Moral dilemma number 3525: Am I gonna get sued over this?

[jmowreader]

Yesterday, a customer bought from me the following supplies to make a mailbox post: 2000 pounds of concrete, three sheets of plywood, two pieces of galvanized pipe and half a ton of egg rock.

Further, he asked for help in designing an attractive shape for his mailbox post. (We wound up with a slight pyramid.)

A one-ton mailbox post? I asked that too. The customer lives on a road where people like to drive in excess of the speed limit--well, the speed limit at Martinsville. The last guy who sheared off his mailbox post, the cops estimated that he was doing well over 100 mph when he hit it. And after seven sheared-off mailbox posts, this gentleman has had it. Therefore, he decided to make a mailbox post that would "destroy" the next car that hit it.

Here's my problem: Anyone who hits this mailbox post going 100 mph is gonna die. Am I gonna get named as an accessory?

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. First of all, you should not be going 100 MPH.

If you are going that fast, it's better the the drive going 100 gets killed than an innocent bistander.

What will happen is a legitimate accident occurs? That is the question.

[whalerider55]

2. only if...

you sell the speeder the alcohol he'll have had to drink...

i mean, the guy who designed the road won't get sued, the developer who placed the house on the lot won't get sued...

i'm no lawyer, but if this guy builds a speedbump with your concrete, i'd sweat. if he builds a swimming pool or mailbox post... i don't think so...

whalerider55

[Deja Q]

3. I'm no lawyer, but I'd say you wouldn't be

If a speeder is doing 100MPH, he's taking a big chance - not to mention 100MPH is rather illegal in the first place.

That clever chap, in theory, shouldn't be in the wrong either.

But that's just me. And in a country that has really stupid laws surrounding sex, anything is possible.

http://www.turoks.net/Cabana/StupidSexLaws.htm (added link via edit)

[Spangle]

4. bridge makers??

If someone hits a bridge going 100mph, who is at fault?

[oneighty]

5. I think he best

see his building inspector first, also US Post Office people.

180

[Lars39]

6. Wouldn't the county really own the area where mailboxes

are placed(right aways?easements?)? Call the county road superintendent or county codes to see if it is legal to put something like that up. :shrug:

[olddem43]

10. Correct - The Right-of-Way usually extends well back from the

edge of pavement and if he constructs this monstrosity, he may well be told to remove it as a hazard to motorists. Even if not, he would be liable if someone was killed or injured hitting it. His time and money would be better spent looking for a breakaway mailbox that can easily be reset after each new accident. He wants errant drivers to pay with their lives, but he will likely be the one paying with everything he owns.

[gmoney]

7. Get a permit and use reflectors

Get a permit from the city/county before you put it up. That should absolve you...

[Droopy]

8. You're in the clear as far as I can tell

And so is the guy building that boulder of a mail box. The only thing I can think of that he may want to do is check and see if a permit is required to build a structure of that size.

[Redneck Socialist]

9. If you lived further north...

the plow guys would be in for a hell of a surprise! I think the town crews must get paid a bonus for every mailbox they take out. It has become a running joke in some areas. People have taken to painting bulls eyes on their mail boxes.

I doubt that you could be held responsible if someone runs into the box you built, but I'm no lawyer so don't take my word for it.

on edit: typo

[Inland]

11. You basically built a building two feet from the road

You should check with county or zoning authorities on whether its a legal structure. Or rather, he should. It aint your property.

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. LOL!!

Oh, man, it's a bad thing to do. But on the other hand, there's no legal reason why someone should be expected to build a mailbox that is still safe at 100 miles an hour.

I'd only suggest that if a car does smash up on it, that the guy never mention the other people who have sheared his off. Tell him to just say "I've never done this construction before, so thought a ton of concrete was about the minimum you'd want to keep the wind from blowing it down."

And I doubt you would be named.

But then, in sue happy America, especailly if it's a freeper that hits the pole, you might be accused. But what's the chance of the guy even remembering who sold him the concrete?

But I gotta tell you, there's a big part of me that says this guy is doing something great, and I'm laughing at the thought of some 100 mph asshole meeting his big reward at a mailbox from a fed up resident.

[Mistress Quickly]

13. NO

It would be equivalent , IMO, of selling lumber to someone who then builds a fence without the proper zoning permits. He gets in trouble, you don't.

But I'm not any type of law person, and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night either.

[miss_kitty]

14. last time i had and accident with a stationary object

i was at fault. and i wasn't driving no 100 mph

[MuseRider]

15. People around here

build some very heavy duty mailbox protection. We still have the bozos who love to hit them with baseball bats as they drive by. Every day the boxes came down until people started covering them with steel, some have rows of T posts around them some put brick around them but this pyramid is pretty extreme. I would say he most likely needs permission to do this job but you should not be held accountable but then these days you never know. I doubt you would get named.

[DS1]

16. I worry about the pyramid, because

car + 100 mph + pyramid = your bedroom :scared:

edit: See Grand Theft Auto 3

[Spinzonner]

17. Doubt you have any fault for just seeling him ordinary building materials

but you may have crossed a line of foreknowledge and liability when you became aware of his intent and especially PARTICIPATED in designing it. It might not be criminal but a lawyer could go after you in a civil case, it's easy to sue somebody whether it's successful in the end or not and can still cost you.

I'd make some discreet inquiries about the legaility with the county (or other) zoning/building agencies and perhaps even consult a lawyer. You might check your business insurance to see if you're covered in these kinds of situations, especially for court cases. You might avoid talking to them so as to not light up anything in their eyes.

Do you have the phone number or address of the guy you sold the materials to ? If you find there are problems with his plan AND a lawyer has said that contacting him does not get you in deeper, you might want to warn him off his gradioise plans. (or have the lawyer do so via a letter.)

And I'd keep your attenae tuned to things like this in the future and avoid getting involved in extreme plans.

[leftyandproud]

18. You are in business

You sell products. People buy products. A customer made a request for materials and you filled it. You did nothing wrong.

[Blue-Jay]

19. Post a pic of the monstrousity when it's finished!

This, I gotta see!

And, no. You're not responsible for what this nutter does with the stuff that you sold him. I don't remember anyone sueing the guy that sold McVeigh the fertilizer. (Could've happened, I suppose. I just don't recall reading anything about it.)

[Radius]

20. Personal Decision

Someone put concrete pipe sections around their mailbox here and filled it with concrete, and someone hydroplaned hit it. Killed them dead.

I personally would not want to build that for someone.

It is a road hazard and could kill someone who was not speeding and hydroplaned, swerved to miss a kid on a bike, etc..

Liability is remote.