WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service has announced a policy shift regarding its contract truck drivers. The agency did so in a release issued on Monday that it will begin working with its contracted trucking providers to phase out any use of non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) operators who have not been thoroughly vetted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The release stated that the announcement was “part of longstanding policies to safeguard the American public from trucking-related safety incidents, and in line with recent Department of Transportation (DOT) policies to make American roadways safer,” the release stated. “These actions are consistent with the Administration’s goals as expressed in the DOT’s recent interim final rule titled ‘Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL).'”
“The safety of our employees, our customers, and the American public is of the utmost concern to the Postal Service,” said Amber McReynolds, chairwoman of the Postal Service Board of Governors. “In order to maintain the highest possible safety standards, we have decided to phase out any use of non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s License operators who have not been thoroughly vetted by the Postal Inspection Service.”
USPS says by tightening the use of non-domiciled CDL drivers by third-party (contracted) providers, USPS seeks to improve transportation safety and accountability and “add yet another layer of protection and safety.”
“USPS just completed an extremely safe and efficient peak season delivering the nation’s holiday mail and packages,” said Postmaster General and CEO David Steiner. “We believe this additional requirement will strengthen the safety, efficiency and reliability of our services into the future.”
The Postal Service moves 55,000 loads by truck every day – nearly 2 billion miles per year – and making improvements in our operations goes hand-in-hand with improvements in safety so that we can safely deliver to more than 170 million addresses six and often seven days a week.
“USPS strives to promote a culture of safety to minimize accidents among employee and contract drivers,” the release stated. “This includes monitoring industry and government data relating to our contractors.”
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
so what are you going to do with the current drivers that have been with the post office for years, driving as IC’s ???
I think that’s a good policy, there needs to be a crackdown on this issue Nationwide 👍
didn’t see a reference to bonehead truckers and usps whistle-blower drawing attention to the announcement they would keep using the non-domiciled cdl drivers. then after that became public, they changed their tune
They’ve been involved in several fatalities over the years with the USPS trying the old” hey they’re IC’S and it ain’t our problem “ deal. As Amazon and Fed Ex found out, that doesn’t hold water. Some of these drivers had no license at all.; typical USPS.