Snow Plow Operators Deliberately Taking Out Homeowners Mailboxes

You can tell Indianapolis' Department of Public Works employees don't give a damn how much damage they inflict when they go about doing their jobs by the poor condition they maintain most of the trucks you see out on the road. Neighbors on the city's southeastside complain that every time it snows the operators of the snow plow trucks take out their mailboxes, garbage cans and everything else in their paths while they are plowing the streets. A DPW spokesperson claims this is unavoidable, but I think it is deliberately being done by drivers who have a shitty attitude about their jobs. Just take one look at the video clip taken by one of the neighbors on WRTV's website and you will see what I mean. Here's the story:

Some neighbors on Indianapolis' southeast side are upset after a snowplow was caught taking out mailboxes, and it's not the first time.


Along McGregor Street, it's become a yearly battle for residents to try and keep their mailboxes upright after plows come by, 6News Chance Walser reported.
 
"We did fasten it though the side and the bottom, but it broke them off the bolts," said neighbor Ronald Simpkins, whose mailbox was held together with bungee cords.


One neighbor shot cell phone video Wednesday of a plow taking out several mailboxes and garbage cans, throwing pieces into nearby yards.

"You can see how far the ice is thrown up into the yards. He was going that fast that it came halfway to the house," one neighbor said.

6News took the video to the Department of Public Works on Thursday. Spokeswoman Kara Brooks said it doesn't appear the plow driver did anything wrong.

"Unfortunately, it happens. It's part of fighting a snow storm," she said. "For a lot of snow truck drivers in Indianapolis, in surrounding counties, across the country, this is not unheard of for this to happen."

Neighbors said they're grateful for the plow drivers and the work they've been doing to keep the streets clear but said replacing their mailboxes after every snowfall gets old.

My homeowners association repeatedly incurred damages done to the gutters on the alley side of our garage in Lockerbie by a city-driven garbage truck. Every time we would repair the gutters the garbage truck driver would clip the gutters with his truck and smash them or rip them entirely off the building's eave. We noticed gutters on other garages along the alley had similarly been damaged. The city denied their drivers were doing the damage to our gutters when we complained and refused to pay for the cost of repairing them. We eventually paid to have new gutters mounted on the roof so it would be impossible for the drivers to damage the gutters, and I'll be damned if a week after we had the new gutters installed one of the drivers didn't strike a downspot and tear it lose. These guys just have bad attitudes and forget they're paid with our taxpayer dollars to serve the public. Their first order of business should be to do no harm as they go about their work.