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Fatal Accident Sheds Light On Unclear Rules For Mailbox Posts, Supports

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 2, 2007

TAMPA - State and county highway rights of way usually extend well beyond the pavement, even in residential areas where, a few inches from the asphalt is someone's lawn.

Typically, transportation authorities don't want residents putting up permanent structures in the rights of way for safety reasons. They don't want serious injury or death to result if a motorist strays from the street and crashes into something that is grounded in concrete just a couple of feet from the road. It's their right of way and they could be held responsible.

And mostly people comply. Mailboxes may be the only exception to that rule.

And now, the issue is being examined in the wake of last week's fatal accident in Hillsborough County that claimed the life of the passenger in a car that ran off the road and hit a mailbox that was mounted on thick dock pilings. The wreck has left local, state and federal officials trying to find out who, if anyone, is to blame.

On Oct. 25, a BMW driven by Brittany L. Romer, 25, of Gibsonton, veered off the road, and struck a mailbox on heavy dock pilings. The post didn't break, but tilted at a 45-degree angle, vaulting the car into the air, forcing it to tumble.

The car's passenger, Rachel M. Morris, 20, of Riverview, died at the scene. Romer suffered a broken collarbone.

Brittany Romer's father, Jay, went door-to-door along the boulevard this week, urging residents to replace their mailboxes with lightweight, break-away models.

He said that the mailbox post should have broken away on impact, but the dock pilings instead pushed to a 45-degree angle, which basically launched the car.

Along state highways, nothing is allowed on the right of way, said Kris Carson, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Transportation. All mailboxes must be set off the rights of way on the homeowner's private property, she said. There are no exceptions.

"Nothing should be on the state right of way," she said.

County highway officials have more of a problem with rights of way infringements, since there are more county roads that extend into residential neighborhoods than do state highways.

Hillsborough County public works spokesman Mike McCarthy said all the regulations for mailboxes are set by the U.S. Postal Service. That includes height and distance from the curb. He said that anyone wanting to put up a roadside mailbox should check with either the postal service or the county permit department, to make sure all the requirements are met.

County code enforcement spokeswoman Kemly Green, said rules and regulations regarding mailboxes on the right of way are referred to the postal service.

"We don't regulate mailboxes," she said. "We regulate other structures, but not mailboxes."

The post office's regulations about mailboxes mainly deal with height and distance from the curb, said Gary Sawtelle, spokesman for the local postal service. But federal highway authorities have recommended that mailbox posts and supports should break if struck by a vehicle.

"I don't think that's a law," Sawtelle said, "I think that's just a recommendation."

That recommendation says that "mailbox supports no larger than 4 inches by 4 inches, or a 2-inch diameter standard steel or aluminum pipe, buried no more than 24 inches, should safely break away if struck by a vehicle."

Sawtelle referred to postal service regulations that say the post office does not regulate mailbox supports in any way, except for how it deals with carrier safety and delivery efficiency.

"Posts and other supports for curbside mailboxes are owned and controlled by customers who are responsible for ensuring that posts are neat and adequate in strength and size," regulations say.

"Heavy metal posts, concrete posts, and miscellaneous items of farm equipment, such as milk cans filled with concrete, are examples of potentially dangerous supports," the regulations say. "The ideal support is an assembly that bends or falls away when struck by a vehicle.

"Post or support designs may not represent effigies or caricatures," regulations say, "that disparage or ridicule any person."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at $(813) 259-7760 or at kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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