Problems with 4 wheelers.....

[Junkman]

Today, the dog came onto the porch squealing like a pig..... I had thought that she had been hit by one of the 4 wheelers that went whizzing by the front of the house. Apparently she was just frightened by them. We live deep in the woods and there are a lot of old logging trails. I have in the past been able to stop the riders and politely ask them to go by slowly and they have all done this in the future. Today, two of them went by at a high rate of speed and after checking the dog and realizing that she was only scared, I then gave pursuit up the road with my car. I caught them at the top of the hill where it crosses the town road and blew the horn to get their attention. They turned and looked at me as I got out of the car to talk to them and then they gunned it and hit the town road speeding away. I followed them at the posted speed limit so if they got into an accident, they couldn't blame me for chasing them. At one point about 3 miles down the road, they turned and came back toward me. I stopped and got out and tried to wave them down, but they just kept going as fast as they could. I would have notified the police, but where we live, there are no police except for the State Police and they are never around this area unless they are called. Even then, it will take at least 30 minutes if it is an emergency and this was not one of those times. Any suggestions what I can do to slow them down. Actually they are trespassing, but that doesn't seem to matter to them even when you inform them of the fact. This time they got away, but hopefully next time they won't......

 

[Boxman]

.45 tire punctures sure would work, though it probably would get you thrown in jail. You could also consider caltrops or nail strips...

Were they adults or kids, did they park their trucks with trailers near by, visitors or do they live near you etc.

Answers to any or all of these will give you more information on how to either track them down for a chat or to post information about no 4 wheelers without express permission or whatever you feel is appropriate.

 

[Junkman]

They are usually young adults and where they come from is always a question, because of the multitude of trails. The ones that I have been able to talk to are usually local people and understand and go slowly after that. The people at the top of the hill a 1/4 mile away have 2 young children and they walk the road from where the school bus drops them. If they were walking on the road, they could be easily run over. The road is 1 1/2 car widths and is all dirt with a lot of pot holes that the four wheelers love to swerve around. I don't know where this bunch came from. One problem is that the people that own land abounding the road still have a right over it to their property. I am the last house on the road before it enters the woods and there are no more for at least 8 - 10 miles on the dirt road. Many times, it is people that are visiting someone that is at the other end. I don't know the people at the other end, wouldn't know which one to talk to about it. I tried a couple of years ago and they all denied allowing anyone to ride the paths, so I know it won't work now....

 

[JerryG]

We live on a county dirt road. A number of pot holes develop on the road in front of my house. For a long time, I would fill the holes for a temp. fix when I would work on the road to make it smoother. When I filled them the traffic would speed up. I have sense quite filling the holes in front of the house. Matter of fact, I have thought of putting in more pot holes. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif What I am getting at is, you might want to make some inverted speed bumps a select locations.

 

[Mrwurm]

JunkMan, if you do catch them, remember to take a deep breath before you deal with them. It's pretty easy to get worked up and do something you'll regret.

 

[Junkman]

Mrwurm.......

That won't be a problem. I am a firm believer that revenge is a desert that is best served cold. I am just looking for ways that might slow them down. As another person pointed out, a few inverted speed bumps would be a good thing, but I have paved the road in front of the house, so that isn't an option. I also know that if I deliberately make some pot holes on the road in the woods, that if someone was injured as a result, that I could and would be held responsible. I did catch up with one of them earlier this evening and I now know where he went to hide out. I have notified the State Police and even though it might take them a couple of days before they get around to it, I do know that they will be knocking at that persons door looking for information. We had an incident here in the neighborhood last summer and last week, they were still pressing people for information. They don't move fast unless it is urgent, but they also don't put things on the back burner and forget them. I know that they will track them down and have a talk with them. I have also learned that the 4 wheelers must have a license plate on them that is issued by the state. In the mean time, I know that the four wheelers will be back in the late night just to make sure that we don't forget that they can travel faster than me. This happened about 10 years ago when a bunch of kids in Jeeps would also go running through the woods. I spoke to them to no avail and then they started to come through the woods late at night and drive around the circular driveway..... that is, until I put my old pick up truck at one end.

 

[Mark_in_NH]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( but I have paved the road in front of the house )</font>

Junkman,
Is this road private or public, (town owned) ?
Privately owned would open up your options. Publicly owned would limit you to what you have already done, which is to turn it over to the authoritys.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I suggest you get a faster 4 wheeler and the nerve of a 17 year old to chase down the little varmits.

Let em know who the boss is.

Of course, they could come and steal your faster machine some night. But, if you get a teenage kid eating dog.

Hey, it never ends. ( Sorry that was my evil side).

From a 54 year old with a 4 wheeler, I apoligize for the little varmits behavior. We have some of the same problems around here. Always some kid wanting to ruin the fun for everyone else.

Good Luck,

Tom

 

[Tonester]

Hey Junkman...

Got the same bunch around here too. We trail ride horses, so I am concerned about someone getting thrown. I patrol on MY four wheeler (one of the reasons I got it) but have yet to get close enough. Too old, not too slow! If you can get the registration number off the ATV, the authorities here (fish & game wardens, actually) will pursue the villians and revoke the reg. We are pretty strict on ATV's & snowmobiles in NH. Maybe you could video tape or photograph 'em, showing the reg number??

One other thing I did was pile a crapload of brush and leaves on the major inroads on our land, right next to the pile of beer cans they left, with a big "No Trespassing " sign......

That was after I decided against the elephant trap full of Punji Stakes... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Good luck!

 

[Junkman]

This is a abandoned town road that the town no longer owns or maintains. The state law says that each owner abounding the road has the right to pass and re-pass to the closest public road. What that little bit of legalese means is that people that own land beyond my land can go over this road to get to their property from the main road, but not the general public. These people on ATV's are clearly trespassers......
As for catching them, my car is very fast and I was able to catch them within 1/2 mile. The problem then becomes when they don't stop to talk, but continue to run. At that point, I don't want it to become like a police chase and have one of them loose control and go off the road because I was pursuing them.
I do like the brush idea..... after all, that is natural and who knows what those little raccoons might put out in the road.... I will have to check with my little friends to see if they might help me resolve the problem.
The ATV's don't have registration plates on them and are being operated in violation of the state law, but unless they get caught by the Game Warden or the State Police, it is a mute point.