We here at RR Backroads just received a visit from the Postal Delivery Police to tell us that our mail box which has been firmly in place and unmoving for some 10 or 12 years is now in an “unsafe” location. It seems that our mail delivery folk now consider it unsafe to stop at a mail box unless they can pull fully off the traveled portion of the road, not unreasonable on a busy, paved highway or county road but on a gravel back road where no shoulders exist along much of the road and one must expect to come across slow moving farm equipment, neighbors stopping for a chat or even horse and buggies on the side of the road this would seem to be a bit of overkill.
The fact that our mail has, along with hundreds of other rural residents been safely delivered without incidence to the existing location for, in some cases upwards of 20 years it would seem means nothing. That in recent years mail delivery vehicles have been provided with a warning beacon similar to that of an emergency vehicle or tow truck it would seem has no impact upon this “safety” initiative. We, along with no doubt hundreds of others have been given just 15 days to move our mailbox to an “approved” location. In our case this is back from the existing shoulder by some 6 or 8 feet, others who have had the Mailbox Police call have, according to some news stories I have seen had to create special pull off areas, or be relegated to a “community” mail box some distance away. There is a strong possibility that this is just the thin end of the wedge, rural mail delivery will become a thing of the past, instead of one vehicle traveling a daily route with your mail we will have hundreds of folks driving down the road to get their mail from those “community” mailboxes, or even worse in to town to the post office to get our mail.
I fully expect with the mail boxes set back this far that the next demand from Canada Post will be to keep our mailboxes (including the now parking lot sized pull off) clear of snow so the mail delivery person is not “inconvenienced” by having to get out of their vehicle. Of course the fact that the snow plow schedule is such that it comes through and fills in the nice open spot in front of the mail box just ½ hour before the mail is due will not affect that demand one iota!
In short its all exactly what the title of this post says, but then we out in the country should be used to getting shit on by now!
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Well, Mr Getting Shit On, whether you like to think occuptional safety is a farce or not, the fact remains rural mail delivery is risky business. I'd direct you to speak with the two RSMCs who were launched through their vehicle windshield a few years back in Ontario after being rear-ended at a box like yours, but alas they didn't make it.
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