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Is a post office worker who delivers on a motorcycle in heavy snow a god? I asked the postman how he drives on snowy roads.
Even long-time residents of Hokkaido find it scary to drive in winter when snow and ice accumulate on the road surface. Driving a car, of course, is even more frightening when it comes to motorcycles. However, there are people who drive motorcycles even in heavy snow and blizzards. They are postal workers.
"Do they have special bikes?" Do they have great driving skills?" Let us try to answer some simple questions about how post office workers in Hokkaido drive their motorcycles.
We visited a post office to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Postal bikes lined up in a row. They are a sight to behold!
To find out why motorcycles can be driven on snowy winter roads every day, we visited the Sapporo Minami Post Office in Minami Ward, Sapporo City. The delivery area is all of Sapporo Minami Ward except for the Jozankei area. It covers quite a wide area from the urban area around Makomanai Station to the mountainous area where Koganeyu Onsen and Takino Suzuran Park are located.
The person we interviewed this time was Mr. Yuta Mori, an employee of Sapporo Minami Post Office. He told us about the driving conditions of postal motorcycles in snowy areas. The first thing that caught my attention was the construction of the bikes. What are some of the unique features of the snow country?
Mr. Mori, a mail carrier for 6 years
Secrets of postal bikes #1 "Tires
Tire performance is quite important for driving
There are three major differences between Hokkaido postal bikes and ordinary bikes. the first is a measure that is essential for driving in snowy areas.
In Hokkaido, it is common practice to use studless tires on cars during the winter. Motorcycle tires are also the same.
Since two-wheeled vehicles are more unstable than four-wheeled vehicles, spiked tires are safer, as they are expected to have more grip. The time to change tires varies slightly depending on the location of the post office. The Sapporo Minami Post Office's delivery area includes mountainous areas with long snowfall periods, so they usually change to spiked tires from the latter half of October until just before the Golden Week holidays.
Secret of Postal Bikes #2 "Heater
In winter, they are hooded and even more...!
The second is protection against the cold. Mr. Mori told us something unexpected.
I had the heater switch turned on.
What a surprise, the heater is attached to the handle. Moreover, the handlebar also has a hood, so the hand seems to be surprisingly nooky and warm even in the middle of a bitterly cold winter. The hood is removable and was installed at the same time as the tire change.
These heated post office motorcycles are running in other snowy areas of Hokkaido.
Postal Bike Secret #3 "Reflector"
The horizontal orange-colored part is the reflector.
The third is a safety measure. When Mr. Mori shows you the back side of the bike,
It has two reflectors to prevent rear-end collisions. Thanks to this, even in the darkest of nights or on days when it is a whiteout due to snowstorms, it is easier to let following vehicles know the presence of the motorcycle, and also helps prevent traffic accidents. It looks good not only in snowy areas but also nationwide.
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