FREDERICTON — One of the most familiar symbols of rural life -- the mailbox with a flag at the end of a country driveway -- could soon become just a memory.

Canada Post is reviewing the way it delivers mail to rural areas as a result of a growing number of health and safety complaints from the drivers who put mail in rural boxes.

Canada Post spokeswoman Avril Vollenhoven said Monday delivery to rural mailboxes has been cut off in several areas across the country, including a number of routes in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, because drivers have complained that road conditions are too dangerous or they are suffering repetitive stress injuries from loading the boxes.

"Since November, 2005, we have had over 200 drivers refuse to deliver the mail,'' Vollenhoven said in an interview.

"It is on various routes across the country but one of the first sites that started reporting this was in the Fredericton area and in Vaudreuil-Dorion in Quebec. As a result, we are doing a complete review of rural routes and gathering information so we can do an assessment of rural mailbox delivery.''

Drivers most often complain about heavy traffic and poor visibility as making conditions on the roads unsafe.

Many New Brunswickers affected by a sudden stop in individual mailbox delivery, which happened in New Brunswick last week, are furious at the way Canada Post has handled the situation.

In Nasonworth, not far from Fredericton, residents were told to go to a convenience store in a nearby village to retrieve mail at the same place harried clerks rent video games.

"It's a total mess,'' fumed Susan Curtis.

"I have lived in the country all of my life and to me, when I go home at night, if my flag is up, I know I have mail. It is part of our lives and I cannot accept losing it in this manner.''

Curtis said the loss of individual delivery will be especially tough for seniors and the disabled.

"They're citing safety concerns, but what about the safety of their customers?''

Fredericton MP Andy Scott is advising his constituents to put together a petition, which he will present in Parliament.

"There should have been earlier consultation by Canada Post with customers in rural areas, such as holding public meetings,'' Scott said.

"I have talked with other MPs who feel the same way.''

Many rural residents see the Canada Post review as the latest in a series of threats to rural life as Canada becomes increasingly urban.

Although the corporation has posted record profits, including close to $200 million last year, it has closed dozens of post offices in recent years.

Vollenhoven said Canada Post is responding to a specific situation, as required by law.

"It is our responsibility as an employer to ensure that our employees are working in a safe environment,'' she said.

"This is not a sleight against rural Canada. We are responding to a situation that is not of our choosing, a situation that was brought to our attention by our drivers.''

Mail has been delivered to rural customers the same way for over 100 years by drivers who pull up alongside driveway boxes and slide in letters and parcels.

However, the situation changed two years ago when the drivers, who were independent, became full-fledged Canada Post employees and members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

Deborah Bourque, president of CUPW in Ottawa, said the health and safety complaints of the drivers are legitimate.

She said the union has joined with Canada Post in investigating routes flagged as unsafe by drivers, and she said that usually the problem is heavy traffic and poor visibility.

But Bourque said the answer is to make the routes safer, not discontinue mailbox service to rural customers.

"We should be looking at ways to make rural mail delivery safe so that people get service to their individual mail boxes and our members don't risk their lives and their safety delivering mail to rural mailboxes,'' Bourque said.

She said there are numerous ways to make the routes safer, from re-positioning mailboxes to right-hand-drive vehicles for drivers.