On 5/8/2022 8:04 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> suzeeq <suzee@imbris.com> wrote:
>> On 5/7/2022 4:26 PM, Ed Stasiak wrote:
>
>>>> . . .
>
>>> True, sitting there idling also burns up gas (though not that much) but
>>> mileage is figured by driving around a test track at a fixed speed that
>>> uses the least fuel, so real world mileage is actually worse but most
>>> homes have mailboxes attached to the house, so the mailman has to
>>> walk to every one, so the mail truck isn't running anyways.
>
>> Here, I've seen posties park the truck in one block, then walk a block
>> or two back, then a block or two forward, hitting both sides of the
>> street. No idling. These have mail receptacles at the house, not a
>> mailbox on the curb. There, they drive to each one.
>
> Ed's right that real-world mileage is much much worse. I explained in
> another followup that it's because the vehicles are started and shut off
> so many times throughout the day.
>
> I also explained that it depend on the age of the subdivision: In city
> carrier areas serving single family homes, if the subdivision was built
> before 1962, the mailbox was allowed to be at the front door. In a tear
> down in an old subdivision, the mailbox can still be at the front door.
>
> 1962 and later, the mailbox had to be at the street as they wanted
> carriers to sit behind the steering wheel as long as possible.
>
> I think 1962 was the year but I didn't look it up to refresh my memory.
>
> On a rural route, the mailbox is always at the street and has to be on
> the side of the street the rural carrier drives on, as they usually
> don't drive in both directions on a street.
>
If it's a street, that's still a urban route. A real rural route has the
boxes on the sied of the road, sometimes several if it's at the end of a
lane with several residences on it, or at the entry into a subdivision.