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Parking in front of a mailbox

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16K views 52 replies 30 participants last post by  Wye Oak cats  
#1 ·
These postal workers might like to say it is illegal to block a mailbox when you park, but my kid is getting his permit Wednesday and I was reading his drivers manual about where you can/can't park and it said NOTHING about blocking a mailbox being illegal.

It says you can't block a driveway, alleyway, or private road, but it doesn't say it is illegal to block a mailbox.

Thought I'd let you guys know what the law on it was. At least what the Connecticut law is.
 
#7 ·
US postal regulations may trump local or state laws.

Drivers manuals probably wouldn't cover federal laws. They may be left vague on issues that are subject to county laws, also, so as not to have to print dozens of versions. County or local laws may apply.

It may be that it's not illegal but merely subjects the homeowner to non-delivery if your vehicle blocks the box so that the carrier has to leave the vehicle.

It never fails that when you do have to park in front of one the carrier will show up. I preempt trouble by offering to move as soon as they show up. They can't very well get ticked at you since you offered, yet they know by the time you move they can just walk it over quicker.
 
#9 ·
I can remember when there was no such thing as mail boxes on a post in the city limits. Mailmen (no females) back then walked a route carrying a leather mail bag on his shoulder. Mailmen had a storage box on a corner and loaded the bag from it. They had a vehicle they drove from the main post office . They carried the entire route's mail from the office and locked what was not in the bag in that storage box.

Mail was delivered twice a day - early morning and late afternoon. Things sure have changed since those days of the 1940's and 1950's.

Nosmo
 
#10 ·
i had a mailman stop his truck, get out, and walk up to me( we were in front of neighbors mailbox, nowhere else to park) and hand me a peice of paper stating that the mail was undeliverable due to a car in the way. (by the way the mailbox was two feet away from him and me at this point) LAZY - he had already made the walk over, why not bring the flippin' mail!
 
#11 ·
I can remember when there was no such thing as mail boxes on a post in the city limits. Mailmen (no females) back then walked a route carrying a leather mail bag on his shoulder. Mailmen had a storage box on a corner and loaded the bag from it. They had a vehicle they drove from the main post office . They carried the entire route's mail from the office and locked what was not in the bag in that storage box.

Mail was delivered twice a day - early morning and late afternoon. Things sure have changed since those days of the 1940's and 1950's.

Nosmo
Sure, I remember that too, but the world has changed a lot since then. Seems to me that if a mailman (or woman) had to carry all that is to be delivered and walk the long routes they now have, they wouldn't ever finish, even if at it for 24 hours a day. But while on the topic of an LCO's right to park anywhere he has a mind to, I'd like to comment on the practice the ones in my town seem to have, and that is to always park in front of some neighbors house rather than in front of the one being serviced. I presume they do that because it's hard to trim the curb of their customer's lot when a pickup and trailer is parked there. So when they come to my across-the-street neighbor's house to do the lawn, they park in front of my house, even when they see me mowing my own lawn. Certainly not very considerate of them, is it? The reason I get annoyed by this is that I have very steep hills next to the street, hills that I can't mow when a vehicle is parked there. So the only thing I can do is wait for my neighbor's LCO to finish, leave and and take his pickup and trailer with him. Oh, but I realize how you guys might feel about that. Maybe he could park in front of his customer's house and just move the truck & trailer when doing the curb, but his time is important and mine isn't. The guy who does the lot for my daughter's neighbor is a different LCO, but he too always parks in front of someone else's house, usually my daughter's. That's the reason I have the feeling it's something practiced by many LCOs. And by the way, the lots I'm referring to have at least a couple of hundred feet of frontage, so whatever the reason, it's not because there's insufficient space to park in front of their customer's property.
 
#18 ·
normally i try to park infront of the house or houses im mowing and just park about a foot from the curb so i can trim and clean up somewhat easier. unfortunately i cant park a foot out in a main busy road so i will park infront of the neighbors house for 2 reasons, first is to park right on the curb for safety, 2 i can clean the road easier and safer because the truck is between me and traffic and not on top of the grass i am trying to clean up. another reason i will park across the street is because of how my route is setup up i may be on the opposite side of the road, this is just the way it is, due to time and extra expense of turning around, to a home owner this may not sound like a big deal, but it could absolutely add a whole hour (3-4 lawns mowed in this time) to the day when you count in driving extra and possible left turns across traffic, etc. NOW, with that said, if i see a neighbor is mowing, i will not park infront of their house IF there are other parking options. sometimes on a busy road there may not be any other parking for a rig almost 40ft long. i also try not to block mailboxes, but some neighborhoods are setup where that is not an option. however i will NOT block a fire hydrant for any reason, i will skip that lawn and wait for better parking.

hope this helps you (and others) understand better why we park where we park. its not to annoy you, sometimes i dont even put any thought into it, i just park in the only open space i can.
 
