interstate caches

[+JL_HSTRE]

What is the legality of pulling over to the side of the road on US Interstate freeways for non-emergencies? A comment in another thread suggested this was illegal.

 

Or to put it another way: if a cache could only be accessed via an Interstate and was not at an open Rest Stop, would it be against guidelines for legal or other reasons?

 

This comment reminded me of a cache I had come across a few months ago after running a Route PQ (I have no attempted to retrieve it)...

http://coord.info/GC1ARK3

[+pppingme]

In most states, stopping on any "limited access" highway is illegal for anything except emergencies/breakdowns.

 

This includes more than just interstates.

[+Team Dennis]

I'm pretty sure there is a sign at most on ramps for interstate highways that says something to the effect that you can only stop in the event of an emergency. I'm also pretty sure finding a cache does NOT fall into that category.

 

We did this cache last Christmas on our way home from visiting relatives. Now we look for it every time we drive by.

[+Chokecherry]

What is the legality of pulling over to the side of the road on US Interstate freeways for non-emergencies? A comment in another thread suggested this was illegal.

 

Or to put it another way: if a cache could only be accessed via an Interstate and was not at an open Rest Stop, would it be against guidelines for legal or other reasons?

 

This comment reminded me of a cache I had come across a few months ago after running a Route PQ (I have no attempted to retrieve it)...

http://coord.info/GC1ARK3

 

Is that rest stop access road closed? Or the entire parking area of the rest stop. I don't know how it works there but sometimes here just the facilities of a rest stop are closed but the road and lot remain open.

 

Reminded me of one this summer I went to off an interstate. Could have spit on where it was from the interstate but instead we drove 5 more miles and then a bunch of extra miles trying to navigate the small community roads to get to where the cache was but it was worth it.

[+hzoi]

There is no U.S. federal law on traffic control; though the Department of Transportation issues standards for building and operating interstate highways, each state is responsible for traffic control rules.

 

That said, I'm pretty sure it's illegal in most, if not all, states. In Georgia, for example, it's unlawful under O.C.G.A. 40-6-203(a)(1)(I).

 

I know in Germany, it is not only illegal to stop on the side of the Autobahn in a non-emergency, it is even illegal to stop for something that could have been reasonably prevented, i.e., running out of gas.

[+supertbone]

I know of a cache along 1-15 in Arizona that is in a large pull out along side of the freeway.

[sabrefan7]

What is the legality of pulling over to the side of the road on US Interstate freeways for non-emergencies? A comment in another thread suggested this was illegal.

 

Or to put it another way: if a cache could only be accessed via an Interstate and was not at an open Rest Stop, would it be against guidelines for legal or other reasons?

 

This comment reminded me of a cache I had come across a few months ago after running a Route PQ (I have no attempted to retrieve it)...

http://coord.info/GC1ARK3

From reading the entire page I would speculate that the cache can be searched for safely from the old rest stop access road. It had a NA posted( over a year ago) and has not be acted upon by the FL reviewer. Another reason to believe its OK to hunt.

Did you look at the SAT image? looks like an awesome place for a cache to me

Edited December 17, 2010 by sabrefan7

[+JL_HSTRE]

From reading the entire page I would speculate that the cache can be searched for safely from the old rest stop access road. It had a NA posted( over a year ago) and has not be acted upon by the FL reviewer. Another reason to believe its OK to hunt.

Did you look at the SAT image? looks like an awesome place for a cache to me

 

It's a shame that rest stop is closed as it looks somewhat scenic with Spruce Creek nearby.

 

I did look at the Google Maps satellite image and why the remnants of the on/off ramps to the rest area are there, the parking lot itself appears to be fenced & gated off.

 

While you might be able to safely pull off to the on-ramp coming out of the rest area, that probably still isn't legal. Other have pointed out that safety is not an issue - that merely requires appropriate D/T ratings and warnings on the cache page. It's an issue of whether it's illegal.

 

I had not noticed there was a previous NA log on it, but I've already put it into Palmetto's hands to work out with the CO one way or the other.

