A traffic incident involving a Marysville Post Office vehicle earlier this month can serve as an unfortunate reminder to Union County drivers to be alert on the roadways this holiday season.
At the beginning of November, a postal truck was rear-ended while delivering mail on Weaver Road.
The incident happened on the afternoon of Nov. 2 and resulted in two people being injured and transported to Memorial Hospital.
Though the post office wouldn’t comment on the driver’s condition or details of the incident, a spokesperson for the USPS said the crash “did not result in a tragedy.”
USPS spokesperson Naddia Dhalai said the office hopes drivers are patient with postal workers now and into the holiday season.
“Our letter carriers go through an extensive driver training program, and many have received the National Safety Council’s Million Mile Award for their commitment to safety on the road. As we anticipate hiring an additional 10,000 seasonal employees ahead of the holiday rush, more carriers will be out delivering mail,” Dhalai said. “With that being said, we ask customers to be patient as they are delivering holiday packages. Carriers will be working longer hours, so we kindly ask customers to keep their porch light on during the early morning hours and after the sun sets, and keep paths clear to their mailboxes. We greatly appreciate their assistance in keeping our letter carriers safe.”
The incident on Weaver Road resulted in the driver of the Honda Civic that rear-ended the truck being cited for failure to maintain assured clear distance ahead.
Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton said although traffic accidents of this type are common, the involvement of a postal vehicle should give people pause, being a higher profile vehicle.
The incident, he said, is a reminder to Union County drivers that the holiday season means paying extra attention when out on the roadways.
“We’ve had assured clear distance ahead crashes before, but I don’t recall somebody in a mail truck, but there have been incidents with other types of vehicles,” he said. “Either way, we’ve had that happen from time to time and it should make us more aware. Going into the holidays we have all kinds of vehicles on the roadways that make frequent stops like those mail trucks or school busses or snow plows.”
According to the sheriff’s office, Union County had a total of 593 crashes last year and 179 of those crashes – the largest number – happened in the fourth quarter of the year.
In November alone, there were 69 crashes, also the highest number for the year.
Patton said the postal truck incident highlights the importance of not being distracted, especially as additional vehicles come onto the roadways.
“When a slow vehicle is ahead of you while driving, you come up on it very quickly so you always have to be careful,” he said. “If you’re distracted, you’re not focused on driving. When you get behind the wheel, you still have to be alert. You’re still going to have obstacles on the roadway.”
Patton said distracted driving is an issue his office is always paying attention to throughout the year.
“Being a defensive driver has a big role to play on Ohio roads,” he said. “Focusing, putting the phone down, the newspaper down, putting the makeup down is so important. This time of year, more people are traveling the roads to get to their destination for Thanksgiving and holiday events. You have to give yourself more time.”
He said drivers can feel more rushed this time of year either for holiday shopping or even just getting home from work. That can lead to more stress, he said, which can result in making poor decisions.
“Even with the time change and people out as it’s just getting dark, there are all kinds of factors to be aware of this time of year,” he said. “That can be the sun just going down and being right in your eyes or it can be other drivers on the roadways. We just have to be more careful, I can’t stress that enough, as we go see families or go to events.”
Not only is that important for residents driving locally, it’s important for those driving through or leaving the area or leaving the state, Patton said.
The holiday season is already one of the busiest travel times of the year and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and American Automobile Association (AAA) is predicting 2023 could break records.
According to AAA, this year’s Thanksgiving forecast could be an increase of 2.3% over last year, marking it as the third-highest Thanksgiving forecast since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000.
“Holiday traffic always does increase and the sheriff’s office works to handle that. We have to be more cautious about that increase,” Patton said. “We should all do as much as we possibly can this year to make sure we’re all being safe.”