Ever clear a public intersection with your tractor?

[buckeyefarmer]

thought I had heard it all, a ticket for plowing a public road. Wow. I used to drive a snow plow, if someone did a road ahead of me, I'd thank them. course I heard them county boys went and joined a union now, don't know why they went and messed up when they had a good thing going for them.
I remember having to open our road once with our dozer because we had been snowed in for days, back in Jan of 1978 I think...

https://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=B111US0D20140403&p=ohio+blizzard+1978

 

[oldtimer 66]

I talked to my insurance agent about my tractor. He says it is covered under my home owners insurance while it is on my property. If it is on the road and something happens it's my dime. I put insurance on my Gator because it is on the road at times. It is registered thru the DCNR. The insurance is car insurance. About $280 a year with out collision. Just some info. Later.

 

[westcliffe01]

For those of us under service boycott, it can be a week or up to 2 weeks after a storm like we had this weekend before a county plow makes a pass. Historically, our subdivision roads have never been plowed after storms, but the main service road has always been plowed a couple of times during the storm and certainly in time so people could go to work the next day.

Last winter we experienced for the first time having exactly zero passes down the main service road for the entire duration of the storm or any sign of a plow past daylight the following day. I personally used my 2 stage snow blower to clear the subdivision road. Since this was routine, I probably did it 3x during the storm since it was clearly a major dump and there was going to be the famous "polar vortex" hard freeze the following day with temps down to -30F. So I wanted to reduce the amount of exposure I was going to have the next day. Well, every time I got up to the service drive to clear out the junction (so that the plow does not throw up a "wall" which is impassable) it was clear that the service drive had not been plowed.

The next morning I had to take my wife to work (she too is a nurse who has to report for duty regardless of circumstances). Getting stuck on the unplowed service drive in those conditions could be life threatening so we had arctic type clothing, snow shoes, blankets etc. I had to run the service road for several miles to the west and there was about 18" of snow on the roadway with some drifting. It took a high % of the available horsepower from the superduty turbo diesel in 4wd to plow the front wheels and parts of the suspension through the dry snow, but given my desert sand experience I kept it moving. We reached a point where we had to make a decision about the point to exit the service road, exit early at the access drive for the local schools or continue another half mile to a road that wraps around a local grass airfield. I made the mistake of thinking that the roads around the schools might have received some sort of priority from the county plow crews... Well that mistake nearly got us stuck in some deep drifts...

Needless to say I was pretty PO after that experience. People who got stuck on unserviced roads did suffer frostbite and I believe there was at least 1 fatality. Overall, the amount of road service that is provided in the county is down dramatically, simply because the winters have been mild. Yet when there is a serious event it appears that plowing activities only kick off after daylight the following day. We have had some dramatic accidents this season in MI and anyone who has been following the weather will know that we have hardly had any snow this year till last weekend. But it does not take much snow or freezing rain to cause serious accidents when there is a basic refusal to plow or salt until people die. Apparently nothing is going to change since there have been no shakeups on the county board as a result of the denial of service in a county that has high taxes.

 

[coobie]

For those of us under service boycott, it can be a week or up to 2 weeks after a storm like we had this weekend before a county plow makes a pass. Historically, our subdivision roads have never been plowed after storms, but the main service road has always been plowed a couple of times during the storm and certainly in time so people could go to work the next day.

Last winter we experienced for the first time having exactly zero passes down the main service road for the entire duration of the storm or any sign of a plow past daylight the following day. I personally used my 2 stage snow blower to clear the subdivision road. Since this was routine, I probably did it 3x during the storm since it was clearly a major dump and there was going to be the famous "polar vortex" hard freeze the following day with temps down to -30F. So I wanted to reduce the amount of exposure I was going to have the next day. Well, every time I got up to the service drive to clear out the junction (so that the plow does not throw up a "wall" which is impassable) it was clear that the service drive had not been plowed.

The next morning I had to take my wife to work (she too is a nurse who has to report for duty regardless of circumstances). Getting stuck on the unplowed service drive in those conditions could be life threatening so we had arctic type clothing, snow shoes, blankets etc. I had to run the service road for several miles to the west and there was about 18" of snow on the roadway with some drifting. It took a high % of the available horsepower from the superduty turbo diesel in 4wd to plow the front wheels and parts of the suspension through the dry snow, but given my desert sand experience I kept it moving. We reached a point where we had to make a decision about the point to exit the service road, exit early at the access drive for the local schools or continue another half mile to a road that wraps around a local grass airfield. I made the mistake of thinking that the roads around the schools might have received some sort of priority from the county plow crews... Well that mistake nearly got us stuck in some deep drifts...

