Menu
Log in
Log in

    



 

Maine Alliance for Road Associations

ATVs and OTVs

  • 04 May 2010 10:32 AM
    Message # 335426
    Deleted user

    Has anyone got an answer to how to control the use of ATV and OTVs on a camp road. They tend to be a nuisance and can tear up a dirt road.

    Any ideas would be welcome

    Peter Koch
    CobbsCove Road Assn
    Otisfield

  • 04 May 2010 11:07 AM
    Reply # 335450 on 335426
    Deleted user
    Are the people using the road on ATV's typically landowners or others who really have no right to be there?
  • 04 May 2010 10:34 PM
    Reply # 335758 on 335426
    Deleted user
    A few additional questions is the camp road private, if so does it have a public easement? How do they access the road?
  • 05 May 2010 10:14 AM
    Reply # 336022 on 335426
    Deleted user

    Thanks for the quick response. The road is a private road. The ATV and OTV users are property owners' children and guests. The concern raised was the liability if one of the ATV operators should get injured on the private road, alleging that the road was the cause of any injury. would the road association be liable?

    The road is clearly marked at its head as a 'private road'.

    We have 27 residents along the road. It is not "open" in the winter season but one resident pays to have it plowed so that he can use his place in ski season.

  • 05 May 2010 2:30 PM
    Reply # 336051 on 335426
    Deleted user
    Is there an association of any kind governing this camp road? I'm guessing not! Is it really a private road, or did someone just put the sign up to try to keep people out. Do you actually know who owns the road? Alanna Brown
  • 06 May 2010 6:13 AM
    Reply # 336533 on 335426
    Deleted user
    The Road Association has been in existence since 1943. Each property has a deeded right of way to the road. The Assn has existed, elected officers and paid annual dues for all of these years without an incident of any kind.
  • 07 May 2010 7:54 AM
    Reply # 337107 on 336533
    Peter Koch wrote:The Road Association has been in existence since 1943. Each property has a deeded right of way to the road. The Assn has existed, elected officers and paid annual dues for all of these years without an incident of any kind.
    If the majority of the road association members vote to ban those vehicles because in their view they are "tearing up the road" and that is contributing to its deterioration and additional maintenance must be undertaken to keep the road performing its function, it seems to me it can do so.  If that deterioration is contributing to the road's being an environmental problem, e.g. increased runoff carrying phosphorus into any nearby lake, there's an even stronger case for banning them.  This is my opinion and I am not an attorney and if the decision were contested I don't know for sure what might happen in a court, but trying to get the road association vote on this would be the first path I would take.

    We had a somewhat similar situation on a lake where people wanted to ban personal watercraft because, among other things, they were stirring up sediment and that is bad for the lake, but the lake has three towns that abut it and only two were in favor of the ban. In that case it was not a single body that voted and the one town was able to prevent the ban. An interesting situation. But in your case (as I see it) the ATV ban (assuming the majority supports it) might work.
  • 20 May 2010 12:56 PM
    Reply # 346868 on 335426
    Deleted user
    Betsy, I like the suggestion. I am not sure whether I can get a majority vote on it but it will be worth a try. In any event, the owners who have family or friends who have ATV's will get the word that these vehicles are seen as undersireable by their neighbors and this may keep the activity down. The biggest problem is that the kids who have them ride all over the place and don't stay on the roadway and do some tearing up of the off-track and this is what people find most objectionable - in addition to those who are concerned about Road Assn liability if someone gets hurt on the road.

                            The Maine Alliance for Road Associations


Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software