An American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) publication entitled "A Guide for Erecting Mailboxes on Highways" indicates that masonry mailboxes are a hazard and should not be allowed alongside of highways. Government agencies responsible for maintenance and safety of the roadways are becoming concerned and are now beginning to require removal of hazardous mailbox supports. Naturally, there has been some resistance by owners of the more expensive masonry structures. In order to better explain to them the consequences of what could happen if hit by an errant car, it was felt that crash testing of masonry boxes would be necessary. A review of actual practice reveals that about 85% of the masonry boxes are hollow and 15% are solid or filled with concrete. Therefore, it was felt necessary to crash test a hollow box and a solid box to see if there was any appreciable difference in the results. The test speed selected was 50 mph as a compromise between the rural 55 mph limit and the suburban 40-45 mph limit. The results of both tests indicate that masonry mailboxes are a hazard along rural highways and could inflict death or serious injury to the vehicle occupants.
The purpose of the testing reported herein was to assess the performance of Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT’s) extra-large mailboxes acc...
Roadway departure crashes represent approximately 50 percent of fatalities on Texas roadways each year. Roadside safety devices shield motorists from ...
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United States Department of Transportation
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