With the increasing popularity of online shopping, delivery services have to work extra hard to get your packages to you on time. With more parcels to deliver, they have had to come up with creative ways to be more efficient, use less gas, and reach their customers quickly.
In 2004, UPS provided a unique solution to their drivers. They eliminated virtually every left-hand turn from all routes. According to Tasha Hovland, an executive at UPS, she estimates that 90% of turns at UPS are now right. "I mean we really, really we hate left turns at UPS." she said.
There's a lot of benefits to the practice, and most aren't what you would expect.
Here are some of the ways UPS says this strategy helps them save:
- It uses less gas. Delivery trucks save 10 million gallons of gas every year by avoiding those pesky left turns.
- It saves the environment. Less gas, less carbon emissions. 22,000 fewer tons to be specific.
- More packages are delivered. UPS is able to deliver 350,000 more packages thanks to this strategy.
- Fewer accidents occur. Since left-hand turns are more dangerous because you have to cross traffic to get where you're going, naturally right-hand turns are the better choice. Federal studies have shown that left-hand turns cause 10 times more accidents than right-hand turns.
- They employ fewer trucks. UPS has now decommissioned 1,100 trucks, which has saved the company 28.2 million miles, despite the fact that each active truck travels further by only making right-hand turns.
The TV series Mythbusters tested out this theory and were able to confirm that the strategy does save gas.
This strategy will definitely make you think about the way you're planning your routes.