8 thoughts on “As Postal Service Fleet Ages, Reports of Fires Grow”

1. these vehicles are garbage! have been for years. i have an idea…bring back the jeeps!!!

2. None of them care or will do anything ……still waiting on the new rides!!! Probably a joke

3. not one word from NALC about corrupt po mismanagement bonus money……all the years that money could have been put into a new vehicle fund. NALC/PO Mismanagement just a Janus coin………….two heads on each side of one coin. U S Postal Circus and its Unions……the most corrupt Federal Government Agency barr none. greed and nepotism the grease that moves the gears.my advice……buy UPS, FDX, & AMZN stock……..hedge against failure!

4. These LLV’s are death traps. I drove one for most of my career and they are falling apart faster than you can say “replacement parts”. The wiring is exposed, heaters either don’t work or they stay on full blast year ’round, water gets in the floorboards, they catch fire, a lot, and are difficult to drive when the weather’s great, and damn near impossible when there’s rain, snow and ice.
   Yes, I’m out now approaching a year, but my friends still working deserve safe vehicles. These LLV’s also look like shit – dents, scrapes, decals worn off, paint faded into primer coats, and are an embarrassment to those of us who have to drive them.
   We know who’s responsible, and it’s a good thing my truck, while it broke down constantly, like they all do, didn’t catch fire and injure me, although it did decide to throw itself into reverse while I was driving 40 MPH down a busy commercial street.
   The NALC is laying down on the job. If I were on the Executive Board, as Director of Health and Safety or the Prez himself, I’d be filing complaints with OSHA, and demanding replacement vehicles or order carriers to rightfully cite Article 14 of the JCAM and refuse to use these pieces of shit. Anybody injured, or hopefully not killed should feel encouraged to sue the USPS for deliberate and ongoing negligence. Families of those who may die tragically, and they do, could sue for wrongful death. This is serious, and management nor the NALC are acting in a timely manner, leaving hundreds of thousands of carriers nationwide at the mercy of these potential killers every day. 2020 is not acceptable – the USPS has had ample time to replace the fleet but were too busy cutting services and stealing unearned bonuses. Besides, as long as they didn’t have to drive these LLV’s or be outdoors, what the hell did they care?

5. Isn’t it amazing that if the carriers decided on their own to drive these road hazards they would be disciplined for unsafe work practice! However since it’s managements idea, nothing is said. They have the right to make available junk that belongs in demolition derbies. At least the scanners are new and work.

   • Management doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the LLV fleet, as I said in my first post, and I agree with you “wtodd” that if something broke down on their LLV or it caught fire, the very first thing a manager will do is to try to fix the blame on the carrier. This is why active carriers (I retired recently but still care- it’s my buddies out there) must follow the safety rules like wearing the seat belts and shoulder harness, do not drive with the door open, especially on busy streets and through busy intersections, and be extra careful pulling into traffic, or going through those intersections. I say this because only that half inch or so of sheet metal with no air bags, reinforced I-beams, or other normal safety features that would give the driver a chance to make it through a bad t-bone accident is the only protection you have. And that ain’t near enough. It’s like holding up a sheet of tin foil to stop a bullet. But if you’re in a bad wreck and that door is open, if you’re not dead you’re screwed.
     I used to tell my carriers when I was an NALC officer time and time again to keep those doors closed, but several refused to and probably refuse to keep them closed today. Believe me when I say management will try to weasel out of your OWCP claims, pay for your medical care, and horribly, if you are killed in this kind of accident, they will try to screw your beneficiaries out of what’s rightfully theirs because you were too stupid or stubborn to protect yourself as best as you could. I see carriers all over the city where I live (not where I worked) doing incredibly stupid shit all the time. Not using signals. Fingering on a busy four lane. Door or doors (!) open. Texting while you’re delivering mail. And that’s while the LLV is in motion.
     You’re just asking for it when you do stuff like that. If a supervisor is doing street observations or some “safety blitz” is going on where they call in PM’s and supervisors from other offices you don’t know and they see you doing that kind of idiotic shit, you will get disciplined, and frankly, you deserve it. Don’t give management anything to use against you, ever.

6. Yeap, it happened here. Good thing BiG Johnnie got out in time

   http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo75/laffman99/IMG_1965_1.jpg?1511556295518&1511556295837

   Copy the link above

   • Piss poor Preventive Maintenance causes fires. Those fuel lines are only 2 inches away from the exhaust manifold. Probably been having a contractor perform maintenance or a JANITOR that can clean a toilet that just happens to be kin to the test proctor.

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