Vehicles Using Area Outside House as Hard Shoulder

um7y1h83ge06nx · 14-08-2020 4:22am #1

Looking for some advice or people with similar experiences here.

We live in a rural area where there is a typical gravelled area between our fence and the 80kph roadway i.e the fence was recessed from the roadside as part of planning. We didn't build the house, bought it second-hand and we own and maintain that area between the fence and road.

We're noticing more and more vehicles, particularly agricultural ones using the area more as a hard shoulder, not evening stopping but moving in a few feet, slowing a little but continue to drive along letting other vehicles overtake. The roadway has a full lane in either direction so it's relatively wide, no hard shoulders. They're not even pulling in to stop.

We wanted to put flower pots or similar to prevent this from happening as we think it's dangerous, particularly with young kids, it reduces the gap between the road and timber fence if any of them got out. Drivers would have little time to react.

Was saying it to a neighbour and she was saying it to a councillor friend of hers and she said we would be liable if someone hit the pots, even if we own the area.

So as an alternative can we force the hand of the council to take responsibility for preventing vehicles from entering from their road? I'd rather common sense prevailed rather than talk of liability but don't want to leave ourselves open while trying to prevent a potential accident.

The_Conductor · 14-08-2020 11:19am

Who owns the land- you or the council?
It sounds like the speed zone needs to be reassessed wholly aside from anything else.
Most rural roads have little lay-to's every so often to allow exactly what you're describing.

Do you own the land outside of your fence- or is it the property of the council?

um7y1h83ge06nx · 14-08-2020 12:09pm

It's owned by me according to the documents during the conveyancing and the folio. The original planning schedule given to the prior owners who built it was to recess the fence and gate back from the road which is typical enough.

The reason given (got this via the ePlan system) - "To improve visibility at the entrance to the site in the interests of traffic safety".

14-08-2020 1:07pm

Lots of houses in my area have flower pots etc outside on the road as you describe, I think it’s pig ignorant and far more dangerous than allowing cars drive a little on the area outside your wall.

fx83wab · 14-08-2020 1:12pm

Ruben Helpless Table wrote: »

Lots of houses in my area have flower pots etc outside on the road as you describe, I think it’s pig ignorant and far more dangerous than allowing cars drive a little on the area outside your wall.

pig ignorant to put nice flower pots on private land they own??

1percent · 14-08-2020 1:15pm

Ruben Helpless Table wrote: »

Lots of houses in my area have flower pots etc outside on the road as you describe, I think it’s pig ignorant and far more dangerous than allowing cars drive a little on the area outside your wall.

I fully agree, the auld pair live in a rural area, the house I grew up in, and there are a few houses in the area that do the same with pots or white painted rocks to mark their land! A really bull McCabe feel to it "this is my land and your not allowed drive on it!"

Now, where I'm talking about the road is a boreen and you need the space to pass and it always feels to me to be very small minded.

14-08-2020 1:17pm

My house has (or a least had ) similar problem.
The previous owner built a bit of a mound to stop it happening.Its grass so gets chewed up by tractors.
The neighbors area was destroyed by a bin lorry last week.

Quackster · 14-08-2020 1:20pm

Ruben Helpless Table wrote: »

Lots of houses in my area have flower pots etc outside on the road as you describe, I think it’s pig ignorant and far more dangerous than allowing cars drive a little on the area outside your wall.

Absolutely agree. It's creating an additional unnecessary hazard and would of course influence liability in the event of a road traffic collision.

893bet · 14-08-2020 1:26pm

If it’s tarmac by the house owner I think pots are fair game as lorry’s and tractors will make ****e of it.

If it’s a bit of gravel then leave it as it is and stop doing the bull pretending it’s a safety issue.

ArrBee · 14-08-2020 1:38pm

Just like if you crack a rim on the footpath, the council is liable for putting the footpath in the way of where you wanted to drive!

MacDanger · 14-08-2020 1:38pm

Fabian Steep Sty wrote: »

Looking for some advice or people with similar experiences here.

We live in a rural area where there is a typical gravelled area between our fence and the 80kph roadway i.e the fence was recessed from the roadside as part of planning. We didn't build the house, bought it second-hand and we own and maintain that area between the fence and road.

We're noticing more and more vehicles, particularly agricultural ones using the area more as a hard shoulder, not evening stopping but moving in a few feet, slowing a little but continue to drive along letting other vehicles overtake. The roadway has a full lane in either direction so it's relatively wide, no hard shoulders. They're not even pulling in to stop.

We wanted to put flower pots or similar to prevent this from happening as we think it's dangerous, particularly with young kids, it reduces the gap between the road and timber fence if any of them got out. Drivers would have little time to react.

Was saying it to a neighbour and she was saying it to a councillor friend of hers and she said we would be liable if someone hit the pots, even if we own the area.

So as an alternative can we force the hand of the council to take responsibility for preventing vehicles from entering from their road? I'd rather common sense prevailed rather than talk of liability but don't want to leave ourselves open while trying to prevent a potential accident.

I think your concerns around safety are a load of rubbish tbh.

However, it's your property so if you place flowerpots or something on it, I'm not sure how you would be liable for someone crashing into that something anymore than you'd be liable if they crashed into a wall you had there.

um7y1h83ge06nx · 14-08-2020 2:01pm

It's unlikely to be fair that an accident would occur, but if something did happen I wouldn't want to have regrets. Whose right or wrong becomes a bit academic then. You'll always have heavy machinery on the road but having them driving 2 foot from the fence rather than the normal 10 foot or so can't be very safe. It's not even a small road, most traffic can pass one another without even having to slow down.

Don't want to kick up a fuss but I am a bit p*ssed off that the first thing the councillor for instance thought of was legal liability. We're developing a terrible culture of litigation but that's a topic for another thread.

John_Rambo · 14-08-2020 9:07pm

I always wondered why people use yellow plastic posts, dirty traffic cones & painted bits of rock etc... making their house entrances look like an itinerants campsites.

It's to stop other motorists "ruining" them? :pac:

Vehicles Using Area Outside House as Hard Shoulder

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