Mail delivery question

[Alpo]

If someone is parked in the street, so as to block access to the mailbox, does the mailman have to get out of his truck and walk up to the box to put the mail in? Or can he just drive on down the road - I couldn't get there. Try again tomorrow.

 

So two different cars parked so as to block two different mailboxes on our walk this afternoon. Got me wondering.

 

NOTHING STILL STAY THIS COURIER FROM HIS APPOINTED ROUNDS

 

Hmmmmm

[PowderRiverCowboy]

No they dont, and today many wont they will put a note in mailbox telling you that mailbox access is blocked  . Go figure that one out 

[Rye Miles #13621]

3 minutes ago, PowerRiverCowboy said:

No they dont, and today many wont they will put a note in mailbox telling you that mailbox access is blocked  . Go figure that one out 

So the mailman has to get out of his vehicle and go around the parked cars to put the notice that the mailbox is blocked? No wonder the post office loses money year after year!

[PowderRiverCowboy]

3 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

So the mailman has to get out of his vehicle and go around the parked cars to put the notice that the mailbox is blocked? No wonder the post office loses money year after year!

 Yep, during a family event that had cars  parked on street one day out of 300 LOL Yep 

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

I can answer that one. Depends. Rural Carriers have a bit more leeway as they are usually driving left hand drive cars and attempting delivery from the right hand window. The general instruction is "If it is unsafe to stop on roadway exit (into traffic) they are allowed to pass up the blocked box.  When they return to the Post Office they SHOULD fill in a form (PS Form 1571) notifying Management about why mail delivery was curtailed.

 NOW - City Carriers mostly deliver mounted routes from right hand drive, more and more post offices are providing right hand drive vehicles to rural carriers as well.  The general instruction for these is, IF you can park legally and not block driveways or roadway, you get out and walk to the box and make delivery IF opening the box is possible.  In the case of a vehicle parked directly in front of a box to where opening box door would hit the vehicle OR if the carrier would have to climb on the hood or crawl over the roof (obvious BUT dont count on  it)  if the carrier can not open box and see into the box, they are to curtail delivery and fill out the curtailed mail form (PS Form 1571) and attempt delivery the next day.

 

In my 35 years as a city carrier I only had mounted routes for about 20 years. You would not believe what can fly out of a box when door is opened. I have had cats come out (someone thought it would be funny to do that to a cat) That cat is scared and mad and the carrier is the victim. We had one carrier in my town nearly loose an eye in such a situation.  I have had snakes inside rock or brick mailboxes. They are none too happy either.  I have found, soiled diapers, hypodermic syringes, drugs, firecrackers wired to blow when door is opened. SO YES, the being able to see into the box is a safety issue.

 

Leaving the vehicle in middle of street is not supposed to be done. If vehicle can not be parked in accordance with local, state laws, the carrier must not violate the law and pass the delivery.  We have had many carriers killed and seriously injured when they stopped to make a blocked box delivery.

Cites:

 Postal regulations require that carriers dismount to deliver to a box that is temporarily blocked. Postal
Operations Manual 632.14 states:
The customer is responsible for keeping the approach to his or her mailbox clear to facilitate delivery. Where the approach to the mail receptacle located at the curb is temporarily blocked by a parked vehicle during normal delivery hours for the area, or snow or ice hampers the approach to the mailbox, the carrier normally dismounts to make delivery. If the carrier continually experiences a problem in serving curbline boxes and where the customer is able to control on- street parking in front of his or her mailbox but does not take prompt corrective action after being properly notified, the postmaster may, with the approval of the district manager, withdraw delivery service.

 

The USPS Standard Training Program for City Letter Carriers (p 16.2.3) instructs: “If the approach to the mailbox is blocked, delivery must be attempted by dismounting where it is safe to do so.” This applies whether the box is blocked by a vehicle, a trash can or even snow
or ice.

[Pat Riot]

@Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022

Thank you for your service.  

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

5 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

@Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022

Thank you for your service.  

Thanks,

It was a great job.  I got to help lots of people with mail problems. I got to walk into a couple burglaries and an assault in progress.   Hauled escaped dogs home, lost kids found, had dogs who walked my walking route with me nearly every day. Lots of chances to meet and be involved with my customers. The one situation that broke my heart, was a customer came out to box as I was feeding it, and he said " She's gone.. she's gone"  I didnt know what he was talking about but he took my hand so I went with him... His wife of 60 years was dead on the sofa.,  I stayed till the police showed up, called his son for him, got a couple neighbors to come over, then finished my route and came back for the evening. 

 

I was blessed to be asked to be a Godfather to a child on the route I had for 18 years.  I went to weddings, funerals, birthday parties. It was an education in people, how to treat and be treated.   My last route, I only had for 5 years but one section had a huge party for me, gifts and FOOD.  That was some block party.   I have been retired 10 years now, but still hear from many of my customers from the last route. 

Sadly, the USPS has changed enough that with all the pressure on the new class of carriers, the public does not get the service I and those of my time were able to give.

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

We still get the mail delivered to our porch daily and like to chat up our mailman from time to time.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Unfortunately, we get a different letter carrier almost daily. No real way to make their acquaintance. 

[Rip Snorter]

The little rural PO where I get my mail is a social center of our tiny community.  I can recall the mail man in the days of my youth as nearly a neighbor.

[Rye Miles #13621]

We get mail every 2 or 3 days, different times of the day and different carriers. The mail service here sucks! 

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Can’t say that our service sucks, but it arrives somewhere between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm. Wish it could more consistent, but I know nothing of the logistics involved. 

