By: Paul Smith
It’s the time of the year when most Americans start paying a bit more attention to the weather to hear if Mother Nature is about to wreak havoc. Whether there is a minor dusting or significant accumulations, people flock to retailers to purchase water, milk, scrapers, shovels and snow blowers before they are sold out.
One constant you can rely on nearly every day is getting your mail. As a former letter carrier, I know there’s nothing worse than not being able to deliver your mail to you. It only resulted in more mail in the satchel and in the vehicle the next day. Walking outside and keeping your balance on a winter’s day is challenging enough. Now envision adding 5, 10 or 20 or more pounds on your back and walking for hours. For driving routes, it’s also difficult driving to and from mailboxes surrounded by snow mounds. Although letter carriers are well versed in delivering in all types of weather and know how to exercise caution, here are a few tips to make their jobs easier.
– Clear a path or walkway to prevent possible slips and falls.
– Clear enough snow from curbside boxes for mail trucks to pull in, deliver the mail and pull out without having to back up.
– If your mailbox is attached to your house, please ensure your steps are as clear as possible.
The bottom line is when winter weather arrives, we all just want to be safe. Customers visit the USPS Service Alerts page online to stay up-to-date on the latest operational alerts and we encourage our families and friends to exercise caution when we learn they will be going out in bad weather. Here’s to keeping both you and our letter carriers safe, whether you’re going to the supermarket or to your mailbox.