Here's how it goes. OK, my grandpa own's some farm land around here that we ride our quads on. There is a set of powerlines that crosses by where we ride. My grandpa used to have cows in this part of the pasture but he dont anymore but he has a fence across the powerlines but since he dont have cows in there anymore I figured I would cut a small hole in the fence so I could get through. So I did but I could only go but like 10 yards until there is this deep ditch that I could not cross what so ever. BUT, now they have came through there and cleared it off and built a road across the ditch. So I get on my 4-wheeler and go on across and since they built a road that goes along the powerlines, I can now ride for miles and miles on the powerlines. Soooo, my question is: Is there anything that anybody can say about me riding on there? Duke power is a power company that owns the steel towers and owns the land under it. Could I get caught and fined for riding on it? Does anybody that lives near by have any say-so on if I can ride or not? Please answer these questions b/c I would not want to get a fine or anything for it.

 

I can tell you it is illegal. It's trespassing. I ride power line trails about every weekend and nobody has ever stoped me or anything. Peaple are always riding on power lines and I have heard of peaple getting warned by the owners. I am sure if the owner wanted to be a d1ck he could press charges or something.

 

Jeffman i live in Mooresville,NC (which isnt far from u)and ride on their power lines all the time.I have only been chased once by some jackass that didnt even work for them.But Ive passed them workin on power polls many times,just dont be doin anything stupid and doin like 50 by them and they wont do anything to you.Just make sure to wave,and if they flag you down stop dont run,or youll lose ur ridin priveledge on the power lines

 

See, I dont know the owner. The power company already has a dirt road built under the powerlines that they did here a couple of days ago. See, the powerlines also go through my grandpa's land and I ride them all the time and nobody has said anything. As a matter of fact, while they was down there working, I stopped and talked to this dude while I was riding and he didn' say nothing. But I forgot to ask him about it. Im just wondering if I go beyond my grandpa's land on the powerline, if anybody would say anything? I noticed it went by a trailer that somebody lived in but the rest is just woods. It goes a pretty long ways, at least 2-3 miles of nothing but long straight dirtroad under the powerlines, thats why I want to ride them. If yall was me, would you just go ahead and ride them and just see if anybody will say anything or what? It looks like I could get up some pretty good speed on my 400EX b/c its straight. That would be awsome!

 

It is illegal. If the company only owns right of way rights, then you are really screwed. If you crossed 5 different landowners on your little spree down the road, you could be charged 5 times for trespassing. As far as someone being a jacka$$ about doing something like that is just the kind of attitude that shuts down our riding areas and gives the entire industry a bad image. I am a member of the BlueRibbon Coalition,AMA, and a few others so I DO have the right to speak up on the matter since my money went to preserve what riding areas you punks haven't shut down already. Not that my 4 year old daughter plays near the powerlines, which wouldn't matter anyway,being that is my land. But if you and your outlaw buddies came riding by her at 40+mph, you can bet your a$$ that a tespassing charge would be the last thing on my mind.
Find a riding area near you that is legal and stay away from riding in places that could cause problems later on. And as far as the trailer goes, show some respect, I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear the same annoying racket every five minutes on your day off from work, would you.
Just put yourself in other peoples shoes and think of how your neighbors feel about quads in general. But hey, get permission, respect the land owners around you, you did it the right way. Try it and see what happens, you never know.

 

KNOWSALOT, cut him a little slack. He's concerned enough to ask the right questions and not just assume he's entitled to ride there.

jeffman, go to the County courthouse and look-up the owners of the land that this trail crosses. If you don't know how to do this, ask a real estate agent and they should be able to help you. Send each of the land owners a letter telling who you are, who your Grandfather is and ask for their permission to ride across there land. Tell them that you are willing to sign a liability waiver.

Getting permission is the first step. The next step is to take part of each weekend and pick up any trash you see along the route. If the land owners see that there is something in it for them, they will be more likely to agree.

Good luck, and thanks for asking!

