When Sh** hits the fan.

[clintonnut 126]

Got home today after girlfriend didn't want to hang out because she was bogged with homework. Buddy calls me up and asks if I want to do some off-roading. I said sure, where we going and at first he said some place that everybody goes. Got to his house, hooked up with his friend who informed us and hit mcdonalds and then used the GPS to get there. Was right along the Susquehanna river and pretty nice mud hole. Romped a little, buddy got his truck stuck on a mound with all four tires off the ground. Spent a half hour getting him off then messed around a little more. Found another path, one goes down it, gets stuck bad and all the sudden a car comes rip roaring down the dirt path and sure enough it is a COP! We just were like, oh crap, in for it now....

Cop gets out asks what the hell were doing and why hes down here getting his boots muddy, we honestly explains and basically it was a federal offense of trespassing on township land and he was explaining it happened here multiple times. He saw the stuck truck and got our info and said if we could get the truck out he would not call the tow truck and impound us all. We took a half hour with come alongs to get it out and both my buddy and I threw our backs out. Cop tells us the deal, along with his higher ranking offical who later showed up and wanted to double the fine etc. and basically we have to appear in court and pay a $500 trespassing fine along with a $100 environmental damages fine (that's each of us). More talk, blah blah blah and we shook hands and got the heck out of there. He said it will not go on a criminal record but will on our driving record. Great....

My buddy told his parents, they didn't get too mad more or less you learned your lesson and are punished with the fine so lets move on. He will probably lose his license as he got it TODAY!!!!!

The kid at school who told us of this place is going to have hell to pay....

I'll probably be grounded for March, see no friends and this weekend will be my last free one for a while. Even worse is now the girlfriend is on lockdown something she shouldn't be punished for by her Mom. Shouldn't I mean it is not even right from a parenting perspective, not mine.

This WILL be the LAST time I wheel off of my own property or a friends property. Lesson learned the hard way. Kinda makes me want to sell the truck and buy a ricer just to feel better.

Charlie

[can whlvr 991]

well i feel bad for ya charlie,i used to own a 1987 yj,lifted,33,s12000lb ramsay winch,the whole deal.well i got in trouble a few times too,never got fined but warned,you cant just go out there and do your thing anymore,i gave up dirtbiking because there is nowhere to ride anymore unless you go 3 hours north,i guess count yourself lucky they didnt tow and impound you

[Sparky-(Admin) 19,635]

Its the same everywhere Charlie. My son (16 on a quad) and his buddy (15 on a dirtbike) got caught on state land last year. Not a state park but just raw land. It was a small fine compared to the one you got. I got pinched way back on abandoned railroad tracks on a dirtbike years ago (26 years ago actually) so its just a rite of passage I suppose on the way to becoming a man and learning lifes lessons. I was caught, and now my son gets caught. I didnt yell or hand out any punishments since he was doing just what I did, but I did say dont come home with another fine or else!

So far so good.

Mike.............

[clintonnut 126]

Just found this....

http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/583464_Police-charge-off-roaders-with-damaging-property.html

Explains why they probably came down there...

[can whlvr 991]

one thing i can atest to is dirt bikes,fourwheelers,even 4 legged horses do destroy the land,i got caught on a snowmabile trail once with my jeep,i had totally wrecked the trail,i got down a trail and had a very haerd time getting out,the groomer had to pull me out and almost phoned the cops,so i guess if its not our land to wreck we shouldnt be there,but where do we go to have fun,up here if you go way north you can go on old logging roads,but your really not supposed to be there either,its just to vast for the cops to patrol

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,121]

I hope you were polite to the officer, this way you're likely to catch a break when you fight the ticket. ALWAYS fight the ticket.

[Paul D. 26]

I used to work with a guy who after putting a lift kit and mudders on his jeep decided to do some off roading. Got stuck. I mean to the axles stuck. Them the cops showed up... They were then informed that they were on the nuclear plants property. A huge no no. Especially after 9:11. You should be thankful for your little fine. As his was much bigger and he got to pick up trash on the side of the highway for several weekends to boot. Lol. The best thing about working with apprentices is hearing there stupid moment stories. And then sharing ours from when we were younger.

