Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I wrote my story here earlier this year. Unfortunately I can't remember my old login. Long story short: I live in a rural area in New England. We bought our house a year and a half ago. The house next to ours has a very long driveway and their house is set back - behind ours. For the last year and a half their two teenage sons have been driving their atvs to the very end of their driveway 15 feet from my home and revving the engines. I tried talking to the kids and then to the father and got nowhere. The father was just as rude as his kids. While talking to the father the kids were driving in circles around me and the father kicking up dust. The father did nothing.
In the nice weather its impossible to have our windows open because the noise is so bad and then there is also the smell of the gasoline coming in the house. The is pretty bad even with the windows closed.
I got the police involved after nothing changed after talking to the father. The police have spoken to them 3 or 4 times now. One cop was understanding and said he understands my frustration and they are just doing it to cause trouble. He told them it needed to stop or the next time someone would be getting arrested. That was 3 months ago. In the last 3 months I have been recording with my phone the noise. I have 40 short videos of this happening. There is no point in them coming to the end of the driveway and revving the engines. These kids have 10 acres in the back of their home to ride. Most of the time this happens between 4-6 pm. This is harassment plain and simple. During the last visit I guess the kids got mouthy with the cop. So the father made the kids come down in person and apologize to the police. He even had them write letters. This is what the police told me. This father has never once knocked on my door and tried to make peace.
Today the noise went on for 2 hours. I called the police after 2 hours and complained. One officer showed up and hour later, after the riding had stopped. Either he is friends with this family or is just a jerk because he basically told me since they are on their private property and its during the day time that they can do whatever they want. I asked him if harassment was illegal. He said it was but he had kids too and he didn't think this was harassment. He then mentioned the fact that the father had the boys come to the police station to apologize. The father has this cop sold that hes Mr. Wonderful.
Today I was on a phone interview and I couldnt even hear what the person was saying because of the noise and I had to go into the basement.
Is there anyone here that has an advice for me? Legally or otherwise? We are not moving anytime soon. I feel like I'm grasping at straws here. I really thought this would have stopped a long time ago but no one seems to care. The last time I posted I don't think I had called the cops yet.
I remember your original post. Have you consulted with a lawyer to ascertain any legal actions you could take? If there is no legal recourse available, you will have to move because your neighbors obviously aren't going to change. They are bullies who are enjoying their power to make you miserable. Really sorry you're in this miserable situation.
Are you the person with the easement? So it sounds like the kids are doing that after some kind of earlier dispute about the easement. In view of what you say--that they have 10 acres behind their house to ride on, and the fact that there was an earlier conflict with them if I recall correctly, it's pretty clearly harassment. The cop is right that if they're on their property and it's daytime, they're not doing anything actionable. I don't know how you can prove it's harassment. I guess the only avenue for you is to ask a lawyer if you have a case.
I read your old thread. The parents lack the concept of being good neighbors, and getting along. The bright spot in the situation is that hopefully the 2 boys will be going to college in a couple of years, and will be gone.
They may be using the driveway because the parents don't want them tearing up the acreage out back, for whatever reason; maybe they're farming it or something. Kind of shocking, though, that an 11-year-old girl would pipe up with "It's our property, and we can do anything we want on it!" And the parents say nothing to her!
These people have no clue what parenting is about. How sad. The only thing you can do to mitigate the noise is build a high wall to block the noise, if you can't manage to simply wait it out until the boys are gone.
They don't sound like the kind of people that are going to take well to being told by a judge to behave themselves. I would honestly consider either moving or looking into ways to mitigate the noise. They're not going to stop no matter who tells them.
Find some way to make an even louder noise, like an air-raid siren, drive down by the parents house, and turn it on every time the kids start up by your house. Or, just sit in your car and blast your horn/really loud music, etc. at the parents. Share the joy! If they come out, explain that their kids are down making a bunch of noise at your house so you just thought you'd return the favor.
I wrote my story here earlier this year. Unfortunately I can't remember my old login. Long story short: I live in a rural area in New England. We bought our house a year and a half ago. The house next to ours has a very long driveway and their house is set back - behind ours. For the last year and a half their two teenage sons have been driving their atvs to the very end of their driveway 15 feet from my home and revving the engines. I tried talking to the kids and then to the father and got nowhere. The father was just as rude as his kids. While talking to the father the kids were driving in circles around me and the father kicking up dust. The father did nothing.
In the nice weather its impossible to have our windows open because the noise is so bad and then there is also the smell of the gasoline coming in the house. The is pretty bad even with the windows closed.
I got the police involved after nothing changed after talking to the father. The police have spoken to them 3 or 4 times now. One cop was understanding and said he understands my frustration and they are just doing it to cause trouble. He told them it needed to stop or the next time someone would be getting arrested. That was 3 months ago. In the last 3 months I have been recording with my phone the noise. I have 40 short videos of this happening. There is no point in them coming to the end of the driveway and revving the engines. These kids have 10 acres in the back of their home to ride. Most of the time this happens between 4-6 pm. This is harassment plain and simple. During the last visit I guess the kids got mouthy with the cop. So the father made the kids come down in person and apologize to the police. He even had them write letters. This is what the police told me. This father has never once knocked on my door and tried to make peace.
Today the noise went on for 2 hours. I called the police after 2 hours and complained. One officer showed up and hour later, after the riding had stopped. Either he is friends with this family or is just a jerk because he basically told me since they are on their private property and its during the day time that they can do whatever they want. I asked him if harassment was illegal. He said it was but he had kids too an
d he didn't think this was harassment. He then mentioned the fact that the father had the boys come to the police station to apologize. The father has this cop sold that hes Mr. Wonderful.
Today I was on a phone interview and I couldnt even hear what the person was saying because of the noise and I had to go into the basement.
Is there anyone here that has an advice for me? Legally or otherwise? We are not moving anytime soon. I feel like I'm grasping at straws here. I really thought this would have stopped a long time ago but no one seems to care. The last time I posted I don't think I had called the cops yet.
I remember your post as well. Did you get the card or the name of the cop who was understanding? What you have to do is situations like this if you find a police officer who "gets it", and especially when you're dealing with a small police force and a possible "friends" with some of the cops you stick with the one who says what this one officer told you.
I would contact him by phone and ask to discuss this issue. Or even go to the local precinct.
You're dealing with a jerk, but a clever one. He was smart enough to have his kids apologize to the cops and do a follow up letter. I would have made it clear to the police "that's wonderful, however I was shown none of that courtesy, in fact I felt I was in danger when the kids rode around me on purpose, and also mouthed off to me". He is in fact "playing" the police, any cop who is on the ball should see this.
I would get in touch with the one officer who seemed interested in helping for a start.
Sorry to hear you're still going through this. I guess the good news is your back east(I'm in Southern CA). Winter will be coming and of course it's getting darker earlier. Hopefully that will impact their 4pm to 6pm activities.
You should as others have suggested talk to a lawyer.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And the parents say nothing to her!