Mail Box Destruction

mailboxes

I am a law enforcement officer and I got a call of a vehicle fire when I arrived the s-10 had hit a brick mailbox. The truck was a total loss and the girl went to the hospital. If she had not been able to drag (leg injuries) herself from the wreck this would have been a fatality. My brother was on duty when his cruiser left the road and hit a sign that was made of brick and almost died, 7 days in intensive care, steel plate in his head(ok now).Yeah I have seen the bad things that can happen from non breakaway post.
 
bigtranny_99 said:
I am a law enforcement officer and I got a call of a vehicle fire when I arrived the s-10 had hit a brick mailbox. The truck was a total loss and the girl went to the hospital. If she had not been able to drag (leg injuries) herself from the wreck this would have been a fatality. My brother was on duty when his cruiser left the road and hit a sign that was made of brick and almost died, 7 days in intensive care, steel plate in his head(ok now).Yeah I have seen the bad things that can happen from non breakaway post.
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Would it have been any different had they hit a telephone pole or a tree?
If a person had been retrieving their mail at the time of the accident, they may have been killed. The responsibility for the resulting casualty would be shifted back to the driver. My point in this issue is the responsibility should always be with the operator of the vehicle. Mandating break away anything is a feel good law. Break away trees, light poles & oncoming traffic is not possible.
 
There ARE mandates for such things as trees, utility poles, and other "road side hazards", but not a lot of them are enforced, especially when it comes to trees. Utility poles are (usually) set back far enough to where - if they are hit - it is pretty much on the driver (who left the roadway to hit it). Mailboxes are right on the edge of the road, and are easy to smack, thus the tougher rules. I can also tell you of at least THREE people who died by hitting a rural mailbox, and dozens of tothers hurt because of the box's construction.

A guy I worked with had one made from 3/8" steel plate. It looked EXACTLY like the ones you buy that are made from tin. A couple weeks later, some worthless punk kid broke his arm when he leaned out of the car window and smacked it with a pipe as they drove by at about 30 mph. Sued the pants of off him.
 
Goat said:
There ARE mandates for such things as trees, utility poles, and other "road side hazards", but not a lot of them are enforced, especially when it comes to trees. Utility poles are (usually) set back far enough to where - if they are hit - it is pretty much on the driver (who left the roadway to hit it). Mailboxes are right on the edge of the road, and are easy to smack, thus the tougher rules. I can also tell you of at least THREE people who died by hitting a rural mailbox, and dozens of tothers hurt because of the box's construction.

A guy I worked with had one made from 3/8" steel plate. It looked EXACTLY like the ones you buy that are made from tin. A couple weeks later, some worthless punk kid broke his arm when he leaned out of the car window and smacked it with a pipe as they drove by at about 30 mph. Sued the pants of off him.
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That is just wrong. I hope he (the kid) LOST!!!!!!!
 
Doc said:
That is just wrong. I hope he (the kid) LOST!!!!!!!
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I agree completely, what a joke. To create laws that require rubber padded rooms along the roadside is moronic legislation. There is a laughable lack of personal responsibility these days. Utility poles are rarely set back to any real degree and the one near my mailbox is closer to the road than the box. If 1 or 100 delinquents are hurt or worse trying to commit vandalism, how can it possibly anyones fault but their own?
 
Goat said:
There ARE mandates for such things as trees, utility poles, and other "road side hazards", but not a lot of them are enforced, especially when it comes to trees. Utility poles are (usually) set back far enough to where - if they are hit - it is pretty much on the driver (who left the roadway to hit it). Mailboxes are right on the edge of the road, and are easy to smack, thus the tougher rules. I can also tell you of at least THREE people who died by hitting a rural mailbox, and dozens of tothers hurt because of the box's construction.

A guy I worked with had one made from 3/8" steel plate. It looked EXACTLY like the ones you buy that are made from tin. A couple weeks later, some worthless punk kid broke his arm when he leaned out of the car window and smacked it with a pipe as they drove by at about 30 mph. Sued the pants of off him.
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since mailbox destruction is supposed to be a federal felony, I hope the kid who filed was served with a warrant while in court as well as being cited by the judge with contempt for frivolous lawsuit. (it's your fault I was hurt while trying to vandalize your place?)
 
