Driving safely is no accident.
Just ask the seven USPS employees who recently received the Joseph M. Kaplan Safe Driver Award from the National Safety Council, a nonprofit organization that promotes accident-free workplaces.
The award honors professional drivers and others who have safe driving records.
The council chooses one employee from each Postal Service area. This year’s honorees:
- Bill Augustine, a Reading, PA, driver safety instructor (Eastern)
- Johnnie Bell, an Oklahoma City letter carrier (Southern)
- Bill Bray, a Winston-Salem, NC, letter carrier (Capital Metro)
- Russell Burlingame, a Jamesville, NY, rural carrier (Northeast)
- Jimmy Ellis, a Seattle tractor-trailer operator (Western)
- William Narlock, a Milwaukee letter carrier (Great Lakes)
- Charles Pettus, an Oakland, CA, tractor-trailer operator (Pacific)
Ellis, who was recognized for 31 years of accident-free driving, said it’s important to “always keep a safe driving distance. Read the road ahead and be prepared for the unexpected.” (Advice from the other honorees appears in the photo captions below.)
Any USPS facility may nominate drivers for the award. Judging is based on candidates’ career driving record, including total number of years and miles driven and total number of incidents.
More information is available on the council’s site.