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,052]

:hide:

[AMC RULES 36,954]

Around here, most people I know have to pay to legally four wheel, and they travel to PA to do it. :teasing-poke:

[clintonnut 126]

Were were very polite and honest to the officers and they did notice that.

nylyon, you're saying try to get the tickets dropped, what all does that take? Do I need to hire a lawyer?

I wasn't particularly looking for them but, I did NOT see any trespassing signs, I usually would pick up on something like that and question my actions.

Charlie

[Ken B 3,116]

That is a real bummer Charlie. If there is one thing I learned in my off roading days it is that you are almost always trespassing on someone's else's land. Yeah, I know its wrong, but a young guy with a 4x4 and you know the old saying, boys will be boys.

Back in the day I was wheeling and I got stuck down an embankment, wedged up against a tree. The cops came and they called a wrecker. No fine but the cop did call me a dumbass a few times because the tree I was stuck up against had a sign with big bold letters that said: NO TRESPASSING! I swear they put that sign up sometime that day. We always wheeled at the valley. The tow truck pulled me out but the problem was, I had no cash, he wanted 200 bucks! He said he'd tow it to my house if the bill could be payed for there. I said sure but I knew there would be hell to pay from the old man. I had to wake him up at 1:30 in the morning on a weekday and explain to him what happened, and that oh yeah, I need 200 bucks! Man was he pissed. 210 pounds of a 6ft tall pissed off muscular old school German guy can get ugly, fast. 200 bucks was a bit of dough 25 yrs. ago. Indeed I paid him back and he gave me this bit of advice, if that happens again you won't get off so easy. Yes sir I knew what that meant.

About a week after my episode the door bell rang one morning at about 12:30 am. The old man answered it, wasn't to happy either. It was a friend of mine and his truck was stuck in the very same place mine got stuck. He wanted me to help tow him out. From the top of the stairs I heard my old man tell him. Ferget it, go home and talk to your father, ask him for a tow!

Don't sell yer truck Charlie, you worked real hard on it and its a sweet ride. Besides, only punks and dweeb's drive ricers.

[AMC RULES 36,954]

Don't sell yer truck Charlie, you worked real hard on it and its a sweet ride. Besides, only punks and dweeb's drive ricers.

:text-yeahthat:

[clintonnut 126]

I wasn't being too serious about selling it LOL

[VinsRJ 721]

Had the same happen to me when I was your age Charlie. I was riding my 4-wheeler on State Property and all of a sudden a Real Crime Fighter came out of the trees and basically cloth-lines me off my quad.

Fight the ticket.

[hm12460 53]

Wait a minute here.... you got a girl friend and you're out playing in the mud?? Whats up with that Charlie?

[6wheeler 586]

Thats a real bummer Charlie. Brings back alot of memories for me back in the day. Around here nowadays, the fine is $750.00 for trespassing and $750.00 for littering AND $500.00 destruction of public property. Pretty much made us all give up gettin muddy feet. I got a fun story to go with this though. Way back in 1979 I had a 1/2 ton jeep pickup with 35's on it. We went wheelin on what is now Mn. zoo property. A local cop chased us down into a swamp and proceeded to get his car stuck. He offered to let us go with no tickets if we pulled him out AND washed his car. Needless to say, that was probably the cleanest squad car the city owned at the time. After that ,we formed a club. Then we went about trying to lease land for four wheeling. Surprisingly, we found several farmers that were willing to lease out swampland the couldn't farm anyway. I hung up my big tires in 2000. When I sold my 79 1 ton Ford. But not completely, I do run 305's on my 94 F-250. I still like em a little taller.

[Don1977 604]

We have Uwharria National Forest about 30 miles east with lots of trails. They allow hunting so you don't want to go during hunting season. Took my Toyota down there years ago.

