Cable gate - Keeping People out

[RonMar]

I agree, I certainly don't want to see a kid or anyone for that matter get hurt, but Christ sake, they should abide the law too and respect other's property. After all, it's because of the law breakers we end up putting chains or gates on our entrances. Now we're at fault?...what's up with THAT?? It's just not right.

It's enough to give you chest pains just thinking about it Damed if you do, damed if you don't.

I like the old joke about the homeowner who calls the police when he hears noise and sees flashlights poking around in his shed in the middle of the night. The dispacher says that all the police are busy on other calls and will be a while getting there. The homeowner calls back the dispacher a few minutes later and says that it is really no hurry now as he just shot the prowler. Police were there in less than 2 minutes...

 

[slowrev]

Vermont has some very good laws on ATV's. Among them are all ATV's have to be registered unless you are driving on your own land, you need written permission from the landowner if you are on his/her land, but one of the best is: "No public or private landowner shall be liable for any property damage or personal injury sustained by any person operating or riding as a passenger on an all-terrain vehicle or upon a vehicle or other device drawn by an all-terrain vehicle upon the public or private landowner's property, whether or not the public or private landowner has given permission to use the land unless the public or private landowner charges a cash fee to the operator or owner of the all-terrain vehicle for the use of the property or unless damage or injury is intentionally inflicted by the landowner."

Greg

That is a darned good law, we need that law everywhere.
the trick on terroristic threatening is to let the trespassers imagine it all, with hints of course Never verbally threaten them.

 

[slowrev]

12 more states have just upgraded the laws on shooting invaders and such to give more protection to the homeowner. Here in KY as well.
In Ky if the tresspassers are armed, call the game warden. He will arrest them and confiscate their guns. It is illegal to hunt on private property without landowners permission in KY.

 

[texasjohn]

You guys have said it all re trespass and legal liability and ability to protect your own property... I heard some things I didn't know and find idiotic but have to believe they are true. I'm getting renewed ideas about increased posting and entrance alarms.

The whole thing depresses me to have to spend such money and energy uselessly to protest what should already be protected.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I came home after being away one weekend to find an ATV abandoned in my back yard, with a helmet hanging from the handlebar. I thought of 2 things, one was to advertise it on ebay, the other was to pick it up with my pallet forks and put it up in a tree. I decided to just take the helmet for safekeeping,and leave the ATV sit where it was. A couple days later the ATV was gone. They never came to the house to ask about the helmet. Turns out the owner was a 9 yr old that lived in a rented house on the other side of my neighbor. My neighbor is their landlord, so I asked they remind their tenants to not ride all over my property. So far so good....

 

[dmccarty]

I have heard over and over that in NC its illegal to hunt on someone elses land without permission but I have yet to see that in writing. What I have found in the hunting regulations is that its not nice to hunt on someone elses land without permission. Some counties, and mine is one of them thankfully, do have an orginance that requires written permission of the land owner so at least hunters can be written up.

The NC Extension service has a pretty good website. I happened to be on the site a week or so ago and read the page they have on land owner liability issues for the upteenth time. The best protection an NC landowner can have from liability issues is to post the land and enforce the posting. The person coming into the posted land has now committed a criminal act and their ability to sue the landowner is reduced. If the land was not posted then there is no criminal act and they have more room to sue. If you let someone on your land to hunt, walk, take firewood, etc, there is more onus on the landowner and thus they have more room to sue. The worse thing, liability wise that is, a landowner can do is take money from someone to come onto their land to hunt, walk, take firewood etc. So in those cases you need to get a contract to remove your liability from those invitees. Not sure how well that works.

I just post the land and go after people as required. I have cleared all of the property lines where I know the locations of the lines. I'm going to have to spend some money to get the other lines marked. Hopefully this next winter I'll be able to widen the clearing along to the property lines to get the tractor in so things will be easier to keep clean. I have painted trees, put up T posts next to survey pipes, and put up posted signs. Where I don't know the exact location of a line I just put the sign so I know its on my land. The signs last 2-3 years before rotting away. But at least I've got most of the lines cleared now thanks to the DR Mower and its much easier now.

Later,
Dan

 

[stumpfield]

I have heard over and over that in NC its illegal to hunt on someone elses land without permission but I have yet to see that in writing. What I have found in the hunting regulations is that its not nice to hunt on someone elses land without permission. Some counties, and mine is one of them thankfully, do have an orginance that requires written permission of the land owner so at least hunters can be written up.

What! where in the world you can hunt without permission? Shouldn't it cover by treaspassing law? That's the difference between treaspass on an ATV vs treaspass on an ATV or on foot with a gun? You mean without the ordinance, anyone can hunt on your land legally ?

 

[dmccarty]

What! where in the world you can hunt without permission? Shouldn't it cover by treaspassing law? That's the difference between treaspass on an ATV vs treaspass on an ATV or on foot with a gun? You mean without the ordinance, anyone can hunt on your land legally ?

If the land is posted then they can't legally hunt.

If the land is unposted and not in a county that requires written permission then they can hunt.

I have been told that hunters need written permission but I can't find that in the hunting regulations. The regs just say its a nice thing to do but they say it in away that might leave some to believe you need permission...

In NC you can't hunt on Sunday. There is talk of allowing hunting on Sunday and I USED too think it was stupid to NOT have hunting on Sunday. But now that I'm a landowner in the country hearing shots very close by the house, AND having to chase off trespassing hunters, I'm all for keeping Sunday a closed day.

Later,
Dan

 

[Highbeam]

"Originally Posted by GregMVT
Vermont has some very good laws on ATV's. Among them are all ATV's have to be registered unless you are driving on your own land, you need written permission from the landowner if you are on his/her land, but one of the best is: "No public or private landowner shall be liable for any property damage or personal injury sustained by any person operating or riding as a passenger on an all-terrain vehicle or upon a vehicle or other device drawn by an all-terrain vehicle upon the public or private landowner's property, whether or not the public or private landowner has given permission to use the land unless the public or private landowner charges a cash fee to the operator or owner of the all-terrain vehicle for the use of the property or unless damage or injury is intentionally inflicted by the landowner."

Greg"

That's a great law. Speaking as an off road vehicle operator, one of the biggest reasons we lose private riding areas is liability. It just takes one yahoo getting hurt and their medical insurance company discovering out that it happened on another person's property. The medical insurance won't pay out if they think they can sue the landowner for it.

There are similar laws in states regarding firewood harvesting. The intent is to encourage landowners to allow people to cut firewood for heat.

Imagine the extreme case. You have a known trail on your land with atv tracks on it. You don't want ATVs so you post no trespassing signs at the property line. You then dig a huge hole in the trail on a blind corner. Some yahoo on an atv trespasses and crashes into your hole and dies. You should have known better and at least share in the fault. Or then there's the rope swing principle. You know, big rope swing out over the creek to drop into a swimming hole. Some yahoo falls on his head and it wouldn't have happened if he had not been attracted by your rope swing.

If my trespassing kid fell into a trap that killed him, I would be pretty ticked off if the trap was man made and even somewhat smelled like it was an intentional trap.

 

[GregMVT]

I have mixed feelings about some of the other laws up here in Vermont. If land isn't posted people can hunt on it without permission. If the land is posted then it also has to be registered with the town, costs $5 I think, but it only really affects hunters. If it is posted and a person is caught hunting then you can call the fish and game department. IF they decide to come then the person can be fined $100. Not much bite in the law. We don't need a permit to carry a concealed weapon. A good thing except that means no reciprocity with most other states. I've heard that LA would allow someone from here to carry down there but don't know for sure.

Greg