Man takes pleasure filming cars being damaged by a large rock placed in driveway

IANAL, but this reminds me of a story about a homeowner who got sued by a burglar. IIRC, the scenario was repeated break-ins through the same window, so the homeowner left glass there instead of cleaning it up. The person who got injured sued him. I guess the outcome in this situation depends on how seriously property damage is considered (in some states that often leads to harsher penalties than crimes committed against people). :woman_shrugging:t4:

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some folks just want to watch the world burn. :man_shrugging:

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In Canada you don’t technically own the bottom 8 or so feet of yard lining the road. I believe it’s the same in the USA. Its an easement of sorts. You need to take care of it, but the municipality can do what it wants. For this reason, I don’t think this guy has a legal footing to purposely block the way.

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I’m erring on the side of “he’s an arsehole”. In the law of England and Wales (and I’m guessing from the registration plate, and given that it’s a fairly new car, we’re looking at Nottingham here and not, say, Glasgow, where different laws apply) trespass is a civil offence, not a criminal offence.
I’m not saying the law is right but driving a few inches onto somebody else’s property isn’t a criminal offence.
I suspect, in English law, the drivers whose vehicles were damaged by his rock, will be able to sue for damages. By posting these videos to YouTube, the homeowner has shown that he intended to cause damage to vehicles encroaching on his property. Whereas it will be much harder for him to prove that the drivers were deliberately, and knowingly, trespassing. Modern cars, with all their safety protection, have piss-poor visibility, particularly from obstructive A-pillars. Had he put a more visible obstruction, like a vertical bollard, or even a bell bollard, I’d be a little more sympathetic. But, in my opinion, this looks like someone who has intended to cause criminal damage to motor vehicles for his enjoyment, and for YouTube views.
I’m not defending the law but English property law (which, for US readers, applies in England and Wales, but not Scotland or Northern Ireland) is exceptionally complicated and archaic. Trespass only becomes a criminal offence – and this is a fairly recent change to the law – once the trespasser has been made aware of their trespassing.
Full disclosure: I’m an armchair lawyer. I started – but did not complete – a graduate diploma in law, the first step in getting approved as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales. So don’t take my legal opinion as gospel. But I know that you could be found liable for damages, for instance, if a badly-maintained gutter fell from your property onto the head of a cold-calling Jehovah’s Witness.
In summary: rock-placing dude is an arse, in my opinion. And, knowing what I know about boundary disputes in England, he better be 100% certain that that particular 30cm strip of land is actually within his demise.

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All I know is that if these folks can’t see the rock, then they probably can’t see your dog or a small child. :flushed:

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The area in red is a public highway. If that rock is so much as a millimetre over what the homeowner thinks is his property, he is committing a criminal offence.
I can’t be certain of the exact circumstances but it looks like some of these properties have “dropped kerbs”, which brings in another layer of uncertainty over the delineation of public and private property. So in my humble – if not my legal – opinion, I’m definitely erring on total arsehole.

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If the drivers are damaging the concrete curb or other brickwork it’s amazing how expensive it is to repair. Like staggering in the thousands of dollars to repair a small section because a much bigger section has to come out to repair the probably smaller break. I’m not sure I’m on this guys side or not, but I’m leaning towards the “stop breaking my ridiculously expensive masonry!” Camp.

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If it’s a dropped kerb, it’s an agreement between the homeowner and the council … the homeowner pays for the brickwork, but the part that joins the public highway is public property. I can’t be certain it is a dropped kerb, but it looks like it might be, judging by the width of the pavement (sidewalk) to the left of the video.

I’d still be pissed if it was broken repeatedly, regardless whether or not I had to pay for it in part or in full. The way those guys are driving over the curb it probably needs to be repaired every year.

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The people turning around at the end of his driveway should be more careful (it looks like there’s plenty of space), but the guy who put the rock there is an arsehole. There are ways of saying “muh propertuh!” (if that’s the kind of hill you really feel the need to die on) without being vindictive about it.

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That’s my take on this - there are times when people should (passive?) aggressively prevent motorists from going through their property. This is not one of them.

If the issue is some bricks or smaller stones being dislodged, fill it in with larger pavers that won’t move but will allow a vehicle to pass over. Or put something more obvious there. It’s annoying that cars do it but also it’s reason number 9873 to be mad at the world too.

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He has a right to protect his property from the careless turnaround drivers. He isn’t trying to protect his property though, he’s trying to cause harm. If he really wanted to stop turn around driver he’d put a highly visible deterrent there. Many folks have suggested that, a brick pillar, a bigass rock whatever it would take to be seen. How about he causes enough damage to a car that later the car has a steering failure at highway speed? Easy enough to happen with some drivers not being aware of the damage done.

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No hitting stones

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That’s fine, but I’m stealing the stone. Also thinking later it would’ve been better if I’d moved it a couple feet in and cemented it from there, and erected a tiny $local flag reflector.

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Just needs a wee keep like they put in fish tanks, no more than 40 kg. Not right on the pavement, you’ll kill the vicar or such. Little banners stuck on it for color. Maybe some orc miniatures.

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If I were to go to those lengths, I’d also go so far as to cement it down to the driveway so that it’s truly immobile.

That could be my daughter on her tricycle. I seem to be the minority, but I’m all for the rock.

Any driver allowed on the road should know where the edges of their car is, and not hit things.

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Counterpoint, these people aren’t intentionally harming him, and they don’t appear to be attempting to even purposely cross onto his property.

He’s just being a jerk because he feels like he can.

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I don’t know what the law is in England, but in the US, the law is pretty clear on this. If someone damaged their car driving over a rock like this, that person, if they sued you, would be all but guaranteed to win. You cannot intentionally set traps to cause damage to people (or their property) who trespass on your property. You just cannot do that. It’s a form of self help and the law in the US heavily frowns on it. You could, if local ordinances allow it, erect some sort of barrier to prevent people from driving over that part of your property, but you cannot set something up designed to damage their car, especially if it’s set up in such a way as to be difficult to see. You just can’t do that.

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