wwyd? need serious advice. neighbors.

[hildare]

so.. this has been happening for the past month or so. there is a family across the dirt road where we live, i've never met the parents but have spoken to some of the kids. kid in question looks to be around 11 or so.
every evening the kid rides his four wheeler up and down the dirt road. also:
it raises lots of dust. our cows have to eat dust covered grass and we have to breathe it.
people drive VERY fast up and down this road.
kids sometimes ride double and NEVER wear a helmet (which wouldn't make this legal anyway, not that i care about that part of it)

however, we moved out here so we could do our own thing and expect other people to do the same. but i am seriously worried that somebody's going to wreck. people really fly on this road and i went down to the road intending to work up the courage to go talk to their folks, which i couldn't do. i saw the kids go by several times and were going so fast they didn't even seem to have total control of the 4wheeler. plus there's a tendency to slide on the dirt/gravel road.

dh is very annoyed by the dust but i am just worried about the safety of the kids. at first we thought the family must not know that the kids were doing this but after this happening EVERY night, this is not likely.

if i want to go talk to the family i really doubt i could change the situation. parents or whoever HAVE to be aware of the dangers already.
if i want to talk to the family not at all, i want even less to call cops. that's totally against what i believe. but, crap. what do i do? if something happens to those kids i will not forgive myself for not intervening somehow.
help!

[momo7]

ok...I'm going out on a limb here..I KNOW I'm going to get flamed....but I'm going to say it anyway and then quietly mind my own business.

We live on a dirt road and it IS very dusty. There are probably three families on my road, including mine, that let their kids ride motorcycles, ATVs, and go-carts up and down our road. My own children have been riding their go-cart up and down the road (with helmets on) and "somebody" called the police who promptly put a stop to it. I was seriously irked. They weren't hurting anybody, they were minding their own business and doing what kids do best which is having fun. The other kids on the road are still riding their toys and having fun. I absolutely refuse to play sour grapes and get them in trouble just because my kids can't ride on the road anymore. Why ruin the fun for everybody else.

I am assuming your cows are on pretty big acreage. Cows really aren't that dumb....if the dust bothers them they will move I guess. The ones I see all around here stand by the fence and watch cars go up and down the road all day long...it doesn't seem to bother them. I don't know...maybe your cows are different.

I am seriously pissed at whoever called the police on my children. They were perfectly fine doing their thing.

Your neighbors probably won't know if it was you who called, but at the same time think about the fact that while these kids are riding their toys...they aren't getting into trouble either and instead of vegetating in front of a TV or X-box they are outside, hanging out w/ mother nature.

Saying this as gently and kindly as I can...really I am. Leave them alone.

[zinemama]

I would be very surprised if those parents don't know exactly what their kids are doing. And I would be very surprised if the result of you talking to them was anything but hearty resentment and ill-feeling. Another vote for letting things be.

[liliaceae]

I think the OP was saying that she does *not* want to call the cops.

I agree that talking to the parents probably won't change anything, but if you will feel guilty if you don't, you could always play dumb and act like you didn't think they knew about it, and you're just being a helpful neighbor and letting them know that their kids are doing something dangerous.

[pauletoy]

If you live on a dirt road, there is going to be dust. You are just going to have to get over that part.

The is taken from the Georgia DMV Code. http://www.lexis-nexis.com/hottopics/gacode/

O.C.G.A. § 40-7-4 (2009)

§ 40-7-4. Operating restrictions

Any person operating an off-road vehicle under any of the following conditions shall be deemed to be in violation of this chapter and subject to the penalties provided in Code Section 40-7-6:

(1) Without operative brakes or without mufflers or other silencing equipment;

(2) On any private property without the express written permission of the owner of the property or his agent.

HISTORY: Ga. L. 1976, p. 330, § 4; Ga. L. 1994, p. 97, § 40.

Unless you local government has laws in place, it doesn't appear they are doing anything wrong.

I would mind my on business.

[mamadelbosque]

Another vote for myob... I can almost garuntee you that a: parents know and b: approve/don't care. Probably, they grew up doing the same thing. All you going over their and explaining to them what their kids are doing/how unsafe it is is be labeled as the nosy-new-lady-who-thinks-she-knows-better-than-us... and thats just not a good way to meet your new neighbors, yk??

