Surveillance cameras

BIG RUH

Member
Where can I get some dummy surveillance cameras? I want to put a couple up by my mailbox to see if it helps my mailbox not getting destroyed. If it works, I'll spend the money for a real surveillance system.
 
If your mailbox is being vandalized it's probably happening at night. The vandal will probably never notice a dummy surveillance camera in the dark. Try a sign or use a real surveillance camera and give the pictures to your sheriff or Post Master, they take tampering with the mail seriously.
 
Just out of curiosity, how is your mailbox being destroyed? If people are hitting it with baseball bats, or putting M-80's in it, or nudging it with their cars, I'd consider it a fun project to make an innocent looking mailbox out of steel plate and weld it to a heavy duty steel post set into quite a bit of concrete below the surface of the ground. That wouldn't be the same as setting a trap---which could rightfully get a person in a lot of trouble---but the result might be entertaining.

Stan
 
I purchased a heavy steel mailbox from a box store (Lowes had them at the time). Looks like a normal box, but built from heavy steel. Previously I had a cheap mangled box and I just kept beating it back into shape until someone did a real job on it and finished it off. I have a small stream running through my property, and had issues with trespassers thinking they had a right to cross my property to get to the stream. Every time I ran them off my mailbox would take a beating (typical cowards). Since I installed this one I have not had any issue, and from the look of a couple smudges they took a whack or two at it, but no damage to the box. I spent a few hours building a heavy bracket and welded the bracket to a 4" water pipe and set in concrete. Worked for me. I suspected they would simply hook a chain to it and pull it out of the ground, but so far so good, and it has been in place for nearly 5 years now. It was fairly expensive, but worth it in the long run since I have not had to fix or replace the box since.
 
Friend that retired last year from SCDOT told me that by law, mailboxes must be on a wooden or other type post that will break if hit by a car. That is if it is on state right of way. Unfortunately, if you put up something that does a lot of damage to someone's car, you are liable for the damages.
Richard in NW SC
 
I would get a real camera. With pictures, turn them in to the state police or postmaster. They will likely do more than the county officers would if they are like some I know of. It is a federal offense tampering with mail boxes.
 
I'd be careful about putting a hazardous mailbox along on a public road, odds are it will injure an innocent person.
 
home depot has em too, they have a little led flashing light in them to add to the effect. also come with a couple signs that say electronic surveylance.
 
My box is not on state right of way. As a matter of fact the 4" pipe it is mounted on is part of my fence. I guess the box does protrude into the roadway which is maintained by the county, however there is no easement, or right of way. Parts of the road are 21 feet from one fence to the other, and some days the only vehicles traveling that portion of the county road might be mine, and the mail carrier (other than poachers, road hunters, and kids drinking beer at night). So far I have not heard anything about my inappropriate mailbox post (fence post as well). :)
 
I'm not asking for a legal opinion here (unless you're a lawyer, in which case the disclaimer would be too long for this site, anyway), but are you suggesting that installing a mailbox that was impervious to vandalism would make it illegal? There could be a law that a mailbox along a public road has to be on a breakaway base, but I know that trees aren't. I thought I made it pretty clear that I wasn't recommending a booby trap, just a mailbox that would surprise a would be vandal by its durability.

Stan
 
yes it is illegal to install a mailbox on anything that is not breakaway. Google it.
My current post is a heavy 6cyl crankshaft. (risky)
I once saw a young lady hit a mailbox,with her car, the box went onto her backseat, right past her head.
guess that was 'break-a-way'.
I see many boxes guarded by a pierce of plywood these days. maybe for protection from snowplow too.
 
You may construct your own box if it adheres to regs and is approved by the Post Master

"2.0 Curbside Mailboxes

2.1Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturers of all mailboxes designed and made to be erected at the edge of a roadway or curbside of a street and to be served by a carrier from a vehicle on any city route, rural route, or highway contract route must obtain approval of their products under USPS Standard 7, Mailboxes, City and Rural Curbside. To receive these construction standards and drawings or other information about the manufacture of curbside mailboxes, write to USPS Engineering (see G043 for address).

2.2Custom-Built
Mailbox

The local postmaster may approve a curbside mailbox constructed by a customer who, for aesthetic or other reasons, does not want to use an approved manufactured box. The custom-built box must generally meet the same standards as approved manufactured boxes for flag, size, strength, and quality of construction."

from: http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm/d041.htm
 
Does that mean that if you hit a guard rail that the state is liable? Most accidents around here are peoples stupidity ( driving to fast for conditions , on phone, running stop signs or lights, or plain drunk.
 
