Overall, the United States Postal Service employs approximately 340,000 letter carriers and truck drivers.
Since 2005, only 6,000 of them have achieved the National Safety Council's Million Mile status, which is bestowed upon postal employees whose job duties include driving and who have either been behind the wheel for 1,000,000 documented miles or who have 30 years of service without being involved in an at-fault accident.
Which translates into an award that has been given to fewer than 1 percent of our regular drivers.
That's why it was such a special occasion yesterday when the Irondale Post Office recognized not one but two of its employees for achieving this safety milestone.
Letter Carriers Keith Lee and Barbara Clark both received the NSC's Million Mile Award.
"One Million Miler is rare, but today, we're giving out two Million Mile awards, which is unheard of," said Birmingham Postmaster Mike Allison.
Allison also commended the entire Irondale facility for being accident free since 2009.
In a way, both Barbara and Keith attribute their spotless records to their defensive driving skills.
Barbara has been with the USPS for 30 years and, when asked about how she has stayed safe for all of those miles, is too modest in her reply. "I'm always just very hopeful that other people don't hit me," she said. "I've had plenty of close calls.
Keith, a 34-year employee, thinks that perhaps his success on the road is due to the fact that years ago when he was in high school, his vehicle of choice was a motorcycle. "That's when I learned that you have to really watch out for other people," he said.
Please join us in congratulating Barbara Clark and Keith Lee. To put their achievements into perspective, remember that their combined accident-free mileage is equivalent to the two of them having gone 606 times across the USA or 80 times around the world.
