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Note on Road Closures

Joined
Aug 22, 2008
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Location
Austin
First Name
Michael
Last Name
Barnes
Spoke to a game warden at the low water crossing on CR308 on Sunday, and he wanted me to tell everyone that going around barricades that are up due to high water is an arrest, not a ticket. At least in Llano county. Ride safe, ride smart.
 
Spoke to a game warden at the low water crossing on CR308 on Sunday, and he wanted me to tell everyone that going around barricades that are up due to high water is an arrest, not a ticket. At least in Llano county. Ride safe, ride smart.

little extra this is a Quote: it is a Class B misdemeanor in Texas to drive around a barricade at a flooded road. This is the same as a DWI. If caught, you may be arrested, have your car impounded, spend up to 180 days in jail and/or be fined up to $2000. You may also be charged for the cost of your rescue.
 
I was doing some part time work here for a Justice of the Peace during the flooding we had around here, I was shocked when she told me what has been posted here. I had no idea figured at the worse a ticket. Now I'm not talking trying to go through the high water, I understand that, but just around barricade to take a look. I USE to do it all the time for photos, no more.
 
little extra this is a Quote: it is a Class B misdemeanor in Texas to drive around a barricade at a flooded road. This is the same as a DWI. If caught, you may be arrested, have your car impounded, spend up to 180 days in jail and/or be fined up to $2000. You may also be charged for the cost of your rescue.
Since the law specifically mentions a flooded road, do we think there is a different law for roads closed for different reasons? For example, a dirt road that is closed due to a washed out culvert.

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My 2 cents, you go around a barricade, you break the law. They generally say closed to thru traffic. At that point depends on the officer and your excuse.

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Since the law specifically mentions a flooded road, do we think there is a different law for roads closed for different reasons? For example, a dirt road that is closed due to a washed out culvert.

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Barricade placed because of water over the road ---- Class B

Barricade placed due to Maintenance ------- Class C

Washed out culvert could depend on the opinion of the official.

Ya rolls the Dice Ya takes yer chances.
 
My 2 cents, you go around a barricade, you break the law. They generally say closed to thru traffic. At that point depends on the officer and your excuse.

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That is a correct statement, all the year of my road work i have gotten people tickets and the time i have had a officer with me a trip to jail if needed that being said those signs are there for a purpose your safety the only time it would be OK if the road we blocked had homes on it and that's were the drivers were going.



Aaron
 
In my experience if you endanger anyone you may get the arrest, but if no one was directly endangered they are more than happy to take their $2000 dollars and move on. There are a few other charges they like to add on to get the total of the fine up a little more. This is all subject to the ego and mood of everyone involved. YMMV.
 
In my experience if you endanger anyone you may get the arrest, but if no one was directly endangered they are more than happy to take their $2000 dollars and move on. There are a few other charges they like to add on to get the total of the fine up a little more. This is all subject to the ego and mood of everyone involved. YMMV.

You are correct and unfortunately to a couple of weeks ago I was ignorant to the severity of going around barricades. And no I wasn't stopped or ticketed thankfully. But I will pay attention and no more! On d/s bikes it always been like an invitation, ha! I always just figures was ricking a minor ticket.
 
But I bet there is no law that states the county must remove those signs within a certain time after the event. so the signs could be left there for a few months or years and we would still be ticketed for going round a sign which is clearly not valid. As usual it's all one sided, we the motorist get screwed for anything we do wrong, but everyone else is free (county, police, etc) to do whatever they want!! I fully agree that if you ignore a sign and get in trouble because of what it warned about, then you should be liable for fines and costs, but you cannot know if the sign has been there 3 minutes, 3 days or 3 months, so given our poor record of removing signs after an event has passed, I can't see how any reasonable police officer could charge you for going round the sign to verify if it is still relevant!! Again it always seems the motorist is under attack.. Its great that police can issue a ticket if we go around a sign, but how about the police also issue tickets to whoever put the sign in place if they are not removed with 2 weeks of the event having passed? Just food for thought.. I get really upset the number of times I change lanes because a sign says the lane closes ahead, and then there is no lane closure, or road work signs warning of roadworks ahead, when there has clearly been no roadwork activity there for months!!

I will get of my chair now!! :clap:
 
I think the big thing is trying to cross water and putting first responders at risk for being arrested.
 
More than once I've been riding on a road only to come out on the other end and see a road closed sign and barricade. No sign or barricade where I entered or sign along the way either.
 
More than once I've been riding on a road only to come out on the other end and see a road closed sign and barricade. No sign or barricade where I entered or sign along the way either.

Same here. Also the same with locked gates. I've ridden for hours on roads with no sign at all that they were private/closed, no purple paint, no locked gates (and sometimes no gates at all), no "no trespassing" signs, no "road closed" signs, etc,... and then at the very end... a locked gate. I try VERY hard to stay off private property and closed roads, but sometimes you just don't know. I have been fortunate that I've never encountered trouble because of it.
 
But I bet there is no law that states the county must remove those signs within a certain time after the event. so the signs could be left there for a few months or years and we would still be ticketed for going round a sign which is clearly not valid. As usual it's all one sided, we the motorist get screwed for anything we do wrong, but everyone else is free (county, police, etc) to do whatever they want!! I fully agree that if you ignore a sign and get in trouble because of what it warned about, then you should be liable for fines and costs, but you cannot know if the sign has been there 3 minutes, 3 days or 3 months, so given our poor record of removing signs after an event has passed, I can't see how any reasonable police officer could charge you for going round the sign to verify if it is still relevant!! Again it always seems the motorist is under attack.. Its great that police can issue a ticket if we go around a sign, but how about the police also issue tickets to whoever put the sign in place if they are not removed with 2 weeks of the event having passed? Just food for thought.. I get really upset the number of times I change lanes because a sign says the lane closes ahead, and then there is no lane closure, or road work signs warning of roadworks ahead, when there has clearly been no roadwork activity there for months!!

I will get of my chair now!! :clap:

Agreed ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 110% if you are dumb enough to get yourself into a situation that requires help and endangers others after being warned then you deserve the arrest or the fine. But if you just go around to see whats going on from a safe distance then they should let you be. It is still a PUBLIC ROAD and in my opinion it is a tax payers right.
 
Agreed ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 110% if you are dumb enough to get yourself into a situation that requires help and endangers others after being warned then you deserve the arrest or the fine. But if you just go around to see whats going on from a safe distance then they should let you be. It is still a PUBLIC ROAD and in my opinion it is a tax payers right.

I would hope most officers would agree with you.
 
I went around the barricade on 335 to recover my bike as I couldn’t get my van down the road from 336 which had no signs. But it said to through traffic which I was not through, but to traffic so hope I was good. Came out the same way I went in.
 
Technically there is some law, rule, regulation that we are breaking every min of every day.
 
More than once I've been riding on a road only to come out on the other end and see a road closed sign and barricade. No sign or barricade where I entered or sign along the way either.

That happens to me all the time at Home Depot when walking down the isles.
 
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