Hold on an minute here!!!
So, if somebody hits your mailbox and it damages their car, you are liable????? HOGWASH!!!
After over 20 years of commercial driving, I can tell you one thing for sure - if a driver hits a stationary object, that driver is at fault and totally liable for damages. Period. Does not matter what the object is - tree, guard rail, parked car, or mailbox. It is still a stationary object, and hitting it is the driver's fault and liability.
 
Searching the topic on the web, I noticed that various states have different rules on mailboxes and supporting structures.

Many folks around here have their mailboxes enclosed in brick structures which quite a few states would not allow on a STATE right of way.

It looks like the state DOT, the feds and maybe local governmental bodies all get their say. But I do wonder, if they must be break away for the safety of everyone else, why doesn't the state plant break away trees, why aren't telephone poles and supporting light poles break away for those that go a bit further off the highway?
 
I believe the rule about breakaway mailbox posts are US Postal Service rules. I have never heard of anyone paying for damages to a car when the car hits a mailbox. Would be very difficult to take to court and win, and I have seen a lot of damaged mailboxes. All the damages I have had to mine were intentional by teenagers who had been drinking, and most if not all were individuals I had confronted earlier in the day or it was a very odd coincidence that I had confronted someone earlier in the day, and my mailbox just happened to get damaged that same 24 hour period. Either way, I have not had to replace a box since I invested in the heavy steel box, and secure mounting I used, but it does have a couple minor scuffs on the powder coat finish that would likely have been fatal to one of the cheap ones.
 
Guy bought the county a new truck,when his box didn't give way when hit by the plow wing. He set a section of rail like a fence post and welded a box to that. County hit it took the wing and bent the frame of the truck.You cannot construct an immovable object on the side of the road.
Right of way around here is 30 feet from the center line
 
I am curious how can a mailbox be dangerous? And unless they lose control and hit it, how would the person be innocent in the situation that normally happens where the individual is causing property damage? Would not a fence post fit that same criteria? If that is the case, fence posts are dangerous, and might harm innocent people I suppose. Trees perhaps. I did have a county commissioner tell me that unless I trimmed my trees which were on my property I might get sued due to the fact the drivers might not be able to see around a corner on a county road. I guess anyone can sue anyone for anything in todays world, but I look differently at it, and I have a difficult time with someone telling me I have to cut trees that are on my property. I have had my mailbox damaged many times, and to my knowledge none of those involved were innocent, and in fact were intoxicated, and purposely causing property damage, therefore I have little sympathy if they harm themselves in the process. None so far have came back asking for damages to themeselves, and I doubt they will.
 
I'm not sure what the law says and if it does I'm sure it depends on location. I've heard of law suits when a person was injured after their car hit a brick mailbox several times. Once I heard of someone having their liability in injuries sustained by passengers in an accident because the tree they hit was too close to the road. I suspect it's a matter of magnitude, intent, and how hard everyone pushes to find a structure illegal.

I agree I would want a mailbox that left visible damage when hit (no denying they hit it and guarantee they will pay for having hit it even if it's just fixing their vehicle). I'm not sure it'd be a good idea to put one there that would cause bad enough damage to cause injury.

There is also something to be said for going with the crowd. If a lot of other people nearby have brick mailboxes then I think it would be safe to build one.
 
I agree with you, Jim, but in a later posting above, Pitch makes an interesting point: It's the government (at whatever level) that can hold you liable for damage to one of their vehicles caused by your mail box post being an immovable object. That actually makes sense. I suppose that they might have a harder time winning in court if the damage happened to one of their vehicles during unauthorized use by a drunken employee, but with American laws and American courts, you never know.

Stan
 
That depends. I was on my way home from work one Saturday afternoon when I was following a pickup. This pickup was full of blocked firewood. There was a kid in the back of the pickup and he took a piece of firewood and nailed my neighbors mailbox. It took me about 2 miles to get close enough to get a plate number. I went back gave it to neighbor and they called the sheriff. NOTHING happened.

Steven
 
Any rural mailbox NOT built to USPS standards leaves it's owner wide open to lawsuits.
 
I used to deliver for USPS--their standards are on height and distance from curb (if you have a curb). Beyond that recommendations are made--not rules. I'll also note they virtually never made anyone change anything even those way to tall or short or that couldn't be reached w/o jumping the curb.

We're all wide open to lawsuits. It's just easier to fend one off if everyone else is doing the same thing--thus culturally acceptable.
Mailbox Guidelines by USPS
 

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