Attorney Amy Witherite Calls for Urgent Postal Service Reform After Deadly Kaufman County Crash
'Enough is enough. The Postal Service's pattern of negligence is costing lives,' said Amy Witherite, founding attorney of Witherite Law Group. 'We now know that from 2018 to 2022, 89 people died in 373 crashes involving USPS contractors. Not once did the Postal Service cancel a contract over those fatalities. That's unconscionable.'
The Kaufman County crash, which occurred when a mail-hauling truck veered into oncoming traffic, has drawn national attention. The driver — who later admitted he had fallen asleep at the wheel — was alone on a long-haul route that, according to USPS policy, should have had two drivers. USPS has since claimed it is not responsible for verifying whether its safety protocols were followed.
'That response defies common sense and public trust,' said Witherite. 'When federal contractors ignore rules designed to protect lives, and no one is held accountable, families suffer. This wasn't a fluke. This was the predictable result of a broken system.'
A February 2024 audit by the USPS Office of Inspector General found that the Postal Service does not track fatalities involving its contractors, lacks a centralized database of crash records, and has no system in place to ensure that required safety protocols are followed.
'USPS often doesn't even know who is driving its mail,' Witherite added. 'They're spending $5.2 billion on 4,600 trucking contracts — and yet they can't tell you if the people operating those trucks are following the law. It's not just bad oversight. It's deadly.'
Witherite is urging Congress to act by passing the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act, which has already passed the House with bipartisan support but is stalled in the Senate. She is also calling for:
Mandatory third-party verification of safety practices on contract routes
A public database of contractor crash histories and safety violations
Permanent disqualification of repeat offenders, such as Hope Trans
Accountability for brokers who profit from unsafe practices
'USPS trucks travel through our communities, past our schools, and alongside our families,' said Witherite. 'Texans shouldn't have to wait for another tragedy to demand action. The Kaufman County crash was a failure of federal responsibility — and unless we act now, it won't be the last.'
Amy Witherite is the founding attorney of Witherite Law Group and a nationally recognized traffic safety advocate. She has represented hundreds of families affected by trucking collisions. Call 1 800 Truck Wreck or visit 1800TruckWreck.com to learn more.
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