In the United States, Amazon "express deliveries" cause fatal accidents

Two surveys published by BuzzFeed News and ProPublica show that Amazon's "express" delivery service in the United States, presented as practical and effective, relies on a highly dangerous subcontracting system for the deliverymen who work there and passers-by who cross their paths. roads, to the point of having already caused fatal accidents.

Want to get a TV, a piece of furniture or a new pair of jeans before tonight? In the United States, nothing is easier with Amazon: "1. Search for the item you want, 2. Select the option" FREE FREE Same-Day "", announces simply the Internet site of the American giant, promising a delivery "Before 9 pm" available in " some regions ". In France, the e-commerce company also offers its customers living in a few major cities (Paris and its suburbs, Lille, Lyon, Marseille and Aix-en-Provence) a delivery "The same evening between 19h and 22h, Monday to Sunday including holidays" for a few years.
Miracle? Not really: in the United States, such a service is only possible thanks to a huge delivery network throughout the country, which Amazon uses as subcontractors to improve efficiency and reduce its own expenses. And, as two recent surveys by the US media BuzzFeed News and ProPublica reveal, such a system has a frightening human cost: labor law violations, trauma, and road accidents resulting in serious injury or even death.

At least 10 accident-related deaths

ProPublica's investigation, also published on the website of New York Times, thus identifies more than 60 road accidents of this type which resulted, between June 2015 and today, "Serious injury", including 10 until death. "This count is probably only a part of all the accidents that have happened: many people do not go to court and those who do it do not always know that Amazon is involved", writes Patricia Callahan, author of the survey.
The same is true of BuzzFeed, which counts about a hundred lawsuits filed following accidents, during which Amazon had to defend itself as an accused: "Our one-year investigation – made from data, internal documents, government records, court records and interviews with dozens of employees and former employees of Amazon, subcontractors and deliverymen – reveals that Amazon's new delivery method exposed various communities to chaos, abusive working conditions and, in many cases, their endangerment. "

Often poorly trained and sometimes with vans in advanced states of disrepair, the deliverymen employed by Amazon had accidents by striking "Cars, bikes, houses, people and pets"The site continues, noting that some people sometimes pile up so many parcels inside their vehicles that they do not have enough space to see the road and control their trajectory.
The media reports, for example, the tragic case of Telesfora Escamilla, an 84-year-old woman who was overthrown in December 2016 in the Chicago area by a 29-year-old delivery boy, Valdimar Gray. Employed by Inpax Shipping Solutions, itself selected by Amazon to be part of its vast distribution network, the latter was under constant pressure, forced to deliver hundreds of parcels a day and even skipping meals or breaks to fulfill one's goals. "A few days before the accident, the leaders of Inpax had sent a note to Gray's superiors, pointing out poor delivery rates in the region and instituting guidelines to" leave no package behind "during this crucial period. Christmas holidays », reveals BuzzFeed.

Amazon refutes any responsibility

However, in this case as in many others, the commercial giant refutes any legal responsibility: "The damage has been caused, in whole or in part, by third parties who are neither under the direction nor under the control of Amazon.com", said the company's lawyers at the time of the lawsuit brought by the family of Telesfora Escamilla for "Wrongful death". Similarly, in California, Amazon itself sued contractors, to confirm with the courts that "Any damage resulting from accidents" should be billed to its service providers in accordance with agreements between the two parties. A surprising posture considering how the foundation of Jeff Bezos manages very closely, via a smartphone application, the order of deliveries and the route taken by the deliverymen it uses indirectly …
Another advantage of this clever outsourcing system, Amazon is not subject to regular controls by the Ministry of Transport, and no public list of companies at the heart of its distribution network is available. Conversely, UPS and FedEx, traditional giants of the world of delivery in the United States "Invest heavily in security", exposes BuzzFeed: "UPS spends $ 175 million a year on driver safety training alone, and has even put rules in place that prohibit them from taking unnecessary turns to reduce traffic and save fuel. " Which is obviously not the priority of Amazon.

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Frontpage Image: Amazon eCom Jeff Bezos, Flickr (CC BY 2.0)