USPS Now Telling Contractors To Report Accidents

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has emailed many of its suppliers, requiring them to report all accidents and changes to their safety ratings. 

This demand comes in the wake of a recent Wall Street Journal article, which relayed safety concerns about some USPS contracted suppliers in the surface transportation network.  

NSRMCA has reviewed several of these demand letters, which were emailed to multiple suppliers between March 12 and March 14 from at least two different sources within USPS’s transportation strategy division. 

While the wording differs slightly, the overarching message is the same: any accident must be reported to a designated USPS email within 24 hours. The instructions appear to differ between PNT suppliers and LDT suppliers.  

The PNT email specifically defined accident as anything that results in a “fatality, serious bodily injury and/or significant property damage.” It also gave six emails to be contacted in case of an accident, along with detailed instructions about what accident information to include. 

An email sent to an LDT contractor was much simpler: it gave a general email to contact in the event of an accident and included a separate mandate: “You are required to be accessible 24 hrs. — must have an operational number with a live contact and functional email with someone responding in a timely manner.” 

A third email added other stipulations for when USPS should be notified: if the carrier’s DOT rating falls below “satisfactory” or if its insurance coverage lapses.