#12 ·
i had a mailman stop his truck, get out, and walk up to me( we were in front of neighbors mailbox, nowhere else to park) and hand me a peice of paper stating that the mail was undeliverable due to a car in the way. (by the way the mailbox was two feet away from him and me at this point) LAZY - he had already made the walk over, why not bring the flippin' mail!
It's stupid if ya ask me. They won't carry the mail over because they don't have to if something is blocking it. So instead of just putting the mail in the mail box, they figure they will make it hard because they can.
 
#14 ·
Neither rain, nor snow, nor dark of night, nor my lawn trailer should keep those lazy over-payed psycopaths from getting off of their fat asses and putting mail in a box. Sheesh...
 
#40 ·
I agree, and i see this daily. What is wrong with us as a community of LCO's when all we do is trash talk other people who are just trying to get their job done. It's funny, we complain if people are in our way when we're trying to mow, yet we think a mailman should go above and beyond for their measly 30k a year walkinga nd driving a truck with no air conditioning. These are people, they have jobs to do, and when you make their job difficult repeatedly, they're not just going to take it. Grow up guys good lord. IF you can't help but block a mailbox, that's fine, but just realize, if it's your customers, or your customer's neighbor, they wont' get their mail, and they might notice, and they might approach you, and it will be your fault, not the mail man's.
 
#17 ·
I know this thread is old, but still very relevant. I have no idea why but every time I park too close to one the mail guy shows up. Only the mail women have a problem. If its a mail man they usually drive in at an angle and then drive up the driveway slightly and carry on their merry way. I see it 10 times a week sometimes. The women leave a note on my windshield telling me exactly where I should park. Lol
 
#20 ·
These postal workers might like to say it is illegal to block a mailbox when you park, but my kid is getting his permit Wednesday and I was reading his drivers manual about where you can/can't park and it said NOTHING about blocking a mailbox being illegal.

It says you can't block a driveway, alleyway, or private road, but it doesn't say it is illegal to block a mailbox.

Thought I'd let you guys know what the law on it was. At least what the Connecticut law is.
I was once yelled at and given the "I'm #1!" hand sign by a mail "lady" for parking in front of a mailbox. What's their hang up? So they'll get their bills and mailers tomorrow. If for some reason I pull up to mow and something is going on that prevents me from servicing the lawn I don't don't get out and start cussing and throwing rocks.
 
#22 ·
These postal workers might like to say it is illegal to block a mailbox when you park, but my kid is getting his permit Wednesday and I was reading his drivers manual about where you can/can't park and it said NOTHING about blocking a mailbox being illegal.

It says you can't block a driveway, alleyway, or private road, but it doesn't say it is illegal to block a mailbox.

Thought I'd let you guys know what the law on it was. At least what the Connecticut law is.
:nono::gmctruck:
 
#31 ·
i'll tell you a story that i think sums the whole thing up. we have a mail girl and she knows i live at my house because she has brought packages up to the door before when i ordered something. anyways so i'm parked in front of my own mailbox on the street and i'm eating lunch at my house and i'm about to mow my own yard. she doesn't stop and drives on down the road so i thought ok maybe i didn't have any mail.

so then i'm standing by my truck about to get started mowing and she comes driving down delivering mail on the other side of the street. she could have easily handed me my mail without getting out of the jeep but she didn't. she just kept on driving so i figured no mail today. the next day i get mail and one of the envelopes says "blocked" on it and has the date written on there. it took her longer to write that on the envelope than it would have taken to hand me the mail or get out and put the mail in my box.

after that i have zero respect for any mail worker. they can kiss my butt. if they can get out of the jeep to deliver a package they can get out to deliver the mail. it's not like i block the mailbox every single day or anything. heck in this case she didn't even have to get out of the jeep. she could have handed it to me out the window. just plain stupid. lazy people is all i can say.

this is why the mail industry is gonna die. everything will be online one day. most things can be already but i once had a problem with the internet being out for a week so i couldn't pay my bills. also i don't like automatic bill payment. i wanna pay them when i know the money is in my account. you just never know what can happen. so for now i still use snail mail.
 
#34 ·
Lazy mail workers have driven me insane since I started doing apps. How hard is it to figure out why it's important for my hose to come off the reel straight through the gate?

I block them as necessary and do what I can to help a good worker and ignore the jerks. If a client complains about it I let them know the alternative is to block their driveway. It turns out that most of those that care don't have anywhere to go most of the time.

We have curbside trash pickup but it's easier to help these guys out if I'm going to be in the way. I can roll a can out in front of my truck but mailboxes aren't as versatile.
 
#36 ·
if you all were less confrontational and had a bit more laid back, I can respect your stress, kind of approach, you might find out that most mail people are just like you, trying to make a buck as they run the route. At the end of the day, we all run a route. Bad eggs? everywhere, but identify and ignore them.