Jim Levie wrote:

I doubt that 6x6's would be big enough if we are talking about speeds in
the 60'sh range. Something on the order of telephone poles sunk 6' deep
would seem more reasonable.



You don't actually have to stop the speeding vehicle on the spot. Just
absorb
enough enbergy so the ground will finish the job. How far back is the house
from the road? Some posts that partially break and partially are pulled out
of the ground on impact might be the best to absorb energy. Yes, you really
don't want the thing to be a death trap, but you ought to be able to protect
your family. If fences are not permitted in your area, you can just
plant some
trees. Even the little 6' trees you buy at the local nursery will offer
quite
a lot of resistance once they get their roots into the ground, and after
a couple
of years will be quite resistant to anything larger than a motorcycle
getting
past them.

As for liability, there's a guy a couple blocks from me who has this lean-to
think built out of stacked 2x4's around his mailbox. If somebody ever hit
it, it really looks like it could roll over practically anything smaller
than
a semi. He hasn't gotten cited that I know of, it has been there 15+ years
(with, I think, one complete rebuild due to weathering.)

Jon