CH>RW>I do believe you are wrong.  Seems to me that USPS
CH>  >vehicles still have gov licenses plates on them not
CH>  >private plates like UPS trucks.  Also I think USPS
CH>  >employees are eligible for the federal employee
CH>  >retirement plan.
JFD> USPS trucks come in two types.
JFD> The ones actually owned by the post office have no plates at
JFD> all, None, Zip Nada,  There is a number painted on the back
JFD> of the truck (Fleet id number) but there is no license
JFD> plate.
JFD> The reason for this is the constution.  Congress has the
JFD> right to establish POSTAL ROADS,  Thus the post office OWNS
JFD> the highway. It is their property and you don't need a
JFD> license plate ON YOUR OWN PROPERTY 
Which proves my point that the post office is a
government agency and not a public or semi-public
company.
But it raises other questions.  What if the mail truck
is on a road which was built w/o federal funds? There
are a few.  Also wouldn't this mean that NO state
passed highway laws and/or regulations (i.e. ALL of
them) would apply to mail trucks?  I could just see it
a cop stops a mail truck and tries to ticked the driver
and the driver tells him to buzz off this is MY road
I'll do what a dang well please.  What if the driver
has a firearm in the truck, after all I don't know of
any federal law concerning carrying a weapon in a
vehicle if there is no interstate travel involved.
JFD> The second type of USPS truck is the contract hauler.  This
JFD> accordance with all the laws for commricial vehicles in the
JFD> state(s) it travels in.  Same as any other semi, Even though
I don't see why after all they have permission from the
'owner' to use the road so couldn't the 'owner' give
them permission to do what ever he them to?  Think
about how much faster the mail system would run if the
mail trucks could run 80 or 90 or more mph.  Could cut
a couple of hours off trips, which could add up to
years of saved time.
Think about a race track (the roadways) and lets say I
own it (the post office).  Now I have a manager (the
state) who takes care of it and sets the rules, prices
for using the track and determines who may and may not
use it.  Two of the rules he has in no motorcycles and
no speeds over 110 mph.  Now lets say I have a friend
(the contract carrier) who has just bought him a nice
little pocket rocket and he wants to see how fast the
thing will go so I tell him to use my track.  I give
him a key and he goes in and is zooming around the
track doing 120+ mph on his new bike when the manager
arrives.  Now does the manager have the power to stop
him?  Its not his track its mine and I gave permission
so the answer is no.
                      Remember:  Freedom isn't Free!
--- timEd-B11
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