School is Out for Summer Vacation

A defensive driver is one who commits no driving errors and makes allowances for the lack of skill or improper practices of others. A defensive driver compensates for unusual weather, road, and traffic conditions and is not tricked by others’ failure to do so. Alert to accident-inducing situations, he or she recognizes in advance the need for preventive action and knows when it is necessary to slow down, stop, or yield right-of-way to avoid an accident.

Schools are out for the summer and once again millions youngsters will be home during the time we deliver mail. For Postal Service drivers, this means more possibilities of unwary young pedestrians wandering into roadways or darting from between cars or hidden places. This is a true test of anyone’s defensive driving skills!

In spite of all the training children receive at school, and in spite of parental instruction, some children do play in the street. Most dangerous, perhaps, are those who play merely near the street, leaping out suddenly after a ball or chasing a dog.

We are all familiar with the necessity of caution near playgrounds, but we should take care also while driving in residential areas or anywhere else. Remember the following: 

• Whenever you see a ball rolling in the street, you are likely to see a child following it. Slow down and prepare to stop quickly.
• When the ice cream vendor starts into the neighborhood, watch for children coming from all directions.
• Pay attention to the lone child walking along the street. You are much more unlikely to overlook a single youngster than several together.
• Children and others on roller skates, skateboards, or roller blades can roll into the street. They require your extreme alertness.
• Bicyclists, especially young or novice riders, should be watched carefully and provided plenty of room.
• Never back up to redeliver a missed box when mail is out of sequence. Get out of the vehicle, secure it properly, and walk back if you can do so safely.
• Never give mail to children from the vehicle. If children approach the vehicle, get out of the vehicle and ask them to move away. Double-check around the entire vehicle before proceeding.
   
  Be extra cautious now that school is closed. Let’s protect our most precious commodity — our children. Drive defensively at all times and remember that you represent the Postal Service when you get behind the wheel.
   
  Be alert so that children don’t get hurt.
   
  Source: District Safety Office