[Cypress Sun]

 

We get the same mail lady about three times a week. She'll get out of the truck if the box is blocked. The other three days of the week are always different deliverers that are so lazy that they wouldn't get out of the truck if their ass was on fire.

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

Dont be so sure they are lazy. The USPS Management harasses the carriers about going faster than is usually safely possible. Management uses their computer to predict how much time it takes to deliver the route. The computer does not have the ability to take blocked boxes, parcel delivery, how much time it takes to deliver certified and registered mail.  IF the carrier does not get done in the time allowed, they are disciplined and often terminated.  The USPS now hires all carriers as non career basis. these city carrier assistants are no benefits, hire and fire at will (within contractual limits).

 That being said.... the young people being hired now did not take a test, they didnt go through background checks like us old timers.  They are pretty much of the mindset that this is owed them, that they arent going to work hard.  In Austin we have about an 80% quit rate among these new hires in the first 6 months. the job requires mental concentration, thought processes and dealing with all kinds of weather and work hazards (traffic, animals, insects, slips, trips, falls, etc)  But I can tell you a huge percentage are not going to do the job right no matter what.

[Noah Cash]

Hilda Billie was a rural carrier for 26 years, and I want to thank Mule Shoe for the great explination and clearing up much of the wrong opinions for the carriers, both city and rural. In most cases they try to do an excellent job, but as in most large outfits,  there are those who will do the absolute minimum to get by.

Thanks Mule shoe Bill

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

On 12/30/2022 at 6:32 PM, Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022 said:

 

 That being said.... the young people being hired now did not take a test, they didnt go through background checks like us old timers.  

I worked the swing shift in 1967-70 at the Post Office Terminal Annex in Seattle while I was in college. It was a great job; I was a Clerk, but instead of 'throwing mail' I worked the docks loading parcel post into railroad boxcars. Among other things, we loaded countless thousands of boxes of stereo decks and speakers from the Far East, sent home by soldiers deployed in Vietnam, and jillions of those porcelain elephants.

 

Anyway, I don't know about background checks, but as clerks we were tested on the Washington and Idaho 'schemes': we had to know what center  mail to each of Washingtons 625 cities, towns, and hamlets (and Idaho's 300+) went to. It was a real challenge to pass; you got a couple chances.

 

Anyway, I liked the Post Office and well-remember my 3 years there. We've had some great mail carriers down  the years.

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

2 hours ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

I worked the swing shift in 1967-70 at the Post Office Terminal Annex in Seattle while I was in college. It was a great job; I was a Clerk, but instead of 'throwing mail' I worked the docks loading parcel post into railroad boxcars. Among other things, we loaded countless thousands of boxes of stereo decks and speakers from the Far East, sent home by soldiers deployed in Vietnam, and jillions of those porcelain elephants.

 

Anyway, I don't know about background checks, but as clerks we were tested on the Washington and Idaho 'schemes': we had to know what center  mail to each of Washingtons 625 cities, towns, and hamlets (and Idaho's 300+) went to. It was a real challenge to pass; you got a couple chances.

 

Anyway, I liked the Post Office and well-remember my 3 years there. We've had some great mail carriers down  the years.

I was hired as a "Clerk - Carrier" in '78.  Had to learn AO (associate office) scheme and LSM (letter sorting machine) minimum was 60 letters a minute. I was able to work about 65.  After doing half tour at MPO I had to drive to my home PO clock in and pitch parcels or work manual primary scheme.  that was 2 or 3 days a week. Worked manual primary ans carried mail 4 days a week. Oh those were the days.

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

It was a great job; I was a (very) young married man with one, and then a second child; for a liberal arts student, it wasn't hard to work a 2 pm to 10 pm shift. So I was making a good working-man's salary as an undergrad and was able to support a family as well as go to school.

 

On top of that it was mostly on the docks loading railcars, so for a young man it was ideal. 

 

One story I told here years ago is that they required an armed guard to escort registered mail downtown from the Terminal Annex. I was given a couple hours training with a .38spl shooting wax bullets to qualify for that job, which I did a few times. Veterans at the PO told me to lay that pistol down forthwith should there be any mail robbery. On the other hand, there probably hadn't been one for generations on that run.

[Utah Bob #35998]

There is no “Nothing:” in the motto. Which isn’t official anyway.

https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/pdf/mission-motto.pdf

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

I remember the pay $ 6.19 an hour. My previous job was paying $15 an hour but I was working about 60 hours a week. Well as a PTF (Part Time Flexible - which meant the USPS could work you 7 days a week as many hours as they wanted - that changed in 1979 where they were limited to 12 hour days- but management often worked PTF carriers and clerks beyond that-.

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

9 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

There is no “Nothing:” in the motto. Which isn’t official anyway.

https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/pdf/mission-motto.pdf

Thanks for that Bob.  I know in the years I worked as a Carrier, I often gave a shoulder and ear to my customers over broken hearts, marriages, deaths, lost loved ones. Heck once even the ashes of a grandparent disappeared for about a year till they showed up and I got to deliver them.  Delivered mail in freezing rain, snow and summer heat 115 or so, but in the vehicle temps often ran over 140 or so.  My favorite memory about that was a customer who was an OSHA investigator came out one afternoon the air temp that day in 2011 was about 114, inside the vehicle it was hell who knows.  He had me wait, ran inside and got a device for measuring temp instantly. It was 150+ inside the truck. Like I told him, it is what we signed on for, no big deal. I cant tell you how many days I ended up with heat stroke and or heat exhaustion.  My body's ability to regulate temperature is permanently messed up.  I would do it all again though, I loved my customers and the trust and loyalty I took seriously (as did most of the old timers) meant something.