Car-Proof Field Fence Posts

[chamjoe]

Okay, the name kind of says it. I have a relatively simple field fence and I keep having an issue of (presumably) drunk morons not noticing that the road ends and crashing through my corner posts. It's been the same spot and I really thought that 8-9" round treated corners would be sufficient to at least disable the car so I can have their insurance pay for the repairs. In this last instance the post sheared right at ground level.

Used power poles don't seem to be an option in my area so what else can I use? I am really tempted to try and make my own bollards but I'm thinking those might only work in between the corners as opposed to holding the fence load because I'm not sure how to brace them together. The fence is right up against the right of way so as I understand it putting up a barrier myself would open up myself to liability and the County isn't interested on putting up one of their own.

All thoughts are appreciated I'd like to fix this in the next day or so. Thanks

 

[orezok]

A couple of large boulders would do the trick.

 

[mjarrels]

No such thing. Young kids in a 1982 caddy doing 70 MPH in a 15 MPH zone will take out 8 4 X 4 post at ground level along with all the fence boards between them. Ask me how I know. Not once but twice. I no long stand by my mailbox while scanning the mail. Yep, this is a short, maybe half mile long back road. GPS sends traffic thru to cut corners. I hate GPS.

mark

 

[Tig]

Liability for injuries is a concern, be careful in what you do. You don't want to cause consequences that make a broken fence post seem trivial.
What about some medium sized boulders set into the ground a bit. 18" -24" not big enough to abruptly stop the car and cause injuries, but big enough to get under the car and hang it up and give you a chance to meet you new visitors. A concrete pyramid the same height might also work.
Better signage from the county might also help.

 

[rasimmo]

Maybe some 6" or 8" pipe set as deep as you can get and filled with concrete. That should at least dasable the car when it gets hit. May even hold up if it is braced well enough. Or you could build a ramp so they jump over the fence. That would be interesting to watch.:thumbsup:

 

[Domush]

Have you considered moving up a notch and making the posts out of steel? At least steel doesn't break and will stop them enough to get their license data. At is counter-intuitive but the weaker the post the better (to a point), because then they will ride up onto the post and get stuck, where a beefy steel post will just demolish the car, likely kill them, and you get sued and still have to fix the post.

Use something like a 5" diameter 3/16-1/4" thick steel post, fill it with rough cement or just loose gravel (which will sheer easily so the post can bend when hit) and call it good. It'll be the perfect car capture method. Be sure to share photos of all of the cars you capture with them.

 

[turnkey4099]

#1 RR ties will do the job. They may break off (dubious) but will definitely disable the car. Benefit is they will look like just a normal well-built fence corner and shouldn't raise any suspicion about liability.

Harry K

 

[Dr Dave]

Get some railroad ties, they make good corner posts. Put 3 upright in L shap, and angle 2 from top of corner, down to bottom of other 2 uprights. Use some large spikes and lag bolts.:thumbsup:

New neighbor down the road, is building a complete fence, out of ties. Last weak end, he hand dug and set about 30 post, dividing his lot from the farmers feild.:shocked: If I had a PHD I would have stopped to help.

He bought a double wide and 5 acres for $78K, has not even moved in yet, he must have some buffalo?

Dave

 

[s219]

Quicksand pit.

 

[chamjoe]

Thanks for the suggestions. Steel posts don't seem to be very common around here but I'll check. I'll look into RR ties as that might work well. I'm not trying to hurt anyone and I don't think the county will do anything but it might make sense to document that effort.