New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a $1.3 million settlement with United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), resolving allegations that they knowingly permitted package delivery trucks in serious disrepair to be driven and operated by UPS employees throughout New York State.
The Attorney General's investigation found that UPS was inspecting and passing their own trucks despite their poor condition. Under the agreement, UPS paid $1.3 million in penalties, fines and costs, and consented to have an independent inspector conduct New York State vehicle inspections of UPS trucks for the next five years.
"UPS knowingly endangered not only the lives of their own employees but the lives of the driving public," said Schneiderman. "By keeping these rotting and decaying trucks on the roadways, UPS was an accident waiting to happen, and this office has zero tolerance for anyone who knowingly poses a serious and significant risk to New Yorkers.”
Today’s settlement resulted from an investigation that began upstate, but was quickly discovered to be a statewide problem. A UPS mechanic advised the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) that despite having personally removed four package delivery trucks from service at the Watertown, New York facility in March 2006 because they all had cracked frames, UPS allowed those trucks to remain in service without being repaired.
Internal procedure
UPS had an internal procedure for the annual assessment and review for its truck fleet, referred to as the Annual Vehicle Retirement Process, as well as the ability to certify the safety of its fleet, but failed to carry through with those safety standards. Through this process, UPS determined which, if any, of its trucks needed to be removed from service and disposed of due to a number of factors, including the age of the truck, condition and odometer reading.
In addition, because of the size of its truck fleet, UPS received a license from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles to conduct New York State vehicle inspections on its own trucks.
The OAG investigation revealed that in 2004, at least 23 delivery trucks were identified by UPS supervisors during the vehicle assessment process as having "cracked" or "rotted" frames. None of these trucks, however, were taken out of service. Instead, all 23 trucks were kept in regular, continuous service for months, and in some instances, for up to two years. These trucks also logged a significant number of miles in the process, without the required frame repairs.
During the time these trucks were kept in service, UPS mechanics repeatedly conducted State and Federal inspections certifying the safe condition of the vehicles, despite the fact that they had cracked or rotted frames, and should have failed inspection.
The OAG investigation further revealed that in 2005, 106 delivery trucks were identified by UPS supervisors during the vehicle assessment process as having "frame cracks" or "needing complete frame assembly."