Needless to say I was pretty PO after that experience. People who got stuck on unserviced roads did suffer frostbite and I believe there was at least 1 fatality. Overall, the amount of road service that is provided in the county is down dramatically, simply because the winters have been mild. Yet when there is a serious event it appears that plowing activities only kick off after daylight the following day. We have had some dramatic accidents this season in MI and anyone who has been following the weather will know that we have hardly had any snow this year till last weekend. But it does not take much snow or freezing rain to cause serious accidents when there is a basic refusal to plow or salt until people die. Apparently nothing is going to change since there have been no shakeups on the county board as a result of the denial of service in a county that has high taxes.

Welcome to the new right to work state Michissippi,PURE MICHIGAN.Less wages means less tax base to fix our infrastructure.

 

[Cat_Driver]

My one question is W-H-Y ? No really WHY WOULD YOU DO IT. It's 2015 people sue people for looking at them sideways. Let me show you how it works.
You clean the intersection and someone gets in an accident. These are the questions teh lawyer will ask you.
1) who asked you to clear the intersection?
2) Are you a certifies intersection cleaner?
3) How much money do you have and what is your house worth and your kinds college fund.

 

[papabear]

Cat Driver is correct.
No matter how well you clear that intersection, and there is an accident, you will be named as a defendendant in the law suit.

 

[texasjohn]

Welcome to the new right to work state Michissippi,PURE MICHIGAN.Less wages means less tax base to fix our infrastructure.

Yes, I have been wondering what the back story is here. Lack of funds for equipment/drivers? Management decisions to send equipment elsewhere?
Punitive measure to one area of the county because of their voting history? All politics is local...and there is no more local situation than a county experiencing an emergency causing a health threat to its citizens/taxpayers. There is a theory that every individual is responsible for only themselves and should reap the consequences/benefits of that approach. Or, the theory that by collectively assisting each other via governmental cooperation we can all benefit. Many ideas along the spectrum.....

Is there any real data about why the roads were not timely cleared?
And, I agree, there is ample evidence that good samaritan acts are appreciated until someone claims that they have been damaged then the legal system punishes all of us who wish/can help out .

 

[woodchipper]

When I had my tractor in town, some years back, I would plow the bus stop for free, just as a great service from a good samaritan. I even got a bus unstuck once! Got my picture taken from the bus driver, and even got appreciation from the management!! Incredible and true.:cool2: Legal or not...I just did it.

 

[KubotaToy]

Interesting the different views on this. My past experience has caused me to be a poor neighbor, I help no one anymore, just an' it worth it. I had local government ask during a bad storm last year if I would volunteer to help clear the roads of some very large trees and debris in my area. It took them 8 days to get a crew to open the road. I could have done it in 2-3 with a little help but why do it, I had enough food and generator fuel to last at least two weeks and someone will complain if do it.

Specific example, my neighbor needed to get a tree off his house and asked for some help, I tore his yard up a little with my track loader and backhoe, I have yet to hear the end of it, he thinks I should plow up his yard and replant grass at my expense.

 

[texasjohn]

Gad! Well, guess you can tell him that your charge for getting the tree off of his house is for him to fix his yard so you can have a pretty yard to look at. That's a lot of nerve..um...misunderstanding of consequences...you used your equipment at his request and no cost to him..We need, for real, a "you're unreasonable/out of line/crazy/get over it" court/grievance system. There, a jury of peers, would hear 5 timed minutes of each side of the story and make a quick vote and common sense ruling...not necessarily law based, but common sense. Real people waiting for selection for a real jury could pass the time doing this. I have spent a lot of time waiting in a room of over 100 regular citizens waiting for the court to start selecting jurors...

 

[fishheadbob]

It seems the moral of this story is that no good deed goes unpunished.
When we got our 6 or 7 feet of snow in November (Buffalo) the highway department was obviously overwhelmed but I limited my plowing to the neighbors who asked me, and I did push one tree aside so the road was kind of passable in case an ambulance or fire truck needed it. Out at the main road I saw an ambulance being led by a state plow.
Even helping the neighbors out probably meant that that my insurance would have not covered anything bad I might have gotten into. Once in a lifetime storms mean sit home and stay warm, don't think that you're the world's savior . Let the pros do their job. Did it take a few days for them to get my road done, sure. But do I want to pay even more taxes than I already do for more plows, drivers, highlifts, and so on for an every 30 year storm.
An old Buffalo mayor became even more notorious when he advised people to get a six pack and stay home. He also plowed streets by how they had voted in the last election.

 

[LD1]

Specific example, my neighbor needed to get a tree off his house and asked for some help, I tore his yard up a little with my track loader and backhoe, I have yet to hear the end of it, he thinks I should plow up his yard and replant grass at my expense.

Too many people are ungrateful. Which is why may of us have the attitudes we have toward "just helping out"

 

[Sprinklerman]

I dont plow the 2 miles of road from my shop to the main road . On my truck I angle the blade and keep it 2 inches up . I am not plowing the road , I am just traveling and cant raise my plow any higher ( thats what I told the officer) . He was called because the PIA neighbor complained I put snow in front of his driveway . I would never , ever come back later that night and push snow up in front of his driveway 4 ft high . The rest of the neighborhood always thanks me , since the road gets plowed 3 or 4 days later on a small snow .

