Was it a mail box bashing or just some fool that can't drive?
Friend of mine made a mail box holder out of 3/8" plate after too many attacks by kids in cars with bats. He found a few shards of Louisville Slugger near the road, but the box held up! Bet it surprised some kid!!
We've had our box hit a number of times. It sits across from the neighbor's driveway, which lost people seem to regularly use to turn around. Then they back across the street and into our boxes, with this being the usual result:
The last time it was a 20ish kid that actually came to my door and offered to pay for the damage. Because he had the courage and integrity to 'fess up, I fixed it out of my own pocket as a reward for him doing the right thing. That time it was only the $8 plastic mounting plate for the box that got broken, so it wasn't that big a deal.
I was pretty sure their wouldn't be a resolution. He's the most non confrontational person I know. I however, am not that way. At all.
I volunteered to help replace the mailbox, as he's not the most handy person I know. As I'm driving thru his neighborhood, I have the thought to try and find the car. Last time we saw the car is was facing in. This time, it was backed in with the hood out. He never got out of the car, so wasn't sure of how much damage to be confident it was the car. I did a drive by, and sure enough the bumper has cracked, and some scratches on the hood. Really not that bad considering the impact, but bad enough it was evident it was the car. So I knocked on the door. No one came out, so I went back and took some pics of the car.
As we're replacing the mailbox, the red Cruze comes up. Her story is she was texting, and hit the mailbox. But couldn't remember where it was. Mmmk. She drove around and couldn't find it, because it's really hard to see the house with no mailbox and dirt all over the place. Is what I said. She asked if he wanted her insurance info, because she's clueless how things work I guess. Anyway. He came up with 100$, so she came back with cash and paid him. Pretty sure she saw me taking pics of her car, and that was enough for her to admit it I guess. Either way, mailbox is fixed and paid for.
Damage pic:
Not much gets past this group.
A few years ago, I thought I noticed our mailbox on the ground as I pulled into the driveway. But it was one of those things that didn't quite register, because what would our mailbox be doing on the ground?
As I walked from the garage, a woman came walking up our driveway--crying. She hit the mailbox. Wasn't texting, she said.
The mailbox just needed to be reattached to the post. She insisted on giving me $20.
Threads like this make me wonder. Currently we're in a house with a mailbox on the front of the house, but at some point we'll have one at the street (won't be in this house forever). What would be the better design? A mailbox post that shears off like a fire hydrant (and a durable mailbox so it survives the fall) so it's just a matter of reattaching it if someone (or more likely, a plow) hits it. Or a mailbox and post sturdy enough that it will have the city filing a damage claim for the plow instead of me for the mailbox?
In reply to rslifkin :
After a couple rounds of vandalism a guy I know tried the second route. A week or two later the vandals came back with equipment and pulled the whole damn thing out of the ground, 3 foot concrete sonotube and all, and laid it across the end of his driveway.
My mailbox story for this year.
My house sits down a long shared driveway. Shared with a 4 unit condo building next door. The condos, which are kinda like an apartment building where you own your apartment get their mail brought into the common hallway where they have mailboxes. For my house, I have typical outdoor mailbox on a post but instead of being out at the roadside, it is at the diveway-side, near my house but convenient for the mailman to not have to get out of the truck. Good for me is that the box is only subject to the driving of the 4 condo residents and ourselves. Not like roadside where subject to the general public.
This winter I come out and see this:
The mailbox is at a unique angle rather than it's usual level position. I touch the box and it immediately does this:
Yes, it appears that the snow plow driver (contracted by the condo association) has backed into the box, just enough to break the internal 4x4 post that is cemented into the ground.
I wrote the landscaper/plow the following email that day...
I'm sad to have to bring it to your attention but in your most recent plowing of (condo building), it appears that your plow driver backed into my neighboring mailbox.
I first noticed my mailbox was cocked backwards but upon closer inspection and actually touching the box, the whole 4x4 treated post is split right at the ground
I have attached pictures.
I'm not coming after you for a whole box, I never liked that ugly box in the 10 years I've lived here. It's a good time to upgrade to a newer box. I understand it is an accident. They don't call things like this "intentionals." I'm sure your driver did not intend to knock over my box...it was an accident.
What I do wonder, considering the business you're in, if you have an auger to dig a hole in the frozen ground of January? Might even be better to wait until warmer weather to do the dig/install. I'd be happy if you could dig me a hole suitable for a 4x4 post that I could then fill with quickcrete. Is that a reasonable request?
I'm researching replacement boxes and temporary fixes today. I just wanted to let you be aware the same day it happened. Pictures attached.
Same day, I bought the cheapest plastic box available ($12 Walmart) and with zip ties, I repurposed an old wire garden trellis.