[choli]

Originally Posted by hildare

however, we moved out here so we could do our own thing and expect other people to do the same.

It sounds like you want to do your own thing, and have others do your own thing, not theirs, to be frank.

Dirt road = dust, it's not rocket science. Possibly your neighbors moved there specifically so their kids could ride their four wheelers on the dirt road, cos that's THEIR thing.

[mamazee]

Yep, I'd let it go too.

[lilyka]

dirt roads are filthy. You are going to have to get used to it. Living in the country on a dirt road is dusty and dirty.

as for riding their four wheelers. I don't know a single country kid who doesn't. You can bet their parents know what they are doing. They probably told them to stop tearing around in the yard and go ride those out on the street where they belong. Life is dangerous. Fun is dangerous. So long as their parents let them it is their business.

[leighi123]

Can you put up a 'slow, children playing' type sign?

Other than that, I dont think there is much you can do. I lived on a ranch for a few months and couldnt stand it because of all the dust so ended up moving into town!

[sapphire_chan]

I don't get why it's okay for non-licensed drivers to operate motor vehicles that can go fast enough to kill someone. Those little plastic cars that go all of 3mph are 'toys',bikes are 'toys', the things I see kids zipping around in on neighborhood streets are vehicles.

wouldn't call the cops, mind you, but I don't get the attitude that those things are just fine on public roads.

[Alyantavid]

I say mind your own business too.

I live in the country on a dirt road. One of the neighbor boys rides his dirt bike up and down the road and it doesn't bother me at all. Of course he's in gear and a helmet, but as long as he stays out of my yard, I really don't care.

Then again, my kids ride dirt bikes up and down the road as well, with protection and supervision and I would not be happy to have the cops come and tell us all to stop.

[NiteNicole]

I agree with pretty much everyone else.

Dirt road = dust and dirt. It sucks, but that's how it is.

The parents know and they're ok with it.

There is nothing you can do about it. You can talk to the parents, you can call the police, things won't change - or won't change for very long. Everyone's going to be mad at you and these kids are still going to ride fast without helmets.

I live in a community with both dirt roads and kids on four wheelers who never wear helmets. It's frustrating but the only thing I can do is keep my kid off of them. This is going to be hard when she's older if we still live in this area. EVERYONE has them (except us) and it's a big activity for kids of all ages. It will make her the class weirdo when I tell them I don't want her on them at all.

[VisionaryMom]

Originally Posted by zinemama

I would be very surprised if those parents don't know exactly what their kids are doing. And I would be very surprised if the result of you talking to them was anything but hearty resentment and ill-feeling. Another vote for letting things be.

Agreed. I grew up on a road like this, and you would become known as the nosy neighbor if you'd said anything.

[chelko]

Can you put some gravel or decomposed granite down on the road along your property? That should cut down on the dust.

[sewingmommy]

Seriously your worried about your cows eating dusty grass...they eat worse than that trust me I grew up in the country on a dirt road ..and dust is natural

[mrspineau]

It sounds very dangerous to me, and while it is a dusty road and some have said that you'll just have to get over that, I don't see why it should be okay for others to stir it up as much as they can rather than respecting the neighbors around them. If the parents can't see on their own that this is not something that they should be letting their child do, then you probably won't be able to make them see it. If I were you, I would call the cops. Who cares if the parents are irked? They shouldn't be allowing it anyways.

[Barefoot~Baker]

Originally Posted by zinemama

I would be very surprised if those parents don't know exactly what their kids are doing. And I would be very surprised if the result of you talking to them was anything but hearty resentment and ill-feeling. Another vote for letting things be.

[One_Girl]

If it is a private road then you will probably just have to live with it. If it is a public road though then calling the police may be effective. Since you live in a small community though I think that you should let the cows eat the dusty grass and let it go. If most of the people on the road do this and you are new to the area it is very likely that your neighbors will know who made the call.

[Kreeblim]

Just to quickly address the safety of riding on public roads, I would much rather they don't go off road too much, especially areas in which there are penned animals.

My ex-dh's uncle was clothes-lined by barbed wire while riding his four wheeler and died in his 20's. They didn't even find him for a while. Dirt roads rarely have barbed wire or other "unknowns", and if the kid doesn't return you can track them down much easier than if they were riding off road.