Riding on the shoulder of the road-- legal?

[SnicklefritzG]

[QUOTE=Tuffytown;7684101]
There should be county plat or kroll maps. They would show the right of way. Generally around here its 60-70 feet, 30-35 each side of centerline but I think our more recently established platting requires much larger ROW than older communities back east. Lanes are 10-12 feet wide usually.[/QUOTE]

First time I read it, I thought it said “troll map”, and I thought how wonderful!
It would be so useful to know where the neighborhood grumps are. Then I realized that’s not what it really said.

[cnvh]

[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;7684320]
First time I read it, I thought it said “troll map”, and I thought how wonderful!
It would be so useful to know where the neighborhood grumps are. Then I realized that’s not what it really said.[/QUOTE]

I second this! :lol:

[gypsymare]

One of our easements is close to 35’. I remember being aghast that so much was not actually ours… But what are the laws of ROW use? I thought these were for utilities and future road expansion not public land per se. I’m curious because a local business put a large easel type stand along our property and claimed it was within the ROW so they were fine. They removed it without argument but I didn’t think anyone could just use or put whatever they like there because it’s a road easement.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=gypsymare;7684643]
One of our easements is close to 35’. I remember being aghast that so much was not actually ours… But what are the laws of ROW use? I thought these were for utilities and future road expansion not public land per se. I’m curious because a local business put a large easel type stand along our property and claimed it was within the ROW so they were fine. They removed it without argument but I didn’t think anyone could just use or put whatever they like there because it’s a road easement.[/QUOTE]

Yes, that’s a good point. The easement doesn’t mean anyone can use it…it’s for the town and for utilities. I’d be interested to hear what the official word on that would be from the town…might just have to ask our town for an example.

Typically, if someone is trail riding on our road they use the shoulder, not the grassy area. Depending on the terrain, there might be a deep drainage ditch, or someone may mow all the way to the shoulder (we do on one side of our property). I wouldn’t be too happy if someone galloped through that grassy area and left holes. Now I’m curious if we actually have the right to keep people off it if we want.

(The guy who owns the property across from our driveway told us he would call the police if we plowed snow from our driveway there. Not sure he has a right to do that, but in an effort to be nice neighbors we do our best to avoid it. He doesn’t even live there; it’s his hunting property. Sheesh.)

[SmartAlex]

Many places just don’t have much shoulder. Here in NY we do because we need someplace to put the snow, but get very far away from the lakes, and the shoulders narrow considerably. Every home owner has their own idea about how much of the grassy area is their’s, and if they maintain it nicely of course they don’t want people tracking it up. In our county I believe the public ROW is 12’ (or maybe it’s 16’?) from the center of the road. What the town and utilities can mess with is wider.

[shakeytails]

If I had maintained lawn up to the road edge, I wouldn’t want you riding on it either. It might be nice and dry today where your horse won’t leave divots, but next time maybe not. Maybe it’s legal, but it’s still inconsiderate.

As for hay fields, I ride around the outside edge of mine frequently. Occasionally I’ll trot right through the middle. But it’s mine. If somebody else did it I’d be pretty ticked off. Knowing horses, if I saw a horse spook and end up on my lawn or hay I’d be fine with it, but not everybody understands horses.

[SmartAlex]

I always take shelter in a driveway if I see something dangerous headed my way (dump truck, motorcycle), but I’m pretty sure most of my neighbors would rather see me in their lawn than splatted on the road if it came to that. I did have to turn back on one ride because there were new round bales in one of the hay fields and my horse was fixin to aerate some nice people’s lawn

[HungarianHippo]

[QUOTE=shakeytails;7684744]

…Knowing horses, if I saw a horse spook and end up on my lawn or hay I’d be fine with it, but not everybody understands horses.[/QUOTE]

Same here. But what if I happened to look out into the yard only after the spook had happened? All I’d see is someone riding well inside the boundary of my field, and I’d have an entirely different reaction. Of course, I hope that I’d listen and tone down my reaction when the rider said I’m so sorry my horse spooked.

But I would not be very charitable if they gave me a snotty non-apology, the kind that communicates “come ON, I obviously didn’t do any harm, so your anger is not justified”. Those are the exact words of every single yahoo who feeds your horse carrots over the fence, or climbs into your pasture to let their kids pet the friendleeee horsies. Usually followed by “Oh, don’t worry, I know horses.”

The OP is very obviously not ignorant or inconsiderate. But there are lots of inconsiderate riders out there so it behooves us to go above and beyond and sometimes turn the other cheek, as representatives of our sport.

[spacytracy]

I think for the sake of the peace, I would come up, on foot, and apologize and ask if he minds if you use the 3’ strip while you get to the trail.

I think the yelling (on both sides) is unnecessary, and is only going to make things worse. Even if you find that you are correct, on horseback, I wouldn’t want to pass an enemy on my way anywhere.

[DaniW]

Horses have the right of way on a public highway and that obviously includes the shoulder. Horses have a fundamental right of way and drivers need to yield to them. Look up your states vehicle code online, find the applicable law and print it out if need be . Carry a camera and videotape anyone who dares to harass you.

[SmartAlex]

I’m sure the OP has this since I linked it in on of her previous road riding threads but here it is again for all you road riders: Equine Road Laws by State

[clanter]

check your state’s laws, you just might be able to ride down the middle of the highway lane (if you have the nerve). The only state that I am ware of that prohibits riding on a paved road is Louisiana.

here is an exert from an article regarding riding on roads

“Traffic laws in a few states, including Colorado, Michigan, and New Mexico, specifically state that horses have all the rights and obligations of other vehicles when they are being ridden or driven on a public highway. Everywhere else, except in states like Louisiana where it appears to be illegal to ride a horse on a paved road, riders and drivers probably enjoy similar rights and obligations by implication. Some states prohibit specific conduct when riding on a highway: It is illegal to ride a horse at night in New Mexico; to cross bridges at a gait faster than a walk in Idaho, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania; to ride or drive a horse “recklessly” in Nevada; to race or run horses on a highway in Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, or New Jersey; to ride on a levee in Kentucky; and to ride on interstate highways in several states. Horses should be ridden on the right-hand side of the road, going with the flow of traffic, almost everywhere except Colorado, where riders must ride on the left.”

• See more at: http://cs.thehorse.com/blogs/horses-and-the-law/archive/2012/01/24/Rules-Of-The-Road.aspx#sthash.AipnkclV.dpuf