Trespassing signs, etiquette, good & bad neighbors

[PILOON]

More times that I like I have had cars zoom down my drive thinking they are at the neighbor's or simply lost.
While GPS is a great tool it simply is not accurate enough to give directions to your visitors.

I once had a car almost crash into my house late one winter night.
Had to get dressed, start up the tractor and chain him back out of my drive.
Making matters worse he swore the whole time because he was going to be late.

While I have a gate which is always open (a closed gate is generally a sign that nobody is hone and therefore an invitation to thieves)

Two years ago the neighbor lent his place for his son's frat party and I had cars zooming down my drive all night. They all blamed the GPS and were upset that they were missing out on valuable booze time.
It was tempting to greet them with my shotgun in hand!

(Note this is not farm country but a lakeside community within commuting distance of a major city. We are half retirees and half seasonal cottage owners.)

 

[PILOON]

My sign reads-----

NOTICE TO TRESPASSERS, BE SURE YOU ARE WEARING THE CLOTHES YOU WISH TO BE BURIED IN

Sure gets chuckles!

 

[Richard]

While GPS is a great tool it simply is not accurate enough to give directions to your visitors.

Nailed it!

Our tract of land is a peninsula. Not knowing the amount, let's just say there are 1,000 acres here surrounded by a lake at the end of the land (where we live) and the other two sides are large coves. I am literally..... THE last house. As you go past my house, you go into the farm (250 acres) and just a stone throw past my house, you have to decide are you going to the right or left side of the farm as you come to a fork. Mind you, the gravel driveway comes to my place and it's dirt/mud/fields beyond that.

Was outside one day and a van drives very slowly past.... (having past the private property signs)... I already know they're clueless.... anyone that makes it to my house is either expected, lost or....up to no good. Since I saw it was a family in there I know they're lost.

They were stopped by the fork in the mud..... I reached them and they asked how to get to Fisher Lane.

"Well.... you have to turn around, go to the stop sign.... follow these directions and it will get you there. You are currently on private property"

"Yeah....but my GPS says we're ON the road (as they are driving on grass) and Fisher lane is right ahead of us"

I had to explain that 40 years ago, before TVA created the lake, the road did indeed go around to Fisher.....BUT the road was now under water and I thought they'd find my directions far more useful.

They could NOT let go that their GPS telling them where to go, they were 100% convinced it was right in spite of (down by the dock) seeing where the road actually goes into the water and they were currently driving next to a field with no paved road, no chip/tar road nor even a gravel road.... just a field.

Utterly clueless.

 

[Howling]

Common sense is lacking in a lot of folks. GPS is a tool to help you find a destination. Many drivers fail to think and validate what is comes from the GPS. Every year news has stories about people that drive off a cliff or in to a lake following GPS directions. Map reading is an exotic skill these days.

Locally a former military base has residential neighborhood with large signs:
NO TRUCKS
NO GPS
NO EXCEPTIONS

Original topic of this thread. Shortly after we bought this house had regular stream of JWs, etc coming by. Told a few to go away then stopped answering the door. One Saturday after watching 2 groups with an hour knock on every door possible, including around back and up steps on deck, I put up signs on every door:

finally stopped the flow.

 

[Diggin It]

"Yeah....but my GPS says we're ON the road (as they are driving on grass) and Fisher lane is right ahead of us"

I had to explain that 40 years ago, before TVA created the lake, the road did indeed go around to Fisher.....BUT the road was now under water and I thought they'd find my directions far more useful.

They could NOT let go that their GPS telling them where to go, they were 100% convinced it was right in spite of (down by the dock) seeing where the road actually goes into the water and they were currently driving next to a field with no paved road, no chip/tar road nor even a gravel road.... just a field.

Utterly clueless.

Death by GPS - Wikipedia


Years back, I was expecting a truck delivery. Knowing the driver wasn't going to be familiar with the area, I made it a point to have them call me about an hour out. When they did, I asked them where they were and how they planned to get here from there. They told me what their system said. I said ' Nope. Ain't no bridge there. Ain't never been a bridge, ain't never gonna be a bridge.' Then proceeded to explain the only way they could get here.

 

[JimR]

If he had a legitimate reason to come and talk to you why shouldn't he come on to your property. He wasn't trespassing, he wanted to see you on business. Even if it was to introduce himself and say "hi, I'm your new neighbour"

My thoughts exactly, although, he could have come at a more reasonable time so as to not catch you in your jammies.

 

[JimR]

Perhaps you should just talk to your neighbor. Explain how you feel.

I have neighbors around that have no-trespassing signs up. But they are not for me. As I have permission to hunt, tap trees for syrup, cut firewood, etc etc.

If I were to put up signs of my own.....my neighbors would still be welcome. Thats about being a good and friendly neighbor. If your intent with YOUR signs was to keep all your neighbors away, perhaps you should let him know that the signs apply to him and not just outta towners

That is the way most people feel even with signs up. If you want nobody to come to your place then put up 8 foot high fencing with concertina wire along the top and a remote operated gate with guard dogs for protection and privacy. That will end your problem with people visiting.

 

[ZTMAN]

When we bought some acreage years ago, the property was posted with "Restricted Area-Game Preserve"

It is not a game preserve but the PO said those signs act better than No Trespassing signs. 20 years later, so far, so good.

Access to the property is through about 1/4 mile access lane. So far, no one has dropped by to see us when we are there. If a neighbor showed up, to say high, I would not mind.

 

[Diggin It]

If you want nobody to come to your place then put up 8 foot high fencing with concertina wire along the top and a remote operated gate with guard dogs for protection and privacy. That will end your problem with people visiting.

Or at least a privacy hedge 6' tall, with lots of thorns and briars. My driveway slopes upwards just beyond the gate posts, so I had to make a gate that was angled at one end to clear the driveway slope as it opened inwards. That left an angled gap about 30" high or so at one end when it was closed. I caught the UPS guy on camera crawling under the gate at the sloped end. That led me to reconfigure the gate to open out so that I could eliminate that gap. Only drawback is that I now have to wait a short time on the road for the gate to open when I return from wherever.

 

[BigBlue1]

While GPS is a great tool it simply is not accurate enough to give directions to your visitors.

GPS is accurate enough. The military and farmers use it for tracking things down to inches (cm?). What isn't accurate enough are commercial/public map databases and road mapping.

But I know what you meant... just making a technical distinction.

Rob