UNION CITY, CA —Hard to imagine in an age of distraction that anyone could drive a million miles without an accident. If that is not mind-boggling, try 13 million miles. That’s exactly what 13 Union City mail carriers did, and for their remarkable achievement they will be honored at 8:00 a.m. Thursday, January 16, 2020 at Union City Post Office, 33170 Alvarado-Niles Road, Union City, CA 94587.

Virgil Basuel, Robert Guinan, Ruben Diaz, Marlow Germono, Olimpia Milian, Sulema Costilla, Reynaldo Rocillo, Leslie Young, Calvin Maxey, Aktar Kerawala, Eddie Hernandez, Yolanda Duenas and Arnulfo Espinoza will all be inducted into the National Safety Council “Million Mile Club.”

Safe driving is a matter of attentive and defensive driving, as Guinan states “You should always pay attention to your surroundings and anticipate the erratic maneuvers of others.”

As Espinosa puts it, safe driving is not only about defensive driving it is a matter of being safe at all times: “Some have eyes and cannot see; Some have ears and cannot hear; So be wise and wear your safety gear.” Lastly, “Be safe, don’t be in a rush,” states Basuel.

This is the mindset you’d expect from Postal Service mail carriers who have each driven the equivalent of circling the earth 40 times, all without a moving violation or accident, while maneuvering hazardous road conditions, gridlock, rural terrain, and avoiding careless drivers along the way.

“Our postal drivers keep safety directly in front of them,” said Bay-Valley District Manager Darrel Stoke. “The truly remarkable achievement by our 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.”

Nationally, postal drivers log more than 1.5 billion miles annually while delivering to more than 159 million homes and businesses in every city, suburb and town in America as they make the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

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.

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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