haul a 200 lb package up a long, gravel driveway.
According to some drivers, the potential for the package being damaged, or the driver being injured, is much higher than the chance that a seasoned driver may bump into a car or garage.
These same drivers also point out that damaged packages or injured drivers can cost UPS just as much, if not more, in terms of money, efficiency, and resources than a ding on a car.
All in all, everybody who knows about the UPS driveway policy seems to have a different opinion.
This includes customers who have been none too pleased to have packages left at the end of their driveway or handled improperly.
How to Keep UPS Delivery Trucks off of Your Driveway
There’s a substantial amount of customers who are displeased with the UPS driveway policy and the resulting issues with packages.
However, there are just as many customers who are in favor of the policy and want to discourage drivers from using their driveways.
This is likely because of the damage a 5-ton package truck can inflict on the average paved residential driveway.
However, it can also be for a variety of other reasons, such as damage being done to the lawn or it just being a general nuisance.
Whatever your reasons for wanting to dissuade delivery drivers from using your driveway, the best first step is to consider why your driveway may be pulled into.
If it’s simply because they don’t want to walk 250 feet to the doorway, then you could post a sign stating “no delivery trucks” in a hard-to-miss place.
You could also consider putting up a gate or traffic cones across your driveway entrance.
You can also post a sign and leave a comment in the driver’s note section on a UPS My Choice account to leave the package in an alternative location.
If trucks seem to be using your driveway as a convenient spot to turn around, your best bet will likely be a gate, traffic cones, or parking your car at the very end of the driveway.
Whatever the case, if your driveway being used by UPS delivery trucks causes an issue, you can always reach out to UPS customer service by visiting this page on the UPS website.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on UPS attendance policy, UPS background check policy, and UPS shoe policy.
Conclusion
The current UPS driveway policy is that no driver, under any circumstance, should use residential driveways- instead, they should park on the side of the road and walk up the driveway to place the package on the doorstep of the residence.
The main reason for this policy is to help uphold UPS efficiency standards, as well as to help minimize the potential for damage or accidents caused by trucks backing up or pulling into driveways.
I am going to suggest to all I know that gets packages delivered by UPS to hold off on any ordering for the next ten days. That should be enough lag time to let the powers that be in UPS that we are the ones that keep them in business and if they don’t want our business then we deal with companies by themselves.