Ever clear a public intersection with your tractor?

[JDgreen227]

I just got back from clearing four of my neighbor's driveways with my tractor, and two of them live about 500' feet south of me on a road that ends at a stop sign on the road my home is on. It's an uphill incline and a hill going up on the right side of the main blocks a view of traffic coming from that way. The snowstorm yesterday dumped about 15" on new snow and drifts into the intersection, and any vehicles without 4WD or AWD were getting stuck on the upgrade or having to make a running start to clear the intersection and avoid being bogged down. After doing the first driveway for a neighbor, I spent ten minutes clearing the area where cars are normally required to stop...there isn't much traffic today and I am always super careful...the motorists who went by all gave me a wave or a thumbs up. This is about the tenth time I have done the same intersection...even though my insurance agent knows I clear snow for others, I still worry about the possibility of being liable should an accident occur....yet I do this to PREVENT accidents.

What is your opinion of my liability? Thanks for any feedback.

 

[dave1949]

My opinion? The road to he11 is plowed with good intentions. :laughing:

In Maine it's against the law to plow a public road unless contracted to do so. Don't know about your area. Might be something to check.

 

[charlz]

What are the rules for driving a tractor on the road where you live? Triangle sign on the back? Flashers? Both? If you are compliant with that it would probably go a long ways toward determining 'fault'. 'Fault' might be the least of your worries if you get hit by a car as tractors offer nothing/not much in the way of protection.

I clear the intersection where our street ties into the main road but I can see 1/2 mile or so in either direction. Traffic on that road is 50mph so I am very careful when pulling out into the street.

 

[Ford850]

To me, common sense says it's the right thing to do. But I'd bet you open yourself up to other risks these days. I know last year the news here reported a guy got ticketed for clearing a residential street. It was days after a storm, and the city had never plowed the street. People couldn't get out of the neighborhood. So a guy drops his plow as he drives through to partially open the street and the police ticketed him.

 

[JDgreen227]

To me, common sense says it's the right thing to do. But I'd bet you open yourself up to other risks these days. I know last year the news here reported a guy got ticketed for clearing a residential street. It was days after a storm, and the city had never plowed the street. People couldn't get out of the neighborhood. So a guy drops his plow as he drives through to partially open the street and the police ticketed him.

That pretty much sounds like the way the government operates much of the time. BTW, My tractor has 4-way flashers which were operating, the headlights were on, I have a secondary 12 volt yellow warning flasher atop the rollbar and the required SMV triangle and if I saw any vehicles approaching (and I could clearly see in two of the three directions traffic was coming from, I immediately stopped moving snow and pulled into the neighbors driveway which was next to the intersection. Traffic is moving at about 35 mph maximum today so I had lots of warning. BTW...two of my neighbors whose driveways are cleared are police...they think it's great I tried to do something positive.

 

[joecoin]

You are doing the right thing ,but maybe not the best thing. There is someone out there who will raise a stink if they find out.

 

[LD1]

I pretty much agree with others. We have laws to about plowing public roads if not contracted to do so. Not sure why? I assume liability. If I hit a car, mailbox, make a pothole, etc. The blame game can start and people calling to complain to state/local people that may not have been responsible.

Regardless of how stupid the laws may be, if you break them trying to do the right thing, I doubt the gov't will have any sympathy.

 

[xzcVAbc5]

If the road department that is supposed to clear the road is unionized they might file a grievance against you because you're "stealing" their work. I wouldn't worry much about it though. Most people appreciate being helped. Stay safe!

 

[vulcancowboy]

Sounds like you did the right thing, but in this day, that doesn't mean you wouldn't be punished for it!:thumbdown: :thumbdown: On a similar note, I was on the way to plow a friend's driveway when I saw a pile of anti-skid material about 4' long and 10" deep at an intersection in the public road. It was obviously left there by the state's snow plow, I used my FEL to scoop it up and dump it along side of the road. It could have caused some real problems if a car ran over it.

 

[oosik]

I drive across the county paved road to clear out the mail box area. I'm very careful but I also know if push came to shove my homeowners insurance, that covers my tractor, would leave me out in the cold should something happen.