BERKELEY, CA —In a world of easy driver distractions, 19 mail carriers maintained their focus and concern on the safety of themselves and others on the road.

On Thursday, August 1, 2019, at the Berkeley Post Office, 1150 Eighth St., Berkeley, CA 94710, the letter carriers will be inducted into the National Safety Council “Million Mile Club.” The recognition begins at 8:00 a.m.

Honorees include: Patti Anderson, Frank Avalos, Vanessa Brown, Elizabeth Corriea, Tina Cruz, Charles Fraijo, Michael Freeman, David Low, Linda Martinez, Ricardo Murillo, Ricardo Nunez, Angel Pagan Jr., Armando Prado, Heriberto Quintero, Richard Snider, Regina Springer, Margarita Vargas, Dwayne Watford and Tony Wilkins.

The secret to staying accident-free includes many different safety tactics:

• “Be safe when you drive. What’s the rush? Driving fast never makes up time,” Prado stated.
• “Be aware of your surroundings! Safety isn’t only at eye level,” Martinez attests.
• Watford matter-of-factly states that safety is simply job number one as a carrier “It’s the first order of business,” he remarks.

Imagine driving the equivalent of 334 times across the country or 40 times around the earth without ever leaving the city limits and not so much as a fender bender. The achievement is even more remarkable when you factor in the hazardous road conditions, gridlock, rural terrain, and the constant alertness for careless drivers along the way.

“Our postal drivers are amongst the safest drivers in the Nation,” said Bay-Valley District Manager Robert Reynosa. “The truly remarkable achievement by our Berkeley Post Office mail carriers demonstrates how postal employees continue to deliver on the promise of delivering their best every day with care, courtesy and concern for the safety of others.”

Each driver will be presented with a plaque from the Safety Council and automatic membership in the prestigious National Safety Council “Million Mile Club.” The million-mile award is a lifetime enrollment, and it is given to drivers who have accumulated one-million miles or 30 years of driving without being involved in a single preventable motor vehicle accident, a truly remarkable achievement according to the National Safety Council.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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