May 23, 2024 3 min read

Winding its way through Congress is legislation that would require the U.S. Postal Service to track crashes of vehicles carrying mail.

The legislation, which carries the name Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act, and which passed the House on May 6, also would punish USPS contractors that fail to report accidents.

Additionally, the Postal Service would be required to publish a yearly report focusing on its highway safety record.

Are you surprised that the postal agency has not routinely been doing those things? So were many other people when they learned about a Wall Street Journal investigation that, in March 2023, revealed that in the prior three years, “outside” postal contractors were involved in at least 68 fatal crashes that claimed the lives of 79 people.

The Journal compiled that information from police crash and inspection records. The newspaper’s investigation also produced evidence — and the conclusion — that USPS officials often “looked the other way” when the outside trucking companies that the agency hired ran afoul of highway safety rules.

According to a Journal article from March 2, 2023, “particularly common among the postal contractors were violations of DOT (Department of Transportation) rules meant to guard against fatigue by how many hours truckers can drive.”

The article continued: “About 39% of trucking companies that hauled U.S. mail busted those limits and related rules at a rate DOT says raises red flags, compared with 13% of for-hire trucking firms that were inspected during “the (same) time period.”

By the way, if that isn’t enough for people of this nation to shake their heads, consider the following, also part of the March 2, 2023, Journal report:

“The Journal reviewed investigative records from the inspector general over the past decade that show USPS continued contracting with at least seven major contractors for years after investigators accused them of fraud, misappropriating funds, billing for dummy routes or manipulating contracts.”

USPS has indicated that it complies voluntarily with DOT requirements — although many people might consider that claim suspect, considering the scope of the troubling information that the Journal investigation uncovered.

Now Congress is taking action, apparently in response to the information that the Journal compiled. A May 8 Journal article reported the U.S. House, having passed the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act introduced by U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia, on May 6, sends the measure to the Senate.

The bill deserves speedy approval there and a quick trip to the White House, although a Postal Service spokesman told the Journal that the legislation is not needed to accomplish the goals of the bill.

Which triggers the question: Why had USPS been so lax about contractor safety before the newspaper’s investigation shed light on the agency’s troubling secret?

“This is about protecting innocent lives on the highways and injecting some accountability into the USPS,” Connolly said. “They’ve turned a blind eye to a huge public risk.”

If Connolly’s assertion about the agency having turned a blind eye is accurate, the logical conclusion ought to be:

“What a disgrace for an agency that spends $5 billion annually on trucking contracts.”

Innocent motorists traveling the nation’s highways deserve better.

-The Altoona Mirror