Here are some video's some one made.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,121]

Charlie, it's not criminal so you don't need a lawyer. Show up on your court date, explain what happened, calmly and many times the charges will be reduced. Let's put it this way, you have nothing to lose.

[Rooster 191]

There are four wheeling clubs all across the United States, they will no where to wheel legally. Just like any other hobby, wheeling only gets better when you have people to share the experience with and experienced people to learn from! I wheeled in High School, really thought I did something...then as an adult I went wheeling with a club, in a wheeling park and found out what real wheeling was!

[sscotsman 132]

I wasn't particularly looking for them but, I did NOT see any trespassing signs, I usually would pick up on something like that and question my actions.

Charlie

You dont need to see a sign to question your actions!

ask yourself:

"Is this my own land?"

"do I know who owns this land?"

"do I have permission from the landowner to be here doing what I am doing?"

If the answer to all those questions is "no"..you are illegally trespassing..signs or no signs is irrelevant.

I have to say though, im impressed with the way you handled it with the cops, and how you are writing about it now..

often you get the guys who take an attitude and wont admit they did anything wrong: "how dare the cops hassle us! stupid cops, I hate them, etc"..

those are the guys who dont learn lessons, and who usually end up in prison later on!

but you took it like a man..

Scot

[clintonnut 126]

Thanks for the tips guys...

I really had no idea where the heck we were in Lancaster County. It was dark and I seriously thought we were on some dead end dirt road not private property. The sign for the wild life preserve was for a road that branched off and on a map, the road is labeled as Green Hill Rd and it is supposed to go through, not dead end. My buddy tried to go down farther and there was a tree down and blocking the road. I really see it as no worse than doing burnouts on any road. Its state road according to a Google Map. That is unless someone bought road from the state (can you do that?)

[zieg72 209]

Thanks for the tips guys...

I really had no idea where the heck we were in Lancaster County. It was dark and I seriously thought we were on some dead end dirt road not private property. The sign for the wild life preserve was for a road that branched off and on a map, the road is labeled as Green Hill Rd and it is supposed to go through, not dead end. My buddy tried to go down farther and there was a tree down and blocking the road. I really see it as no worse than doing burnouts on any road. Its state road according to a Google Map. That is unless someone bought road from the state (can you do that?)

To bad you didn't take a picture of the GPS when you were out there... Seems like an honest mistake to me... Your honor I thought I was on a state road???

[can whlvr 991]

i would research the google map,make sure it shows where you got caught was a legal right of way,if it does get copies,the report will say where you were charged,and bring this to the judge,as stated be polite,neat in appearance,and explain that you honestly thought you were on a right of way,and that you have learned your lesson ,thats what i would do and as ststed you dont have anything to loose but a few hours of your time

[clintonnut 126]

Here's the map where we were:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=green+hill+rd+conestoga+pa&hl=en&ll=39.905829,-76.36844&spn=0.001206,0.001725&sll=39.825593,-76.215796&sspn=1.236086,1.766052&hnear=Green+Hill+Rd,+Conestoga,+Lancaster,+Pennsylvania+17516&t=h&z=19

If you look closly, the road curves down and follows parallel to a railroad track. The triangular area where the road curves and the track keeps going straight is where we were. You can see a little clear area as well as a spill off of gravel off the tracks. We were in the little clear area but my buddy had his truck stuck between the gravel and the clear area...He was in the center of the "triangular area"

Charlie

[4xfourfun 30]

I'm not big on fighting tickets either but you have to go with your gut feeling. If you feel like you should fight it do it. I had a similar experiance several years ago and felt I got the crappy end of the stick. I actually went to help a buddy out when he got stuck. We were both told it was one of ours friends relatives property, but didn't get to see the deed lol. As we were getting him out of the mess some other people showed up and a fight follwed. Next thing you know the cops were there writing everybody tickets. Most people left out of there like crazy. Well, thats not my style so I stayed and dealt with what I had coming. The judge was pretty cool about it after I explained everything all charges were dropped. Its a gamble because you never know how sympathetic the judge will be, but you seem like an honest respecful person and that is a big help.