Amazon has implemented the use of A.I.-powered cameras to keep track of drivers and to make sure they are driving safely, but employees say they are getting penalized for things like using side mirrors and getting cut off.
“It’s upsetting, when I didn’t do anything,” a Los Angeles delivery driver told Motherboard. “Every time I need to make a right-hand turn, it inevitably happens. A car cuts me off to move into my lane, and the camera, in this really dystopian dark, robotic voice, shouts at me.”
The cameras, made by Netradyne, are intended to pick up on possible unsafe driving events and report them to Amazon. Workers are penalized for unsafe driving by losing points on their performance scores which makes it harder for them to get bonuses, extra pay or prizes.
Some drivers have started covering up their van’s cameras with stickers to avoid getting unnecessary infractions for things like adjusting the radio or drinking water, even when at a red light, Motherboard reports.
“If we brought up problems with the cameras, managers would brush it under the table, they’re only worried about getting the packages out,” a Kentucky delivery driver told Motherboard. “So we cover them up. They don’t tell us to, but it’s kind of like ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’”
The company says that since installing the cameras in more than half of its US fleet, they have seen accidents decrease by 48%, stop sign and signal violations decrease by 77%, following distance decrease by 50%, driving without a seatbelt decrease by 60% and distracted driving decrease by 75%.
“One of the safety improvements we’ve made this year is rolling out industry-leading telematics and camera-based safety technology across our delivery fleet,” Amazon said in a statement to Insider. “This technology provides drivers real-time alerts to help them stay safe when they are on the road.”
Systems like this have led to Amazon receiving a reputation as a difficult place to work.
“I mean you see all the memes of Jeff Bezos sitting at the top while all of his workers slave away. Obviously, that’s a little exaggerated, but they could definitely be treated better,” said sophomore music education major, Bradley Wilson.
This reputation also comes from the fact that Amazon warehouses tend to have a high employee turnover rate. To combat this, Amazon is lobbying for the U.S. government to legalize marijuana.
The company ended pre-employment drug testing earlier this year and has announced its support of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021 and the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act.
Both bills aim to remove cannabis from the federal list of “Schedule 1” drugs and bring national legalization.
“We’ve found that eliminating pre-employment testing for cannabis allows us to expand our applicant pool,” Amazon Senior VP of Human Resources Beth Galetti said in an article published on Aboutamazon.com on Sept. 21.
Many are optimistic that this will lead to the federal legalization of marijuana, but some are skeptical that the company will have that much of an impact.
Winthrop Adjunct Faculty in Political Science John Holder said, “I’m not sure that any single business entity, even one as big as Amazon, would have that much influence on federal policy on an issue that isn’t directly related to the economy.”