 

In most cases the land still belongs to many different property owners, but the power company bought certain "rights" to use the land...

so in any given spot, you are on 2 peoples property at once.... way worse than just tresspassing on one guys property.....

both the land owner and the power company have huge liabilities when it comes to you riding on their land

so try to understand

 

<< But if you and your outlaw buddies came riding by her at 40+mph, you can bet your a$$ that a tespassing charge would be the last thing on my mind. >>



Well...It seems that the class hero is in effect again. So far, I have kept my mouth shut. Some of the info you have offered has been helpfull. You are correct about the legality of the riding area in question. But it is not your job to call someone names and act like a tuff guy or hero. I guess you just always know the answers to every question. but I would not expect any less from someone who is vein enough to call themself knowsalot.
A good amount of the respect I had for your posts has been lost with your blatant lack of professionalism on this topic. Is this the way you would treat a customer from behind that parts counter? Because anyone can get on the phone or look at a micro-fische to come up with an answer.

How do you know this person is an outlaw?

Man..go order a box of spark plugs or something. And relax..Offer some good advice and go riding.

On another note...I too am a member of the groups you have listed above. I do obey the law with my ATV and bikes. But there is one thing that differentiates me from you. I took the schooling required to get out from behind that parts counter. Good day sir.

 

I work for a power co. and all of what has been said is mostly true. Alot of my job responsibilities deal with r-o-w issues. Yes you are trespassing, but not on the power co. In my experience when a power co. builds a line they do so by way of easements. All of the easements we write only cover &quot;land&quot; rights while the line is being built. After that it usually only covers structures and clearing issues. Now I ride power lines all the time. In my experience very few landowners will give you any trouble. But if they so choose, they can have you arrested for trespassing. Most power lines are pretty rugged and most landowners could care less about them. I am surprised that the power co. would let your Grandpa put a fence across it (without a gate at least). Those kinds of things are what power companies are concerned with. It will do you no good to talk with the power co. They do not have the right to tell you that you can or can't ride there. As far as the landowners go, I can't tell you to trespass but if it were me I would ride until someone told me not to. Also a little bit of advice. If you do encounter a landowner, don't run. Politely go up to him and see what he has to say. If he says he doesn't want you riding there then respect his wishes. You may be surprised though. Most landowners are pretty easy going.

Knowsalot all of us are not the saint you proclaim to be. If you have never rode somewhere where your not sure you should be, then you have been missing out on some good riding. I commend jeffman for asking about it. I have done this for years and never even thought of asking about if it was ok or not. With that being said I do not think you should ride around houses or populated areas. But there is still hope for you, if there are some power lines around you that you want to ride on, all you have to do is figure out what T-R-S you need and go to your local courthouse and look up the landowners. Then search there contact info and call all of them. This takes a very long time. And while you are researching me, jeffman, and many others &quot;outlaws&quot; will be living it up along the many power lines around the nation.

 

When I was younger, I lived near some powerlines, that had nice trails. A couple years after I moved away from there, I took my quad back, and tried to ride there again.

Well, there was an expensive steel gate across the road, with a new barbed wire fence running up to it so there was no way around. I went back to the owners house to ask if I could get through to ride. Get this: It was his property, but it wasn't his gate! It was some jacka$$ deer hunter groups gate. They had been hunting back there for years, cutting across this guys land to get to their hunting shack. Eventually after improving the road to a point, they contacted a lawyer and somehow took over rights to this guys property. (this is all by his account) I don't know if they did it through the power company or what, but the owner of the property apparently had no say at that point whether or not they could gate it! He said he complained, but he was old and didn't care about it. He said he didn't care if I rode back there if I could get past the gate. Well, I didn't want to destroy the gate or fence and possibly get shot at, so I left. It was very strange, and disturbing news! I know for a fact the property had changed hands by now, and I haven't met the new owners. I sure would like to ride back there again for nostalgia...

All I can say is, get out an ride like there is no tormorrow, becuase you never know, there may not be!!! The odds are, there likely will not be!!!

Stupid Deer Hunters think they are so smart anyway. Say you have been riding through the woods all year; they think if you ride there during hunting season, it will scare the deer. Don't you think if you have been tearing up the woods for the last 3 months, and suddenly there is no action, except some hillbilly with a musket &quot;stalking&quot; the woods the animals won't freak anyway? Get a clue! Don't get me wrong, in my opinion, the only good deer is a dead deer. I know all hunters aren't that way.