Mailbox hit by drunk driver

[Chris142]

I posted this on another forum. Friday / Saturday morning a drunk hit the rack of about 70 mailboxes that mine is on, thoughts on what I need to do here. Now The mail man wont deliver to my box,

My mailbox is on a steel double raçk about 50 ft long. There's about 70 boxes in all. A drunk hit the rack Friday night and destroyed the rack. It buckled at my box. Bent it down.

Now my box is too low for the mailman so he won't deliver to me. Driving 45 minutes 1 way to the post office to get my mail would suck.

There was a police report taken. Most of the other boxes can still be used.I already got a quote of $10k to build a new rack to that's out of the question.

What are my options? Can I go after the drunk drivers insurance? Or am I screwed?

 

[FatOrangeCat]

Sorry to see that you got damaged. Can you buy a standard residential style mailbox + post, and install at the proper height at the same location near the damaged rack?

 

[Chris142]

Sorry to see that you got damaged. Can you buy a standard residential style mailbox + post, and install at the proper height at the same location near the damaged rack?

No. The boxes have to be in a certain place on the rack according to the mailman. I'm sure his deliveries are in an order. I can't put a pole on front of behind as my "spot" is on the lower rack per the post office. My box is not damaged but the post office rules dictate how high it has to be. It was too low already but he was letting it slide. Now it's way too low though. It's the white one I marked up. Only a couple of us are in this situation. The rest are ok according to the mailman.

 

[totegoat]

Did the mailman deliver from the cab or get out and walk the deliveries? Definitely go after the drunk.

 

[ripcord]

Take a jack out there and bend it back up?

 

[mk378]

Neither rain nor snow, etc etc but we're drawing the line at getting out of the car.

 

[spasm3]

Can you get in touch with all the mailbox owners?

The whole thing looks rickety to start with. With that many people. A few bucks, some 4 x 4s and a rented post hole digger, you should be able to knock out a whole new rack in a saturday.

 

[Pablo]

Just get with your ambitious neighbors and make a decent set up. That's a POS. If Neighbors are able but don't want to participate, throw their box in the brush. If someone is elderly or infirmed, do their box right.

Or get the multiboxes they use all over the country - even fancy places - USPS approved.

Of course if you have info on the drunk, nail his arse.

 

[ripcord]

Make the drunk driver buy you one of those fancy premade multi-unit mail boxes.

 

[Pablo]

Make the drunk driver buy you one of those fancy premade multi-unit mail boxes.

Yeah, what are those called, but some of our inlaws had them at their super swank estates in Santa Fe NM

 

[Propflux01]

Go after the drunk driver. It’s property damage.

 

[Hall]

Contact the postmaster at your local post office. The carrier is being an (insert potty word here). Yes, they have regulations but they need to also be understanding of circumstances like this and that temporary fixes may be necessary.

 

[Pew]

Contact the postmaster at your local post office. The carrier is being an (insert potty word here). Yes, they have regulations but they need to also be understanding of circumstances like this and that temporary fixes may be necessary.

I feel like this is the epitome of "not my problem" from USPS/carrier.

 

[Chris142]

Did the mailman deliver from the cab or get out and walk the deliveries? Definitely go after the drunk.

Stays in the truck

 

[Chris142]

Take a jack out there and bend it back up?

It's broken off from the support pipe so the whole rack just goes up then back to where it was

 

[Chris142]

Can you get in touch with all the mailbox owners?

The whole thing looks rickety to start with. With that many people. A few bucks, some 4 x 4s and a rented post hole digger, you should be able to knock out a whole new rack in a saturday.

It was very strong actually. It's 3/8 steel welded to pipes in the ground . It has rr track on each end. The drunk bent one.

 

[Tdbo]

Take a jack out there and bend it back up?

This, and a couple of cinderblock or such to keep it propped up to a height that makes it passable.
See if some of the others are willing to join in an action to take him to small claims court to see that he gets bent as well.

 

[loneryder]

Who built this originally ?

 

[Passport1]

Check with the authorities for the CCTV video. Get the tag numbers. Everybody and everywhere is being watched. If they balk, check instagram or X. Somebody might have posted their cell phone recording by now.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Was the drunk driver found and charged? If so, you should be able to go directly to the drivers insurance to pay for this - assuming they had insurance - its property damage. How to do so will depend on your state - you will need to start with the police report to see if the mailboxes are in it. If not - you will need to figure out if it needs to be amended or a new report. The police are usually pretty helpful with this - well they are here but there boss is elected, so I suppose YMMV. Once you have a report you should be able to contact the insurer directly and ask to file your claim?

If that doesnt go anywhere - drive a stake in the ground and hang a new one until this is sorted out.