Safety Hazards While Delivering Mail
With winter approaching, once again letter carriers may start seeing hazardous conditions, with the cold, snow, ice, rain and wind. Letter carriers must be on guard to protect themselves and avoid injuries when these hazardous conditions arrive this winter.
Letter carriers are responsible for making safety judgments when this bad weather may arrive. Letter carriers want to make every effort to deliver the mail to their patrons but you must put your safety first. When attempting to deliver mail at a particular residence and you confront one of these hazards, STOP and evaluate the situation. Don’t take unnecessary chances with your safety at stake. Make a determination. If in your opinion a safety hazard exists, Don’t Deliver! The responsibility is being placed on you to make a safe judgment. Once you make this judgment it should be respected and backed by your managers.
When you determine that because of the unsafe conditions, and it is not wise to attempt delivery due to the unsafe condition, including darkness, certain regulations must be followed. Mail should be returned to the office with an explanation as to why the delivery was not made (ice on steps, property not shoveled etc..). This is also true throughout the year when a particular delivery is not made due to a hazard, such as a loose dog, or broken steps. When you return to the office, fill out a Form 1571 (Report of Undeliverable Mail) with the reason stating why you couldn’t deliver due to the hazard, and the amount of mail you brought back.
Letter carrier safety is the overriding factor when determining if a delivery should be made. When you believe a hazard exists while walking or driving your route, you must take extra care. Fingering mail should not be done if you believe it could prevent a safety risk. A letter carrier who is under pressure to maintain schedule during extreme weather conditions, may risk an injury from a slip, trip, or fall. Don’t disregard safety in order to maintain schedule. Just remember, if you fall and injure yourself while making a delivery that is unsafe, the Thanks you will get from the Postal Service, is a letter of discipline for working in an unsafe condition. Management might also try to deny your compensation claim. So remember SAFETY first!
If in your judgment, conditions warrant the need for extending your street time, notify your supervisor. If the conditions are present before you leave the office, fill out a Form 3996 (Carrier Auxiliary Control), and in the comment section write hazardous conditions, (i.e. ice, snow etc..). This form is to be filled out in duplicate and management must give you an answer. If on the road and the hazardous conditions develop, call the office, state your problem and get instructions from your supervisor. You should inform the supervisor of the conditions and the approximate amount of extra time you may need to complete the route, if possible, to do it safely. If the conditions are severe you must make that safety judgment to discontinue delivery.
Article 14 Section 2 of the National Agreement, Safety and Health, it states in part: “if an employee believes he/she is being required to work under unsafe conditions, such employee may: (a) notify such employee’s supervisor who will immediately investigate the condition and take corrective action necessary.” Where inclement weather has established the unsafe condition (snowstorm, ice or other severe weather conditions), the supervisor has a choice to authorize auxiliary assistance, overtime, or in extreme conditions suspend delivery, if you have not yet determined that necessity to insure your safety. Remember, your safety is the ultimate concern!
I want to wish you a happy, healthy and wonderful holiday season!
Be safe and keep smiling.