Promptly, I got a friendly and apologetic reply from the plow co. agreeing to a warmer weather digging of a hole/post. Two days later, my Amazon sourced new box arrived. Considered to be XL, it was the biggest box I could find for this new world of Amazon deliveries in my mailbox. A $90 mailbox but Amazon showed an open box return for just $72 so i jumped on it. Everything is present.
People really shouldn't screw with mailboxes, it's actually a federal offence and they do actually go after people and those people do actually serve jailtime plus huge fines.
Seriously, it's like a couple years in jail and several hundred thousand dollar fine
Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:People really shouldn't screw with mailboxes, it's actually a federal offence and they do actually go after people and those people do actually serve jailtime plus huge fines.
Seriously, it's like a couple years in jail and several hundred thousand dollar fine
Berking GOOD. ALL vandalism should be like that. Many crimes have can have at least some justification - arguments turn into fights, hungry people steal to eat - but vandalism is being a dick just to be a dick.
I am not sure what the rules are for vandals and mailboxes but I know up here (where it snows a lot) that if a plow hits your mailbox that is unfortunate for you. I will say the town is very good and rarely hit them but if they do it's your deal. I have heard (reliably but not first hand) that if you think you are smart and make a super strong concrete and steel mailbox support that you are liable for any damage you cause to a plow. I suspect that with out litigious society if you do that and some kid wants to sue you for breaking his arm when he tried to smash your mailbox you would have to try to defend yourself in court.
In reply to NY Nick :
If the plow suffers damage from hitting a mailbox and the box doesn't stick out past the curb, I can't see how they can hold you liable for it. They hit something on your property, that's their problem.
In reply to rslifkin :
Because they're the county or state and berkeley you. At least that's the explanation I got from PennDot drivers about hitting mailboxes or cars. It's essentially your responsibility to make sure the plow driver doesn't hit anything.
That said, big plastic mailbox filled full of concrete with a smaller mailbox inside for actual mail. Nothing moving that, but does come with liability if someone runs into it and hurts themselves, because stupidity is protected these days.
Less than 3 miles from my house is a little warehouse/office for the guy who sells these: https://www.slopbuster.com/HowWorks.html
In reply to John Welsh :
Is that really all he sells/does? Seems like a really low effort design, and also ugly.
lnlogauge said:In reply to John Welsh :
Is that really all he sells/does? Seems like a really low effort design, and also ugly.
Its just a place I drive past. I don't know anyone there. Seems he does more but still doesn't seem like enough to support that building. https://www.eriep.com/about.html
Because its not your property if the mailbox is out by the street. Thats the right of way, and it belongs to the city/county/state. I guarantee if it came down to lawyers, that would definitely come up. Unfortunately.
We sent the town a letter about their plow. New guy. In two years he's taken out our box twice. Previous guy went 17 years and never hit it. They offered to come out and reattach it, but I had already done that. Stupid wing plow.
A few years ago, I was behind a county plow clearing the roads. In the span of approx one mile they took out 2 mail boxes and clipped a Honda Accord parked on the road. The Honda had it's rear fascia completely ripped off.
The snowplow does not have to hit the box. Compressed snow accelerated by a 35mph plow mounted at a 30 degree angle does a fine job all by itself.
And then there is this:
The local mailboxes all have huge fortress like structures ahead of them to prevent the sideways avalanche from knocking them over.
Appleseed said:Because its not your property if the mailbox is out by the street. Thats the right of way, and it belongs to the city/county/state. I guarantee if it came down to lawyers, that would definitely come up. Unfortunately.
Your mailbox isn't ever considered your property once it's installed, it's considered federal property believe it or not.
In all seriousness, they do go after people with screwing with mailboxes, I did grand Jury duty and I cannot confirm nor deny anything except to point out that screwing with mailboxes is a federal crime and is punishable by years in jail and a 250k fine,many more people then you'd think have been charged with it
Duke said:In reply to rslifkin :
After a couple rounds of vandalism a guy I know tried the second route. A week or two later the vandals came back with equipment and pulled the whole damn thing out of the ground, 3 foot concrete sonotube and all, and laid it across the end of his driveway.
I would bring those vandals a war they wouldn't believe.
Appleseed said:
Many years ago, in rural Quebec, a farmer we knew went to the township council meeting and complained about the poor job the contractor was doing plowing snow on his road. The contractor was the brother-in-law of the mayor. The next snowstorm his mailbox is "accidently" clipped, and the next storm and the next. The farmer replaced the post every time and complained to council every time. The last time he replaced it he used an old cedar rail fence log that was hollow. He dug a post hole 3 or 4 feet deep and set a suitable length of 80lb/ft steel railroad rail in concrete and slipped the hollow rail fence over it and then complained to council. The storm after that ended up with the plow sideways in the road and the wing of the plow badly bent.
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