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Article doesn't indicate the road is private. How do you know?

As a backcountry motorcyclist I'm accustomed to coming upon roads that are "private" because some rancher decided to hang a sign but in reality it's a public right-of-way. Also as a backcountry motorcyclist I'm smart enough to not drive a Prius down a mud trail. Not sure what is wrong with people today. We have more information than ever, we should be making better decisions than ever, but the truth is the opposite.

discuss

bradstewart|6 years ago

Be careful ignoring those "private" signs though. I ignored such a sign in south Texas, took a dirt road (in a 4x4) that was mapped as a public road (both on paper and Google), only to have a rifle shot cross my path about 5 minutes later.

Ended up having a fairly civil conversation with the "owner" before turning around, but he was adamant that I was on private property and would not be allowed to continue.

lgunsch|6 years ago

That sounds extreme, but does indeed play into the stereotype of a Texas rancher. I'm in Canada, and if you shoot someone on your land who's not threatening you with a weapon - chances are you will go to jail because it's not reasonable force.

cardiffspaceman|6 years ago

Curious whether the owner thought that shooting across car hoods was going to get Google to stop routing cars across his land.

Did the owner know it was Google's "influence" causing people to trespass? If so had the owner informed Google?

smhenderson|6 years ago

"We have more information than ever"

IMO that's the issue. People get so overly confident that the source of that information is never wrong so they blindly trust it. It's if the more info someone has the less critical thinking they will do.

PhasmaFelis|6 years ago

it was in another article. "Local sources say the road is not owned by Denver or Aurora but is actually private property, though they are unsure if it's open to the public." https://abc7ny.com/travel/dozen-of-drivers-get-stuck-after-b...

mindslight|6 years ago

A front wheel drive car at speed is actually pretty decent on a lot of terrain that I think you'd be hesitant about on your motorcycle - loose sand, mud, etc. The problem is when it stops and settles in, it's done moving on its own.

rhacker|6 years ago

It is mentioned in the video