Van maintenance and driver safety

DISCUSSION

Yesterday I arrived to my dsp morning meeting area as always, the driver lead did the normal speech about checking our vans properly and reinforcing how the whole dsp is in our hands and if we don’t make sure our vans are safe to drive we would all be out of a job. I have been working for Amazon for 3-4 years as a dsp delivery driver. So I get my bag and equipment and go revise my van just to find out that the AC isn’t functional (this isn’t the first time) it’s not too hot of a day max being 75 California weather but as we all know those vans are like an iron bull. My route that day was mostly houses 380 packages and 175 stops. I can burn through this route easily normally. I notify my dispatch but the lead says, “we don’t have any other vans”. After 5 hours into my route I’m feeling tired and my muscles are cramping, I’m burning through the now warm waters I got from the station, I got a cold drink on my break and some ice but every time I sit in my van looking for a package I start getting hot flashes. I notify dispatch multiple times that I am not feeling okay and the response I get from the lead is a condescending “heat stroke in 70 degree weather??” At this point I’m angry because I take a 15 min rest break and I either fell asleep due to exhaustion or passed out and woke up feeling extremely heavy with a headache and stomach cramps. This gets escalated to management and I get sent back and another driver takes over my route. Do I report this, will the dps get shut down if I do? I don’t want to lose my job but I was genuinely worried for my wellbeing. Management was more understanding but the lead really didn’t care. What should I do?

Posted Apr 5, 2026, 10:27 AM UTC

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