Private road wars and speed bumps

[ustmd]

I share a common 0.75 mile dirt (compacted roadbase) road with 2 neighbors (one of which is my in-laws). We all live at the end of the road, so everyone drives pretty much the entire length.

I do all off the maintenance and I have to tell you, I have been tempted to put in speed bumps several times. My FIL and the 93 old neighbor both drive like bats of out He$$ down the road. 35-45 MPH is not an uncommon speed, no matter the road conditions. Everyone has dogs loose and horses that might get loose.

I have tried to explain that the road is more dangerous during the summer droughts (all of the fines have separated) but neither seems to get the message.

 

[bcp]

Might try speed humps instead of speed bumps.

Institute of Transportation Engineers -- ITE
"based on a limited sample of sites, typical crossing speeds (85th percentile) of 19 mph have been measured for 3½ inch high, 12 foot humps and of 21 mph for 3 inch high, 14 foot humps; speeds have been observed to rise to 27 mph within 200 feet downstream"



Speed bump - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"While similar to speed bumps, humps are less aggressive than speed bumps at low speeds and are used on actual streets, as opposed to bumps which are primarily placed in parking lots. While speed bumps generally slow cars to 5-10 mph , humps slow cars to 10-20 mph . "


Bruce

 

[DarkBlack]

I still think speed bumps or humps are treating the symptom, not the cause.
It's the least intelligent solution.

 

[bcp]

The intelligent solution is for people to slow down. People won't slow down, therefore...

Bruce

 

[murphy1244]

Set-up a Machine Gun at the middle of the road, if their speeding blow the crap out of them.

 

[sseelhoff]

Set-up a Machine Gun at the middle of the road, if their speeding blow the crap out of them.

Land mines are not as time consuming. Plant them and done. No 24 hour monitoring required.

 

[MossRoad]

Send the speed bump owner a repair bill for your car.

Also, its pretty much universal in all Indiana counties that you cannot place obstructions in a roadway or right-of-way, public or private. I suspect this 'private' road is considered semi-public because of the many users that have legal access to it. If anyone is injured or property (your vehicle, for example) is damaged, the person that placed the obstruction in the roadway will most likley be held resposible for the damages/injury/death that results. Its very similar to brick mailboxes, large landscaping rocks, trees, unauthorized ditches/berms, etc.... there's quite a few cases on those things if you search for them.

As others have suggested, have a meeting with all of the affected homeowners to see if you can resolve it peacefully.... if not, then take murphy1244 suggestion!!! :laughing:

 

[Steppenwolfe]

And we all wonder why Congress can't agree on what day it is...

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Ahh, a thread with neighbors, property lines, driving.......
This is one thread where you get a nice cold drink, sit back, and watch it explode... :laughing:

 

[timster2]

I don't think the local fire dept or ambulance or other emergency service would appreciate the speed bump in the road and may have something to say about it. Launching the local LEO responding to an emergency would land the builder in some hot water. It would be worth checking with them for an opinion that you could present to the bump builder.