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SALT LAKE CITY — With the severe snow storms and poor weather lately, the advice quite often is to "stay off the roads," "keep indoors," and "avoid the conditions" if you can. But there are some jobs where driving is the only option.
Hundreds of people like mail carriers, emergency crews, and police officers can't take a day off just because of a snow storm. And with the slick roads and wrecks, many of these workers are busier than usual.
Troopers responded to 89 weather related crashes in Salt Lake, Utah and Davis counties between midnight and 10 a.m. on Thursday. 500 plows hit the roads, trying to keep up with the storm.
Patricia Campbell is one of the workers that is out in the thick of the storm as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service.
"When a big storm is coming, you know it's going to slow your day down because of the difficulty getting around with the snow," Campbell said.
For 18 years, she's been delivering letters and packages for the post office. That's 18 Utah winters braving blizzards and cold with care so people receive their mail and holiday packages on time.
Some days she drives her little white truck around with white knuckles.
"I literally was just sliding down one street and the only way to stop would be to hit the curb, stop, make my delivery and then get back into my vehicle and then proceed down the hill," Campbell said.
A few slick staircases have also taken their toll on Campbell over the years.
"You can say I broke my tailbone for a post office," she said.
But she isn't too worked up about the snow. It's a challenge, but Campbell says she she would rather have a snowy winter day over the summer heat.
"I enjoy it, especially when there are big snowflakes coming down," she said.
Campbell said that during the holidays, people tend to take a little longer to shovel their sidewalks. And she said she and her fellow U.S.P.S. colleagues greatly appreciate it when your walkways and stairs are cleared.
