Subpart 1.
Unlawful installations and
supports.
The following mailbox installations and supports are declared
to be a public nuisance, a road hazard, and a danger to the health and safety
of the traveling public if located along a street or highway having a speed
limit of 40 miles per hour or greater:
A. an installation that contains more than
one vertical support;
B. a single
support containing more than two mailboxes;
C. a wooden support with a cross-sectional
area greater than 16 square inches at any above-ground point along the support
(for example, the maximum allowable square and round support dimensions are
four inches by four inches and 4.5 inches in diameter, respectively), except
that larger wooden supports are acceptable if, at a height four inches above
the ground, the support cross-sectional area is altered in some fashion so as
to reduce the cross-sectional area at that point to 16 square inches or
less;
D. a metal support of a
weight of four pounds per foot or more for any one foot of vertical measurement
above ground (for example, a standard steel pipe of up to two inches inner
diameter would be acceptable), except that larger metal supports are acceptable
if, within the first three inches above ground the metal support is less than
four pounds per foot (less than one pound for the three-inch length);
E. a mailbox that is not acceptable for
delivery of mail by the United States Postal Service;
F. adjacent mailbox installations whose
respective supports are spaced closer than 30 inches, as measured from center
of support to center of support;
G.
neighborhood delivery and collection box units, whether or not United States
Postal Service approved;
H. a
support comprised of material other than solely wood or metal that either
exceeds 16 square inches in total cross-sectional area at a height four inches
above ground or is of a weight of four pounds per foot or more for any one foot
of vertical measurement above ground, unless within the first three inches
above ground the support is less than four pounds per foot (less than one pound
over the three-inch distance). Examples of such nonconforming supports could
include supports such as filled milk cans, brick structures, plows, and
concrete-filled pipe; and
I. an
installation, whether a support or closed mailbox, that encroaches the usable
roadway or its airspace.
Subp.
2.
Exceptions.
Notwithstanding subpart
1, mailbox installations that
are documented to have passed an accredited crash test are acceptable. An
accredited crash test is considered to be a test conducted in accordance with
procedures described in the most recent National Cooperative Highway Research
Program report, "Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation
of Highway Appurtenances," published by the Transportation Research Board,
National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C.
20418. This report and future revisions of this report are incorporated by
reference. The report is not subject to frequent change and is available to the
public at the State Law Library, Judicial Center, 25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155, and through the Minitex interlibrary
loan system.
