Friday, February 04, 2011

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.

5 comments:

  1. At least Marion County is taking responsibility for the property damage. A whole row of mailboxes were taken out by a snow plow on my road recently, including mine. When I called the highway department to ask where to submit a claim, I was told that the commissioners recently drafted a resolution exempting themselves from any responsibility. Since when do county ordinances trump state laws regarding property damage? I may be able to afford a mailbox, but what about the little old lady on a fixed income?

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  2. It looks like it works, DI. Probably worth the investment if you have to repeatedly replace your mailbox.

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  3. What these homeowners need to do is get 8' lengths of scrap rail- the 139lb/yard variety- to attach their mailboxes to. Countersink about 5' of iron in concrete, using the upper 3' for post. Solid as a fire hydrant, and then some. The asshole drivers will suddenly figure out how to plow snow and not mailboxes, and in the future, treat these residents with proper respect.

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  4. How about moving Indy away from farmer mailboxes, and putting the mail through the mail slot in the front door, like they do in big cities?

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