Thread: Postie fined for doing his job

Originally Posted by Homestar

He didn't have his ID on him proving he was a Postie, so there is technically no exemption - just a mongrel act by a copper that obviously has a beef with this guy.

My 45 years on this earth has taught me a few things.
Dont mess with the postie or the garbo are 2 of them.

I hope the postie goes to his depo and notifies the guy who delivers the coppers mail. A week late on everything should do the trick.

We've had good and bad posties at our place. One insisted on riding all over my new lawn despite my putting a sign and little rope fence up to deter him Another was blind although the complaints people insisted he had new glasses...
We used to get letters redelivered to our place via other recipients who had written rude things about his eyesight ...... most were not printable here because they'll be blocked out.
I'm one of those weirdos that actually reverses into the drive, because I can, and I can see the postie coming up when driving out and I reckon many are doing more than 10 kays when they can miss a place with no mail.
Bloke who does our area now seems OK though but I don't know how long he'll last with some of the local nutters like her next door who just jumps in the car, key in, starts and rips out straight into the road with barely a glance at any traffic which may be around. Pedestrians, kids or posties don't figure large in her things to be wary of.
Our local cops tell me the path is a "grey area"...... it'll be blood red soon from her and others driving with complete disregard for others. Especially when taking the kids to school or going to pick them up.
AlanH.

My eldest daughter was nearly run down by the postie on his motorbike when she was about 4 years old, heading out for a walk with mum, got a few paces ahead and stepped out of our front gate onto the footpath where she had been taught was safe.
Apparently the bloke in this story was a contractor and was not easily identifiable as a postal worker.
With regard to the jurisdiction over the footpath, the 'highway' covers the full width of a road between property boundaries, i.e. the footpaths, nature strips and roadway from fence to fence. The 'carriageway' is the roadway part of the highway intended for vehicles. Emergency vehicles are allowed to travel anywhere, in any direction, on a highway, whereas other vehicles are restricted to the carriageway. Postal services probably have similar exemption to emergency vehicles when delivering mail.
Our rural mail contractor I reckon has the most dangerous job around here, drives a ute and puts mail in all the letterboxes on the right-hand side of the road as he goes along. Several even just within a few km along our road are on blind corners.

Not such a problem here postman has a small 4 wheel cart they push. Chain it to a light post while delivering to the street. Carry what they need in a small shoulder bag. Then move it on to next street and repeat until all done.

Advantage of walking is they know who lives where by sight. Have had the postie hand the post over when met in the street. Is like a neighbourhood watch as the postie knows who lives where. Who is home or away and who is a stranger to the area.

They do this in all weather conditions including a foot (30 cm) of snow.

Had a Kiwi postie for a while. The only one we have had who wore shorts all year in all weather conditions.

Originally Posted by 3toes

Not such a problem here postman has a small 4 wheel cart they push. Chain it to a light post while delivering to the street. Carry what they need in a small shoulder bag. Then move it on to next street and repeat until all done.

Advantage of walking is they know who lives where by sight. Have had the postie hand the post over when met in the street. Is like a neighbourhood watch as the postie knows who lives where. Who is home or away and who is a stranger to the area.

They do this in all weather conditions including a foot (30 cm) of snow.

Had a Kiwi postie for a while. The only one we have had who wore shorts all year in all weather conditions.

What you have to understand is the difference in the size of the postal runs between Aus. & the UK. A walk run here is under 15kms,or in shopping centres and the like, bike runs are usually about 30 to 40 kms, or more. Good luck walking that each day carrying the mail. Each bike postie is sent on a bike safety course every two years, a comprehensive course which covers all safety aspects of riding a postie bike , where it is drummed into you that 10 km/hr is the maximum speed on the footpath. Each postie signs off on that. Then the postie goes back to the office and is pressured by the manager to go faster, because he/she is being jumped on over overtime . Old posties shrug it off and accrue bucket loads of overtime, younger ones fear for their job, and fly around. Also there is the ego thing, I can go faster than you.

I was a postie for 25 years, started off walking in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. Fittest I've ever been. Also got to know the public, used to take the mail up the steps for elderly customers, had cups of tea & bikkies, we had old posties who could tell you where customers moved to years ago, off the top of their head. Anyway, enough of that. What may have happened here is that someone from the public has complained to the police about a bike on the footpath being ridden dangerously. May not have been a postman, there are all types of characters delivering junk nowadays. Hence the request for ID, postmen being the only ones allowed to ride on the footpath. Here's the kicker, postmen do not have ID. The bottom line is if you see a postie riding in what you consider a dangerous manner, you must report it to the Post Office complaints dept., the safety of the elderly, and children, may depend on it.