Mail Box #1 - Good - Bad - Ugly

[smiley]

Up here we are limited as to what type of posts we can use. steel t-posts are ok and wood no bigger then a 4x4 is ok. Anything larger and the DOT will send you a letter when they notice it. Their fear is if a car hits it they want the car to not sustain serious damage possibly injuring the driver or passenger so the t-post will fold under the car and the 4x4 will shear and should go forward and under.

We were giving a letter as our mail box sits on a 8" locust post. The post has been there since before 1987 when we moved here but this last summer when they resurfaced the road again the DOT finally noticed it and sent a letter telling us to change it. The DOT official we called about it told us to not worry about it since he knows that post is most likely rotted away at ground level to the point its no bigger then a 4x4 anyway since its probably 30-40 years old. But if it was steel we would have had to change it for sure

Generally NY considers anything over the small steel post or 4x4 a DFO, Deadly Fixed Object, so any time we have to replace mailboxes on road jobs, we have to use the 4 x4's and unofficially tell the homeowner that once we leave, we don't care what they do with it.
Of course as someone else mentioned, I'd think all those trees and utility poles etc might just qualify as DFO's also.

 

[brokenknee]

Generally NY considers anything over the small steel post or 4x4 a DFO, Deadly Fixed Object, so any time we have to replace mailboxes on road jobs, we have to use the 4 x4's and unofficially tell the homeowner that once we leave, we don't care what they do with it.
Of course as someone else mentioned, I'd think all those trees and utility poles etc might just qualify as DFO's also.

Only problem with that is the lawyers when someone gets hurt.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Generally NY considers anything over the small steel post or 4x4 a DFO, Deadly Fixed Object, so any time we have to replace mailboxes on road jobs, we have to use the 4 x4's and unofficially tell the homeowner that once we leave, we don't care what they do with it.
Of course as someone else mentioned, I'd think all those trees and utility poles etc might just qualify as DFO's also.

I think the way the DOT looks at it is like this, the trees are there naturally. The utility poles are needed and around here are furthur off the road then the mail boxes. The mail boxes don't need a concrete/brick foundation, large heavy steel pipe or a 12" oak post. Why add more DFO's then actually needed as mailboxes don't weigh much and don't hold much weight.

I really don't care, I only mentioned it in this thread because of the letter the DOT sent us as I figured it might be of interest to others who may not have known or realized that (at least our states) DOT actually looks at these sorts of things.

 

[creekbend]

In my County, no wooden post larger than 4x4 and most definitely no concrete allowed in the base.

 

[smiley]

I think the way the DOT looks at it is like this, the trees are there naturally. The utility poles are needed and around here are furthur off the road then the mail boxes. .

It's funny that you mention trees as natural objects. They can also be "Historical Objects" We rebuilt a road in front of an old grist mill that had many large maple trees in front. We had to fence them in with orange fencing and have signs made, "Historic Objects do not disturb/enter" etc, etc under penalty of law" The funny part was that the 3 or 4 trees that were part of the same group, but were in the way of the new sidewalks weren't considered historic --- cut em down---

There I go off subject again but crash325, that is a nice box, they just wouldn't let you have it here.
Smiley

 

[crash325]

I looked at some of the Locking & Security mail boxes advertised on this link.

Prices are out of sight high. And most of them would not even stand up to the kids waiting for the school buss.

Sent some mail to the box today. See if it works.

Should I build another it will say "US Postmaster Approved", stamped in. :laughing:

 

[pat32rf]

BIL near Peterborough mounted his mailbox on a chunk of 1/2" wall 4" pipe full of and embedded in concrete. Five years later the township wing plow caught it. Would have been a disaster if there had been oncoming traffic as the rear end of the truck wound up well over in the other lane (according to the skid marks) before the truck drove into the ditch...

 

[dwilliams35]

Our DOT requires their own poles: it's really just a piece of 2" tubing, you go drop off the mailbox at their office and within a few days it's put in the ground, reflective tape wrapped around the post, concreted in.. you can specify which side of the drive, but not which side of the road: you have to have all the mailboxes on one side of the road so the carrier doesn't have to make two trips down the road.

As far as the welded-steel mailboxes, a few years back there was some kids playing mailbox baseball out of the back of a truck near here, bat hit one of those heavy ones and bounced back and pretty severely injured one of the kids in the truck: they won the lawsuit and everything.

 

[mjncad]

From a Posties point of view I wouldn't be too happy about that flap over the opening. Means the postie has to use two hands. one to grab that bolt and lift up that flap and the other to put the mail in. To do that he has to lean forward/sideways and get his head and shoulders half out the window.

Still I suppose it's better than the boxes which have the flap opening inwards. On those when you push the mail in and withdraw your hand the flap closes down and traps your fingers. the harder you pull back the harder it clamps down on your fingers.

Don't ask me how I know.

From a USPS customer point of view; I'm tired of contract carriers driving their own personal vehicles from the passenger's seat to deliver mail. I saw one dam fool driving his Ram 1500 at 60MPH from the passenger seat delivering the mail along that high speed state highway. We did have one rural carrier that obtained a right hand drive Subaru. She was the best carrier we had; but lost her route due to union seniority rules.

Only problem with that is the lawyers when someone gets hurt.

The only good lawyer is a disbarred lawyer.

Right. That's why I made mine a mailbox holder:

JayC

Does that dragon head shoot flames out of its mouth? It should if it doesn't! :thumbsup:

 

[GGB]

Only problem with that is the lawyers when someone gets hurt.

I'll respectfully offer another point of view-what I see as the problem is not simply the trial lawyers, but some of the juries of our "peers" who set the awards in these cases. See my byline!

Trial lawyers wouldn't represent absurd cases if they didn't have a reasonable expectation of a favorable payday. Most of us wouldn't go to work if we didn't think we'd be compensated for our labor either. To solely blame the plaintiff lawyers in frivolous lawsuits is missing the real issue in my opinion. I see the problem is a lack of common sense on juries, or the fact that we all have not forced our representative government to prohibit lawsuits brought by vandals and criminals for injuries which occurred in the commission of a criminal act.

From what I understand in some other countries, if a plaintiff loses their case, they are required to pay the defendant's legal fees. Apparently that dramatically reduces the number of frivolous lawsuits.

And no, I'm not an attorney, nor is any of my family.