public easement metal stakes

[wolf1]

in oklahoma, i mow a large piece of property. some **** keeps doing burnouts on the public easement around the property. is it legal to drive metal stakes into the ground to keep vehicles from driving on this side of the road? police said utility workers would just remove anything on the easement to work. people in the neighborhood next to the property are freaking out, had a guy pull a gun on me today. i just want to keep people from destroying the lawn i maintain and my family owns. any advise?

 

[justalayman]

who even owns the property?


and generally, even if it is legal, it is not a good idea especially because you are doing it with the intent to cause damage to the tires of the cars. You could be held liable for those damages if you are successful.

 

[wolf1]

family owns it, were trying to sell.

if its legal, then thats like saying im liable for someone driving into a wall i build. i dont understand what the deal is, its obvious the same person throws the same garbage and pulls the same dukes of hazard stunt every other week. i dont even care that much since i get paid by the hour to fix and maintain the place. im waiting on a phone call from oklahoma city codes ordinance office.

lets say worst case its illegal and the spikes need to be driven into the ground fully or removed. what could i do to keep this problem from recurring?

maybe a set of fence posts with cable?

 

[justalayman]

if its legal, then thats like saying im liable for someone driving into a wall i build.

that is not the same because the wall wasn't built with the intent to cause harm. If you want to go a bit further and say you built the wall to fall over if pushed on, then you would have a more accurate comparison.

lets say worst case its illegal and the spikes need to be driven into the ground fully or removed

. well, let's go crazy a bit:

say the idiot comes by and does a burn out, hits the spike, blows a tire. He loses control and does either of the following:


hits a pedestrian

rolls his car injuring or killing him or his passenger


want to guess how much that is going to cost you?

Basically, you incur a ton of liability if you place something to specifically cause damage to their vehicle.

maybe a set of fence posts with cable?

that would be more acceptable as it is not a hidden danger.

 

[wolf1]

i kind of figured it would come to that, a fence with a cable

i guess ill get paid to go out and drive metal poles into the ground with cable stretched and secured


but on the side note, what about this..

the rental car place just down the street has a spike strip set up for any body trying to drive in the exit.

how is it any different? i know it puts a bad taste in everyones mouth thinking about the accidental turn of the wheel and flat tires, but the same jerk of the wheel or slight negligence in driving with the metal posts and cable is only going to do more expensive body damage.

im not trying to troll i just want get to the bottom of it, im actually warming up to the idea of the fence posts and cable, zero "liability" and much stronger deterant, along with the time i get for installing

 

[justalayman]

the car rental place probably has a ton of insurance to cover their butts should they be sued.

They also likely have signs stating the mechanism will puncture your tires if you cross it the wrong way. Not that that absolves them of all liability but it helps/

 

[Ben T]

Is there any way you can get the police visual proof of the knucklehead? This way you have concrete evidence. Is there anyplace to stick a hidden game camera, or video?

Sorry that you have this problem - but there are always idiots out there who are selfish and careless. I get people dumping diapers, cans, wrappers near my easement which unfortunately has a STOP sign next to it.

 

[Terminus]

Rethink the cable idea please

I know you want the action to stop, but please rethink the cable idea.

When I lived up north, there was a four way intersection around which people used to cut through an adjoiners property. He put up a cable to stop this and marked it very clearly with flagging, etc. A few years go by...problem solved. Then one snowy day a family came to the intersection, tried to stop, and slide right off the road into the cable**************the cable basically took the top of the car off. Is stopping a few burnouts worth having a families pain on your hands.....so maybe find a better solution.