 

[JDgreen227]

I dont plow the 2 miles of road from my shop to the main road . On my truck I angle the blade and keep it 2 inches up . I am not plowing the road , I am just traveling and cant raise my plow any higher ( thats what I told the officer) . He was called because the PIA neighbor complained I put snow in front of his driveway . I would never , ever come back later that night and push snow up in front of his driveway 4 ft high . The rest of the neighborhood always thanks me , since the road gets plowed 3 or 4 days later on a small snow .

OP here....and I thank you for what you tried to do for the community...it truthfully amazes me how some of the responses here belittle me for TRYING TO DO SOMETHING GOOD....the sad thing is the world has become so sue-and-get-what-you-can-out-of-it....NO WONDER lawyers are despised and the courts clogged up with inane lawsuits by lazy morons whining and wanting SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. Hey....if I were in your place I would pile up snow and let the **** whine about it.

 

[mark02tj]

Along the lines of PITA neighbors and no good deed goes unpunished....

Years ago, my first house was in a "city neighborhood". Think of the opening scene of "All in the Family" - houses 5 feet apart, small yards, alley behind the house if you had a garage, etc. The family across the street was really odd. I'd probably overload the TBN server with all the stories about them! Anyway, one of the other neighbors had a pretty good sized, 2 stage self propelled snowblower. Probably about a 30" wide auger. Why he had one that big when his sidewalk was only about 20 feet long (including several steps), I'll never know. Anyway, when we got a big snow, he would get out the blower and clear the entire sidewalk on both sides of the block. The blower was big enough that he could do it in one pass. My neighbor across the street called the police on him for doing it. The police basically laughed at her. Next snowfall, he cleared everything except in front of their house - just turned off the auger, drove through the snow (leaving tracks she was mad about! LOL!) and then turned it back on at the edge of the property.

 

[xzcVAbc5]

Along the lines of PITA neighbors and no good deed goes unpunished....

Years ago, my first house was in a "city neighborhood". Think of the opening scene of "All in the Family" - houses 5 feet apart, small yards, alley behind the house if you had a garage, etc. The family across the street was really odd. I'd probably overload the TBN server with all the stories about them! Anyway, one of the other neighbors had a pretty good sized, 2 stage self propelled snowblower. Probably about a 30" wide auger. Why he had one that big when his sidewalk was only about 20 feet long (including several steps), I'll never know. Anyway, when we got a big snow, he would get out the blower and clear the entire sidewalk on both sides of the block. The blower was big enough that he could do it in one pass. My neighbor across the street called the police on him for doing it. The police basically laughed at her. Next snowfall, he cleared everything except in front of their house - just turned off the auger, drove through the snow (leaving tracks she was mad about! LOL!) and then turned it back on at the edge of the property.

:laughing:

The neighbor got what they wanted. I bet the compacted snow was nice for them to shovel off.

So far no complaining about me doing all the maintainence and most of the snow removal on the gravel alley behind my house. It's basically just me and one other guy that uses it. The city should run a truck through there to push snow, but I haven't seen that happen for several years. I probably wouldn't like how they do it anyway.

 

[sld]

OP here....and I thank you for what you tried to do for the community...it truthfully amazes me how some of the responses here belittle me for TRYING TO DO SOMETHING GOOD....the sad thing is the world has become so sue-and-get-what-you-can-out-of-it....NO WONDER lawyers are despised and the courts clogged up with inane lawsuits by lazy morons whining and wanting SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. Hey....if I were in your place I would pile up snow and let the **** whine about it.

You are one paranoid guy. You asked for opinions and got both sides. Just because you don't agree with some of them doesn't mean people are belittling you. Wow!

 

[JDgreen227]

You are one paranoid guy. You asked for opinions and got both sides. Just because you don't agree with some of them doesn't mean people are belittling you. Wow!

I asked for opinions, yes....but hey....if I were seriously paranoid do you think I would even waste my time plowing the intersection???? And you have been reported for being insulting...calling me paranoid !!! WHAT AN INSULT !!!!!

 

[GolfAddict]

So then, did you really think people were belittling you, or were you just hoping for reactions by saying that??

 

[JDgreen227]

Too many people are ungrateful. Which is why may of us have the attitudes we have toward "just helping out"

YOU HIT THAT ONE RIGHT ON THE HEAD !!! It never fails to amaze me how the morons who do NOTHING for others are so quick to crap on those who actually TRY to help someone else. How many of those morons would devote several hours to clearing their neighbors driveways in freezing weather without expecting anything but a simple "thank you"? WHAT A LAUGH.

Remember there are 3 kinds of people: Those who make things happen, those who watch what is happening, and those who wondered what happened. I bet 99% of the naysayers here who are quick to condemn me are those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened.