Amazon Drivers Are Being Attacked
Following the death of an Amazon driver after a dog attack, others are coming forward to say they've had harrowing experiences on the job.
This article is more than 2 years old
Following a vicious dog attack that led to the death of an Amazon employee, drivers have been sharing their experiences with customers’ scary pets. David Taylor was dropping off a package in late September when two dogs appeared and immediately approached him while growling. With limited time to get to safety, he turned and ran. But one of the dogs still managed to bite him before he reached his delivery van.
This wasn’t the first incident the New York-based Amazon driver survived. Another dog bit him earlier that month, but this one left a lasting impression. Taylor sought emergency medical care, getting stitches as well as rabies, tetanus, and antibiotic shots. He’s fought off infection and is still waiting to find out if he’ll need surgery on his wound, CNET reports. Sadly, Taylor knows the attack could have been much worse.
Like many Amazon drivers, the delivery employee was shaken after hearing about a co-worker in Excelsior Springs, Missouri who was killed in a suspected dog attack. The man was found dead hours after delivering a package to a house where two large German Shepherds had access to the yard. Authorities discovered the driver, the dogs, and a mastiff behind the gate of a fence located near the delivery truck. The owners of the home were not present at the time, according to CNN Business.
“This incident has scared me because that could’ve been me,” Taylor told CNET. And he isn’t the only one. After the fatal attack, a Reddit forum for Amazon drivers lit up with people discussing their encounters with scary pets. They also debated how to get the online shopping company to take the problem seriously. Some even considered a mass action where drivers would call in sick the next Monday, or refuse to deliver packages to back porches.
Since dogs can be aggressive toward any delivery person, the company says it provides Amazon drivers with safety information about every location. It also offers live support to delivery employees who find themselves in an unsafe situation or have an incident to report. Drivers can also send push notifications to customers before making a delivery to remind them to secure their pets. Additionally, the retailer says it will direct future deliveries to alternative locations like lockers.
But according to Taylor, some of these services are inconsistent when it comes to reporting dangerous dogs to Amazon drivers. The worried Amazon driver said he struggled to get locations with vicious dogs marked with warnings for his co-workers. That includes the first house where a dog bit him. When his third-party employer reported the issue to Amazon, there was still no warning when he had another delivery scheduled at the same property weeks later.
Taylor said the second dog attack could have been much worse if he hadn’t broken Amazon driver protocol about parking vans on driveways. “The vehicle was much closer than it would have been on the curb,” he explained. “It’s scary to think what could have happened if it was parked on the street.” As such, safety advocate groups say the company doesn’t give drivers enough support to avoid dangerous situations.
