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zxcvbob
 
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Default Advice to keep cars from sliding into my yard on bad curve.

The Guy wrote:

\


In the town I grew up in, one guy had a similar problem with cars failing
to make a curve at the end of a high-speed stretch of road, and ending up
in his back yard.

He placed some seven to ten-foot tall boulders in the path.

Problem is, in today's litigous society, anything you place in the
possible
path of a car just might make you libel for injuries that might not have
occured if the obstacle was not there, and the person's car simply
came to
a stop in your yard with no man-made obstacles placed in their path -
especially since there is a history/precedent of people walking away
uninjured from forays into your front yard prior to you setting up any
barriers, etc.

We've all read about burglars suing homeowners for unsafe conditions
causing injury while they were attempting to commit a crime. There are
lawyers who are willing to launch just about any sort of lawsuit -
frivolous or not.

I would lobby the local government for some sort of guardrail, or
government-placed barrier - which should absolve you of any
responsibility.

I also think a visit to your lawyer to determine what you can do without
placing yourself in jeopardy might be a good first step. Get his
opinion in
writing, if you can.



I live in a suburban area. Speed limits are generally 25 mph here. For
years during wet weather, inattentive drivers would speed down a nearby
hill and slide across an intersection, occasionally making contact with
a house.

The problem was resolved by installing two rebar reinforced cement core
columns, with brick facing, just inside the property line. Each column
is about 2.5 feet square. In the last decade, about half a dozen cars
have jumped the curb and impacted one of the columns. In each case, the
driver was cited for careless driving and required to pay for repairs to
the column, landscaping and curbs.

A couple of lawyers attempted to push liability onto the home owner and
were laughed out of court. One judge told a lawyer that unless a column
fell over the property line, unassisted, and landed on someone,
liability was just not an issue.

Tim


I was thinking about a section of fence inside the property line
(right-of-way/easement/whatever.) Sections of telephone pole sunk deep in
the ground at each end, a single 5/8" or 3/4" wire rope back and forth
about 3 times between the poles so it looks like 3 strands of barbwire.
Don't stretch the cable too tight, so when someone hits it it will have
some "give" to it. Plant some sturdy bushes just inside it, and see if
the county will put a barrier sign in front (alternating yellow and black
diagonal bands.)

-Bob