First thing I do to a new box, before it gets mounted to the railroad tie, is paint it flat black, seems to help. Had a beautiful stone & mortar post with an oak center post once, lasted about 12 hrs, but the car had to be towed away! My wife is a rural mail carrier, sees it all, and one box seems to do the job! Those fancy Rubber Maid boxes. One day she tangled with one, I think it did break off at the ground, but somehow ruined her door, bending the door post and totaling the car!:yum: The box survived.
 
As a motorcycle rider please remember that it's not just automobiles that hit mailboxes. Trees, etc are supposed to be cut back from the shoulder of the road. Mailboxes must be accessed by the mail carrier so need to be within a foot or two of either the shoulder or body of the road.

I have read many accident reports of fatalities caused by riders drifting or being forced off the road and colliding with a mailbox. Build them, fix them, replace them but always remember that the poor guy that runs into it with his bike is dead because you are trying to make a point.
 
Unfortunately - once you "modify" your mailbox to ANYTHING other then the USPS standards, it no longer becomes a "mailbox" persee, it is something "acting" as a mailbox. You modified it, it becomes YOUR responsibility when it hurts someone.

It becomes a case where, if the guy swinging the bat at a "normal", unmodified box would have hurt himself the same way as he did when he slugged your "new and improved" version. Usually, the clown with the bat wins......

As far as telephone poles "rarely" being set back - There are some that are not, but the VAST majority are. Every region has it's own codes, but most of them follow national standards. Keep in mind that the pole you hit was probably installed (and owned) by the same people who "own" the road, or a large corporation. They have WAY bigger lawyers than you or I do.
 
Alblancher said:
As a motorcycle rider please remember that it's not just automobiles that hit mailboxes. Trees, etc are supposed to be cut back from the shoulder of the road. Mailboxes must be accessed by the mail carrier so need to be within a foot or two of either the shoulder or body of the road.

I have read many accident reports of fatalities caused by riders drifting or being forced off the road and colliding with a mailbox. Build them, fix them, replace them but always remember that the poor guy that runs into it with his bike is dead because you are trying to make a point.
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I assure you, I am not trying to make a point. I also ride, and mailboxes are not a concern of mine. There are so many dangers out on the road that choosing mailboxes as a focus is not a priority a have. Perhaps it is a difference in region, New England is very historic & there are features that have been in place for hundreds of years. Trees, stonewalls, houses within feet of the road, it is what it is I guess. I truly do not wish harm to others, just that people be realistic in their expectation of liability.

Goat said:
Unfortunately - once you "modify" your mailbox to ANYTHING other then the USPS standards, it no longer becomes a "mailbox" persee, it is something "acting" as a mailbox. You modified it, it becomes YOUR responsibility when it hurts someone.

It becomes a case where, if the guy swinging the bat at a "normal", unmodified box would have hurt himself the same way as he did when he slugged your "new and improved" version. Usually, the clown with the bat wins......

As far as telephone poles "rarely" being set back - There are some that are not, but the VAST majority are. Every region has it's own codes, but most of them follow national standards. Keep in mind that the pole you hit was probably installed (and owned) by the same people who "own" the road, or a large corporation. They have WAY bigger lawyers than you or I do.
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I disagree completely that a "vast" majority of poles are set back. It may be a regional thing but, not in New England. Dangers along the road abound, if a hazardous mailbox was all that we had to worry about, great. It isn't. The idea that we need to consider how a vandal may be injured due to a commonly placed, commonly styled mailbox does not seem like a path to a successful future.
 
SHVL73

Not sure I agree with the way you assess risk. Just because there are many risks in your riding area doesn't mean that those risks that can be elliminated shouldn't be. Kind of like blowing through a stop sign because there is a risk that someone behind you will not stop and run you over.

Mailboxes may not be one of the big three or four threats to riders but I know for a fact that in populated areas for every home their is a mailbox that projects to the curb of the road.
 
Alblancher said:
SHVL73

Not sure I agree with the way you assess risk. Just because there are many risks in your riding area doesn't mean that those risks that can be elliminated shouldn't be. Kind of like blowing through a stop sign because there is a risk that someone behind you will not stop and run you over.

