GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Most people have had a hard time simply getting from point a to point b the past few months with an onslaught on winter weather conditions making the most basic travel plans difficult.
While throughout that time, mail carriers have been braving the conditions for full work shifts.
“Imagine doing that for seven hours on a street and you’ve got something on your back and you have to drive,” says USPS spokesperson, Sean Hargadon.
While the weather can make their job tough and even dangerous, they say a homeowner can make life much easier for them by doing a few simple things.
It starts with keeping mailboxes clear and easily accessible for the carrier.
Beyond that, providing a clear and mostly dry walking lane to the front steps will also speed up their delivery and prevent them from getting hurt.
Hargadon says it’s not unheard of for a carrier to get hurt while working in winter weather, which could force them to miss time.
“You don’t want them to be out, because if they are then you have someone new on the route that doesn’t know it,” he explains.
That’ll slow down the entire process for everyone.
He explains that often times people don’t realize how valuable their mail carrier is to them until that person is taken away.
“The biggest thing here is if you have your carrier on your route and you enjoy that carrier you want to keep them safe and keep them healthy,” says Hargadon. “This way you can help that happen by keeping everything safe around your box.”
Another thing to keep in mind is that mail carriers make hundreds of stops each day on their route and once fatigue settles in it can become a dangerous combination when mixed with icy driveways or slick steps.
“It’s a lot, we take it for granted that it gets done so well and so often,” he says. “But those little things do help and carriers do appreciate it, believe me.”
And beyond the motivation of keeping driveways and mailboxes clear in order to held carrier safety, there is another factor that should be driving homeowners to do their part.
“Delivery service may be delayed or curtailed whenever streets or walkways become hazardous for letter carriers,” explains Hargadon. “When the snow is plowed against the mailboxes or there’s a lot of ice on a step and they don’t want too or they can’t go up there.”
He adds that carriers make every effort possible to complete a delivery, but when that effort becomes potentially dangerous to their health due to untreated ice or snow they may hold onto the mail and have it held at the post office.
