I, alongside fellow residents, feel in danger every time we have to risk our lives to retrieve our mail. As homeowners living near the I-69 interstate, we experience high-speed traffic dangerously close to our mailboxes on a daily basis. When our homes were initially built, this interstate did not exist. But now, the rush and noise of cars going 50 miles per hour or more is a terrifying daily reality for us—and for our dedicated mail carriers. To complicate matters further, our location on a hilly road makes it challenging to anticipate upcoming vehicles.

Resident safety should never be a game of chance, yet collecting our mail feels like a round of the video game Frogger. In the face of all this, there lies a perfectly safe alternative—utilizing the shoulder in front of our homes, which could easily house mailboxes without placing residents or mail carriers in harm's way. 

Moving the mailboxes is not simply a matter of convenience; it's a matter of public safety. In 2019, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded a worrying number of 6,205 pedestrian deaths from traffic crashes in the United States ("Traffic Safety Facts Annual Report", NHTSA, 2019). While we aren't a statistic yet, every day that goes by with the current mailbox placement brings our community precariously closer to becoming one.

This unprotected roadside mailbox collection is not the way we should be living. By moving mailboxes to the shoulder, we can prevent avoidable risks and ensure the safety of residents and mail carriers alike. We believe in our right to a safe living environment, and we ask for your support in making that right a reality. Please sign this petition to relocate our mailboxes away from the edge of danger and towards safety.