[Shop-talk] Mailbox to end all mailboxes

[eric at megageek.com]

I have a question about mailbox posts.  Does anyone know if there is a 
requirement for your mailbox to "break away" if a car hits it?

Here is my problem, in my rural area of NJ, we get lots of wet snow.  The 
plow drivers are off season NASCAR drivers practicing their time trials as 
they plow.

So my mail box next knocked down every now and then. 

The first step I did was to pave about 10' in from the edge of the road. 
This means there is now a 10' gap from where they are plowing to my 
mailbox.  It didn't take them long to figure out the new speeds they need 
to go in order to knock it down at that distance.

The county says they are not responsible for mailboxes knocked over by 
plows.  (and I need to stay on the good side of my county guys.)

So, I figured I'd make a mailbox post that was indestructible.

What I did was take 2 1/2" rebar posts (two of them) and concreted them 
into the ground 20" and they are 19" apart.  Then I welded a 6" C beam 
across the top of them, and welded another 6" C beam to that for the 
mailbox to be attached to.

But I started thinking (always dangerous for me to do) that if a car was 
to go off the road and hit this thing, it would be "Car, meet immovable 
object" and I was wondering if I'm liable.

Now don't get me wrong, if there are any requirements, I'll just add a 
guardrail around this thing as the mail box isn't going anywhere anytime 
soon.

I'll post pictures the first nice day I get of the mail boxes, and the two 
navigational buoys I added to the end of my driveway for those of you with 
more time on your hands then you need.  8>)

Moose
Everything I know about knots, I learned from Alexander the Great.