Rural mail boxes

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SJB

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#195414 19-Apr-2016 16:38

Are there any GZ'ers who have a rural mail box and been asked to move it by their postie so that it complies with the new Health and Safety laws that came into effect on the 4th April?

Our postie put a note in all the boxes stating that they could no longer put mail into a box on the 'wrong' side of the road. The box had to be on the near side of the road and the postie had to be able to drive behind it (ie off the road) to put the mail directly into the box.

This change meant a lot of rural post boxes in my area have had to or will need to be moved. I heard of one case where there is no suitable site on the near side of the road and the box will have to be 2kms from the house.

Our box is indeed on the 'wrong' side of a single track gravel road. When the postie is alongside it they are completely off the road by a long way, at least a couple of metres, so it couldn't be in a safer location but apparently we still have to move it.

I've tried to find out where this change to the location of mail boxes has come from but so far had no luck. NZ Post don't seem to know anything about it.

cleggy2

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#1535809 19-Apr-2016 16:45

I will be watching this topic with interest. My mailbox currently requires the postman to drive on the wrong side of the road to deliver.

hio77

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#1535825 19-Apr-2016 16:57

Our postbox is right where the driveway meets the roadside, about 300M away. Postie hasnt had an issue with it.

Often our postie delivers direct to our door, The team that look after our area are an awesome bunch to deal with!

never even knew the health and safety rules changed!

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SJB

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#1535850 19-Apr-2016 17:23

hio77:

never even knew the health and safety rules changed!

There were some news articles about kids not being able to climb trees in school playgrounds a couple of weeks back. All to do with the same law changes.

The changes have come about because of Pike River.

clevedon

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#1535851 19-Apr-2016 17:24

When we built our house, we asked the RD driver where he would like us to put the mailbox and he said straight across the road from our driveway so he wouldn't have to get out of his vehicle - so that's where we put it.

If they want it somewhere else now, they will have to do it.

Geektastic

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#1535933 19-Apr-2016 19:02

Surely the right or wrong side is irrelevant - the postman is driving the wrong way if the box is on his 'wrong' side.

We decided we could not be bothered with RD (and frankly being 2000 metres from the centre of the village and still being RD is ridiculous but that is for another day!) so we just have a PO Box in the village and I collect it a couple of times a week.

GregM

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#1536197 20-Apr-2016 07:24

We've moved into our new house 4 months ago and the posty wanted the box on the wrong side of the road. We are on quite an open road, so can understand the danger. If they want it safe, they should have left hand drive vehicles and then they can remain on the correct side of the road.

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NzBeagle

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#1536228 20-Apr-2016 08:26

RD's operate on their own set of rules some of the time, but I understand they can request a movement of a letter box, or change to a suitable one if they can find reasonable cause for it. Generally they want it on the wrong side of the road, given they operate right hand vehicles, but some still deliver left hand if it best suits the run and/or is significantly safer. I know when one changed from a wagon to a van, they requested a small number (single figure) out of their 1000+ to raise the height, and offered to assist in this. Could be worthwhile trying to negotiate with them.

While they sometimes appear to be a law unto themselves, they do answer to NZ Post, so if you think they are being unreasonable, go through the service centre and ask for the issue to be escalated as you are a customer and they're (supposed to be) providing you with a service.

SJB

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#1536401 20-Apr-2016 11:01

I do wonder if our postie has had a knee jerk reaction to something they have heard or read. When I have some definitive information I'll post it.

SJB

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#1554616 18-May-2016 09:53

An update.

I had a meeting yesterday with the Rural Contracts manager, the National Rural Post H&S manager and our local postie to discuss the siting of our box.

After some discussion, and protestations and some blather from the postie, both managers agreed there was nothing wrong with the location of our box. They refuted the posties claim that stopping on the 'wrong' side to deliver was in fact illegal.

A lot of boxes in our area have been moved already. It's a shame some of those people didn't question the original request from the postie as many of them were fine where they were.

As for other situations, it may be down to whether or not your local postie decides to ask for any changes. Generally, if they have to cross a busy road or possibly the sight lines are poor you might be asked to move it at some stage in the future. In any case, if you are asked to move it and you think it's safe where it is contact the NZ Post helpline and they should be able to put you in contact with your local Rural Post manager.

NzBeagle

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#1554630 18-May-2016 10:09

SJB:

An update.

I had a meeting yesterday with the Rural Contracts manager, the National Rural Post H&S manager and our local postie to discuss the siting of our box.

After some discussion, and protestations and some blather from the postie, both managers agreed there was nothing wrong with the location of our box. They refuted the posties claim that stopping on the 'wrong' side to deliver was in fact illegal.

A lot of boxes in our area have been moved already. It's a shame some of those people didn't question the original request from the postie as many of them were fine where they were.

As for other situations, it may be down to whether or not your local postie decides to ask for any changes. Generally, if they have to cross a busy road or possibly the sight lines are poor you might be asked to move it at some stage in the future. In any case, if you are asked to move it and you think it's safe where it is contact the NZ Post helpline and they should be able to put you in contact with your local Rural Post manager.

Good persistence and thanks for sharing the outcome.

sdav

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#1554655 18-May-2016 10:40

Yeah, I was going to ask how this breached the H&S Act... You can't be expected to eliminate all inherent risks of a job. And since the role of a postie is to put mail in a box it is ridiculous to think they could make people move their boxes!

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BTR

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#1554737 18-May-2016 11:59

If the postie can't deliver the mail in their vehicle then they should pull over and jump out to deliver the mail just like a courier does.....

andrew027

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#1554805 18-May-2016 13:47

BTR: If the postie can't deliver the mail in their vehicle then they should pull over and jump out to deliver the mail just like a courier does.....

Surely all that getting in and out of the van would be a health and safety hazard? The solution is to have them drive as close to the house as they can get and just throw your mail out the window.