Another 18 wheeler through my yard today...

[BillK]

So back in Feb an 18 wheeler got lost in our rinky dink town and ended up driving through my front yard and over our omni stone sidewalk crushing it and tearing the heck out of the lawn. After a month of fighting with the trucking company (thank God the police got the guy 'cos he just left the scene) I got my lousy $475 in repairs paid and my lawn and walk got fixed - the grass is coming in nicely now.

Fast forward to today - my wife just called - ANOTHER 18 wheeler through the front yard. I feel like Schleprock this week. This time it was Swift Trucking/MS Carriers - who knows what will happen since this guy left the scene too and the police did not find him this time. :banghead:

[new_mommy25]

WTF? Do you live off a main road? I can't imagine a giant truck driving through my lawn. Thank goodness your children weren't outside. :( Sorry about this, Bill. May I suggest a rock wall?

[brittone2]

Yeah, um that's a little too "lightning striking the same place twice" for me. Yikes!! What a headache!

ITA w/ the above...thank goodness your kids weren't in the front yard when it happened.

[Octobermommy]

Do you live on some wicked turn? That is unbelievable. Glad no one was hurt and I hope they find the driver!

[billysmommy]

Yikes ~ that's scary!!! Good things the kiddos weren't out front playing.

[WatchingThemGrow]

That's NUTS!!! Sounds worse than our drunk neighbor in his early 20's who flipped his SUV into the back sideyard (outside the fence) at 3:30am last month. How inconsiderate of those truckers.

[ThreeofUs]

Oh, that's freaking CRAZY. My glory, I'd be terrified to have the kids outside.

[khm]

I'd speak to your city council, the police dept, planning and zoning, EVERYONE and anyone with the authority to help get things fixed! Something must be amiss with the street, and it needs to be corrected ASAP!

[MamaKath]

Yikes!!! We have put out big flower pots filled with cement along the edge of our yard to keep the neighbors son from driving on it. Sounds like you would need HUGE pots! What about a wall or something?! Our school got hit 2 times in 6 months by people falling asleep at the wheel. They put up columns and a wall. ITA with KHM about contacting the council/commisioners, pd, planning and zoning, etc. Sorry you guys are dealing with this again!

[DrSally]

What bad luck! At least you have the trucking company name. Did you see the license plate? I would go after the trucking company. That's ridiculous. Oh, where I used to live, people had huge boulders on the edge of their lawn (which butts up right to the road). That would be a big deterent.

[BillK]

Well our home is 6 blocks from our Main Street (which is also US Route 19). On each end of Main St. is Route 68 East and West - so any trucks traveling Route 68 end up on Main St. and if the driver gets confused - he ends up on a side street (usually the street that runs up to and intersects with my street). The problem is - once they end up at my street the "have" to either turn left (back to Route 68 a few blocks) -or- right which is just back into more tight turns - so ultimately - they turn left and in order to make the turn - through my yard they drive. This has happened about 6-8 times in the 15 years we've lived here.

Here's a couple pics of the last go'round in February with Progessive Intermodal trucking.

http://btz.smugmug.com/photos/519268137_nTfmP-M.jpg

http://btz.smugmug.com/photos/519267663_K4Ymb-M.jpg

[MamaMolly]

Holy Crapoly, Bill! That is so scary! (Nice house, BTW :) )

By 'getting away' do you mean they drive off? In my mind I'd imagined they abandoned the truck LOL! IIWY I'd get some decorative boulders and line your property with them, maybe about 5-6 with gaps between, so that they'd think twice before pulling up on to your lawn.

I hope it works out for you guys and the company does the right thing. Did you get pictures of the truck? I might keep a disposable camera handy just in case there is a next time.

[BillK]

Thank you - no pics of the truck - but I'm waiting on Swift Trucking claims to call me back - who knows what kind of battle I'll have with them.

My landscape guy is working me up an estimate now for (3) 1-ton boulders and some landscape work around the corner of my yard. I'm sick of this crap - my yard may not be the nicest around - but I try to keep things looking decent at our house and it makes me crazy when these idiots just drive on through and keep going.

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

Bill, I am so sorry! We have a big island in our neighborhood that we put large rocks every few feet to keep the bus of the grass. It was cheap, works and actually looks nice!

[DrSally]

Yes, I think the boulders will work perfectly. For the one time price of a few boulders, you can guarantee they will not be turning in your yard anymore.

[infomama]

Not that they always work but have you tried to get a "No thru trucks" sign posted at the end of your street?

[trales]

How about boulders with 2 foot metal spikes sticking out toward the road. I hope they fix it without a problem.

[hellokitty]

OMG, that SUCKS that this happens to you so often! I would be putting a big sign up on that corner stating that truckers who drive through your yard WILL be sued...

[WatchingThemGrow]

OH, I just forgot about the rebar one of my neighbors on a gentle corner stuck in his yard. He's scraped the mail truck and one neighbor's BMW so far with them :)

[pastrygirl]

How about boulders with 2 foot metal spikes sticking out toward the road. I hope they fix it without a problem.That's about what I was thinking! I know a guy who had trouble with snow plows plowing over his lawn, so he did indeed plant spikes.

OP, I would be SHOCKED if that happened to me! What are those drivers thinking??

[niccig]

Have they not heard of reversing and doing a multi-point turn?? I agree with some VERY substanial landscaping, either boulers or big planters, but something that is big enough that they'll see it and reverse up again. From the photo it looks like some neighbours have trees planted closer to the street. Maybe that with boulders until the trees are big enough on their own.

Definitely talk to the council/police about what can be done to keep them out of your street.

[Kungjo]

One time would hav freaked me out, but multiple times? Definitely look into huge boulders or maybe trees there.

Thank goodness no one was hurt though.

[elektra]

That sucks. (Your house is beautiful and your neighborhood looks super cozy, BTW)

[jayali]

Well that sucks. The truck driver OBVIOUSLY knew he was on your lawn - not like he just grazed it. I hope that they take some responsibility this time around. I would say that because of the situation you described no matter what you do it will probably happen again. Lost truckers in tight spaces, in my experience, will driver over anything to get out of the situation.

Good luck