Mailbox Derby

[BatUtilityBelt]

My house is at one of the entrances to my neighborhood. Tonight (after midnight), a presumed drunk driver returning home from the bar took out my mailbox. This is the 2nd time since I've lived here. Grainy nighttime video, no plate. Just like the first time (maybe 13 years ago), he drove off without any note. At least the 1st one left broken glass and a paint sample .

So how would you reinforce the post for the next drunk?

[Raindog]

This opens you up to all kind of legal issues, but......

[bleys21]

Like Raindog said, I ain't no lawyer, but this one would probably fix the issue as well:

[Houblues]

Brick mailbox structures can be severely damaged by a vehicle. A friend of mine, and her father who paid to have one rebuilt, can testify.

I would manage to install a heavy wall pipe inside. I don't see how anyone could claim it's an attractive nuisance, or that it is a public safety issue (if it is somewhere they shouldn't be in the first place).

[Rollin Hand]

I have seen some Reddit stuff along these lines. I don't recommend doing this, just putting it here for informational purposes. Quite frankly, this was done to a guy who was destroying a mailbox every few weeks.

1) Dig down several feet.

2) Put in a metal post, and fill the hole with concrete below the ground level.

3) Fill the post with concrete.

4) Attach the box.

5) Collect the guy's suspension when he does it again.

[BatUtilityBelt]

...
2) Put in a metal post, and fill the hole with concrete below the ground level.

3) Fill the post with concrete.

When I was a kid, my Dad did this with our mailbox, because someone was playing Mailbox Baseball. Maybe a month later, we found a broken bat, and we guessed there might have also been a broken arm.

I am thinking about concreting the base. I agree with the earlier concerns that a large brick mailbox would be hard to repair. I don't think people are doing this on purpose, just driving home drunk. A careful review of the video revealed that this presumed drunk driver didn't even hit the brakes until after he had jumped the curb and plowed the mailbox.

[Houblues]

I'm reconsidering my earlier response. Although it might be emotionally satisfying to overbuild, you will almost certainly be responsible for the repair and a hardy structure might make that more difficult. Maybe just accept the inevitable and do something quick and easy to replace (i.e. generic box and pole).

[t100d]

How about rigging it up with some kind of contact-activated paint sprayer?

[tobijohn]

1) Dig down several feet.

2) Put in a metal post, and fill the hole with concrete below the ground level.

3) Fill the post with concrete.

4) Attach the box.

That's what my father did when I was a kid after ours got run over a few times. He used 4" structural tubular pipe anchored in three feet of concrete below ground level (I remember the depth because I had to dig the post hole) and constructed a shell of 1'x6's around it. with the mailbox only loosely attached to the top so it would break away easily and then could be reused. It did a real number on a couple subsequent cars that didn't get the memo...

[Raindog]

I don't see how anyone could claim it's an attractive nuisance, or that it is a public safety issue (if it is somewhere they shouldn't be in the first place).

It's not that its an attractive nuisance (I know all about those from riding motorcycles,) but almost all cities/counties/states claim 3-6 feet on each side of the road for public rideaway. Do you really want to stand in front of a judge and argue that the city has no right to what happens on the shoulder of the road? Good luck with that. If you are serious about taking a stand, one of the steel fabricators around here makes thick-walled steel mailboxes and welds them to a steel, angled pole. Then they paint it to look just like an aluminum mailbox. They sell a lot of them for $135 each. Only accepts cash for them and won't give a receipt. "For novelty only." Those things must weigh 30-40 libs.

[redman]

Many years ago in the late 70's my boss had someone destroying his mailbox and every time he but a new one up someone took it out. He finally had one made from plate metal welded to a steel beam and painted black. He came in one morning after that carrying a broken half of a ball bat, Tom's long gone now but that mailbox is still standing.