Hiding Caches Under Bridges?

[+amdkt7]

I would like to hide a cache under a highway bridge, but I see that the guidelines seem to exclude bridges as a possible terrorist target. This is a spot that would be reached by a secondary road from underneath.

Actually, this is probably not a good spot as seekers might try to access it from the highway (not a good place to stop). I won't use this location anyway, but my question is more about what consitutes a terrorist target? I have found several that were located under small bridges and it makes sense to me that there was nothing wrong with those sites.

[magellan315]

You should read this recent thread about a cache hidden under a highway bridge. The caches you found under bridges may have predated the change in the guidelines.

Edited February 5, 2006 by magellan315

[+Torry]

The problem is with the perception of the public and growing sensitivity of The Powers That Be towards our activities.

 

Problems have already occurred with caches being found under bridges and mis-identified as possibly dangerous items. When you consider that most of the public associates ammo boxes with explosives it is a pretty easy step to make. Also the popularity of using camouflaged PVC pipe with endcaps has been an issue as well.

 

Some approvers are more stringent than others, some may not even know that a bridge is involved. Keep in mind that these approvers are largely unpaid volunteers doing most of their work from home at their computers with not much more than some topographical maps and your cache notes.

 

We, as cache hiders, need to be the ones to police ourselves to prevent the confusion and anxiety by keeping the guidelines in mind when we place these caches. This is still a game run by and for a bunch of amteurs with too much time on our hands and a GPSr.

[+briansnat]

I'd say generally speaking that highway bridges or those that carry a lot of traffic are bad ideas as they are possible terrorist targets and rural and low volume bridges may be OK depending on the circumstances.

 

I don't think a terrorist is going to go to Vermont and blow up a covered bridge or to Montville NJ to blow up the Horsehead Road bridge. The Golden Gate, GWB and similar bridges on the other hand are obvious terrorist targets, as are any spans on major highways.

Edited February 5, 2006 by briansnat

[+StarBrand]

I think if it is a rural, dirt toad with low volume traffic - it is probably ok. Any active highway is probably going to have the perception of being a bad place. One of mine that was about 100 feet from a low volume local highway bridge attracted the attention of a local patrol officer when searchers ventured near the bridge during the hunt. They had out-of-state plates too. After explaining Geocaching and showing the cache to the officer he was ok with them. That was almost 4 years ago.

[+The Leprechauns]

Here in Pennsylvania, even a cache at a rural covered bridge produced a law enforcement response when a cache was discovered nearby. And rightly so -- a covered bridge near me was the target of arsonists a few months after I found the cache nearby.

 

When deciding to hide such a cache, after ruling out "highway bridges" because of the listing guidelines, ask yourself "would a pedestrian look suspicious wandering around at this spot?" If it's a popular fishing hole near a rural two-lane bridge, or a spot where a rails-to-trails path crosses under a secondary road, it's natural to see people at those spots. I would *like* to find out about the nice fishing spot and the rails-to-trails path.

 

But *why* do people feel compelled to show me the underside of the Route 30 bridge where it crosses under the Interstate? "Thank you for showing me this special bridge?"

[+Henki]

I think if cachers use common sense when hiding their caches, we'll all benefit.

 

I live in an area that has a nuclear power plant and several chemical plants/oil refineries. I know it's not in the geocaching guidelines specifically, but I would hope that no one would consider hiding caches near the plants. Security at these places is really tight since 9/11, and geocaching doesn't need another black eye.

[medoug]

Look here:

 

CNN geocaching/bridge newstory

 

It's just not worth the $300 fine, 6 months in jail, and restitution to law enforcement agencies for officers' time spent responding to the "perceived" threat.

 

medoug.

[ImpalaBob]

Groundspeak cache labels are a great way to properly identify your cache container and provide contact information. Yes .... it's still not a good idea .... but we have found many caches under bridges. ImpalaBob

[gdhall]

Hi, I am fairly new to this game, but I would think if you have a hide you want to do but are not sure if it is allowed. You could take a picture of the cache container (or take the container itself) to the police station with the a picture of the location you want to place it. They could tell you yes or no and it would also give them a heads up about people playing this game in the area. It might be a way to break the ice with them and it would give them a better idea of what is dangerous and what is part of a “game“. Just a thought, Gdhall

[+sbell111]

Hi, I am fairly new to this game, but I would think if you have a hide you want to do but are not sure if it is allowed. You could take a picture of the cache container (or take the container itself) to the police station with the a picture of the location you want to place it. They could tell you yes or no and it would also give them a heads up about people playing this game in the area. It might be a way to break the ice with them and it would give them a better idea of what is dangerous and what is part of a “game“. Just a thought, Gdhall

I'm thinking that 90% of the time the answer would be 'No', but I'd love to see what your results are.

[+Renegade Knight]

Hi, I am fairly new to this game, but I would think if you have a hide you want to do but are not sure if it is allowed. You could take a picture of the cache container (or take the container itself) to the police station with the a picture of the location you want to place it. They could tell you yes or no and it would also give them a heads up about people playing this game in the area. It might be a way to break the ice with them and it would give them a better idea of what is dangerous and what is part of a “game“. Just a thought, Gdhall

 

A bomb can look like anything, even a cache. The police will always respond and err on the side of caution. I'd rather they blow up random geocaches than take one chance.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Given the histrionic paranoia that this country is going through, I would advise against placing any cache near any bridge, at this time. Find somewhere else for the cache! There are lots of other places to put a cache. Put it somewhere else.

Is it time for another look at Harry Dolphin's album of views under major bridges?

Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse A benchmark in a public park. The bridge above is the George Washington. Do not hide a cache here.

The Manhattan Bridge. Again a public park in New York City. Please do not put a cache here either.

The Henry Hudson Bridge. Also not a good place for a cache.

The Bronx Whitestone Bridge. This is far away enough for a cache.

The Triborough Bridge. Also a NYC public park. Police are on duty under this bridge to prevent people from finding the benchmark. Oh, well.

My point? Nice places to visit, but do NOT hide caches here.

[+reveritt]

I am certain that this will draw knuckleheaded replies, but use a transparent container for any cache that might be suspect. If the cops can see that it is full of McDonalds toys and dirty golf balls--and has a geocache label on the outside--they may be less likely to blow it up.

[Major Catastrophe]

I've found a few that were near bridges, one that was physically underneath a highway bridge. I had one of my own (since gone missing) behind a guardrail.

 

The comments about national paranoia are well taken. Given that our police and other public servants are not mind readers, it's unfair to expect them to think "geocache" first, and "bad thing" later. Besides, I figure the same percentage of cops are complete idiots as in the non-police population, which means the odds wouldn't be good in any case.....

[+zedd10]

Yikes! I never thought about that. A friend and I just did a cache under a bridge for a divided highway. I thought it was a great location. The difficulty of getting a good fix under the bridge added that extra thing to make it interesting. What a shame that worry about something like this.