Mailboxes may not be one of the big three or four threats to riders but I know for a fact that in populated areas for every home their is a mailbox that projects to the curb of the road.
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That's ok. I'm comfortable with it. We can agree to disagree.
 
mailbox deflector

Hi to you all. :wave: I'm new and trying this reply to see if my sketch attachment shows. I don't see it here, now...but maybe it'll be there. After learning this, I have some projects to post and some sketches of future ideas.
This sketch is the basic idea of a deflector for the mailbox. It could be angled, curved or whatever...so long as a bat would be deflected up or down. 3/4" PVC pipe would probably deflect the bat but may be broken...fine. The main idea is NOT to resist or block the force - just deflect it a little. If it is mounted a foot or so from the box it might not fall under postal regulations.
I'm getting old and things are changing. If we do anything to protect ourselves or property in a non-passive manner, we are walking on thin ice. In today's USA it's best to keep your head below grade.
 

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Sure showed up, and it could work. I look forward to your other ideas Gary.
Welcome to Net Tractor Talk!!!!!
Enjoy and post often. :thumb: :D
 
Well that's an interesting idea.

At times I feel so dumb. Here am I, working on ideas to resist the blow, including filling it with a couple of hundred pounds of cement so that it can only be handled with the FEL, and all I have to do is construct something that would turn a full blooded swipe in to a glancing blow. Thank you. Sometimes you get locked in to a train of thought and forget that there may be other, simpler alternatives.

Oh, by the way, welcome to the club.
 
It's nice to be welcome

Actually I didn't expect anyone to read my post since the subject had already run it's course. It was mostly a trial run for me since I have more to post...but I really appreciate the way this forum is set up. Best one so far, for me! I notice the members have pretty good equipment and actually have a need for the things they make or add. Since I'm retired and live on just one acre in downtown Redding, Ca. I have no needs...just eccentric ideas. I'm just a kid with some experience and a few tools. My health makes me quite shakey so terrible welds are now my trademark. No matter, I still crank out stuff that originated as junk. I make DIFFERENT junk out of it. Brace yourself for my first "project" post. Although all my stuff is worthless for real work, I require that I can actually DO something with it. Usually in a much less efficient manner than store-bought models, but those practical implements don't cost so much as mine by the time I finish all the surprise repairs and re-models. No fun if it works from the start, is safe AND legal!
 
Never too old to learn something (me) ..Looking forward to your interesting inventions and ideas.
 
Gary66 said:
so terrible welds are now my trademark.
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Good. I'm tired of seeing all these guys build stuff with absolutely perfect welds. My welding sucks and I don't do enough of it to get any better but I do have a buddy who is the best welder I have ever seen. Everybody needs one of those. He just shakes his head in disbelief when he sees my efforts. I must admit that I do spend a lot more on grinding discs than I do on welding rods. :bonk::bonk::bonk:
 
Brushed my teeth

EastTexFrank,

I sent you one of those "private" emails thru this forum a few days ago. I brushed my teeth and everything, but didn't hear back. Is there a message in that for me? I'm not just a bad welder...in EVERYTHING I'm not just slow - I'm no good either.
 
Gary66 said:
Actually I didn't expect anyone to read my post since the subject had already run it's course. It was mostly a trial run for me since I have more to post...but I really appreciate the way this forum is set up. Best one so far, for me! I notice the members have pretty good equipment and actually have a need for the things they make or add. Since I'm retired and live on just one acre in downtown Redding, Ca. I have no needs...just eccentric ideas. I'm just a kid with some experience and a few tools. My health makes me quite shakey so terrible welds are now my trademark. No matter, I still crank out stuff that originated as junk. I make DIFFERENT junk out of it. Brace yourself for my first "project" post. Although all my stuff is worthless for real work, I require that I can actually DO something with it. Usually in a much less efficient manner than store-bought models, but those practical implements don't cost so much as mine by the time I finish all the surprise repairs and re-models. No fun if it works from the start, is safe AND legal!
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Gary66,:tiphat:
I look forward to reading about your projects.:thewave: How big is Redding, Ca.?:confused2:
hugs, Brandi:blob_blue:
 
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