 

P.S. When looking for the previous NA log and the CO's response to it, I also noticed one of the finders is a cacher I met a couple months ago. He's a police officer.

Edited December 17, 2010 by joshism

[+Kyle98632]

Why would someone want to place a cache along an Interstate Hwy anyhow? I know I'm not going to pull off going 70MPH with other cars and crazies zooming by. But I guess some others would.

 

Maybe someone could put one in one of the grassy medians and call it frogger?

[+Team Dennis]

I'm pretty sure there is a sign at most on ramps for interstate highways that says something to the effect that you can only stop in the event of an emergency. I'm also pretty sure finding a cache does NOT fall into that category.

 

We did this cache last Christmas on our way home from visiting relatives. Now we look for it every time we drive by.

 

We drove by today and there is a sign right next to the freeway about 100' from GZ that says "EMERGENCY STOPPING ONLY" and while I'm pretty sure the sign was there before the cache was placed we still found it pretty darn funny.

[+briansnat]

 

Maybe someone could put one in one of the grassy medians and call it frogger?

 

Don't think it hasn't been tried.

[+kunarion]

We drove by today and there is a sign right next to the freeway about 100' from GZ that says "EMERGENCY STOPPING ONLY"

Unless it's a Geocaching emergency (where I just gotta stop and cache RIGHT NOW), I won't do it. On the freeway, a parked car slightly to the side is like a magnet to approaching vehicles. That is, you're gonna get creamed. It's just a matter of time. Hunt fast.

 

If there's a wreck (On the freeway? In Atlanta?! No way, right?), traffic flow stops, so the emergency vehicles use that lane.

 

Stop in an emergency lane, and around here, you get a cop pulling up behind, pretty quick:

"Do you folks need help?"

"Um, yeah. You look under that guard rail and we'll check along this wall."

Edited December 19, 2010 by kunarion

[+deercreekth]

Just pull over, poke a hole in your tire, find the cache, then change the tire. If it's snowy/icy out, you can stop to work on your wipers. I actually took advantage of poor visibility once. My windshield was icing up and my wipers weren't doing the job, so I pulled off on an exit where there is a cache I never had a good excuse to stop for. I hopped out, worked on the wipers, went for the cache and then went back to working on the wipers.

[+deercreekth]

Just pull over, poke a hole in your tire, find the cache, then change the tire. If it's snowy/icy out, you can stop to work on your wipers. I actually took advantage of poor visibility once. My windshield was icing up and my wipers weren't doing the job, so I pulled off on an exit where there is a cache I never had a good excuse to stop for. I hopped out, worked on the wipers, went for the cache and then went back to working on the wipers.

[hoosier guy]

Silly and dangerous thing to do. there are goods places for caches out there that do not place other in danger.

[+Team Dennis]

I'm pretty sure there is a sign at most on ramps for interstate highways that says something to the effect that you can only stop in the event of an emergency. I'm also pretty sure finding a cache does NOT fall into that category.

 

We did this cache last Christmas on our way home from visiting relatives. Now we look for it every time we drive by.

 

We drove by today and there is a sign right next to the freeway about 100' from GZ that says "EMERGENCY STOPPING ONLY" and while I'm pretty sure the sign was there before the cache was placed we still found it pretty darn funny.

 

For the record, we did NOT park on the side of the freeway to bag this cache. We snow shoed well over half a mile (one way) through over a foot of fresh snow to get to it. Not that anyone accused us of taking the easy way out, I just wanted to clarify. Stopping on the side of the interstate is a BAD idea unless it is an emergency.

[+DragonsWest]

I've met some caches which were right off a state highway, where you had to park on the shoulder to get to. I think some of those could be a bit dodgy, particularly if it's around a blind curve.

 

Best cache in the Middle of a Highway - Last Spanish Passage - Redux

[+hzoi]

I know of a cache along 1-15 in Arizona that is in a large pull out along side of the freeway.

Presume you're talking about one of the caches in the Virgin River Gorge. I see a few caches that would fit this bill in that area.

 

I know of an Arizona statute that says that people shouldn't stop on a controlled access highway unless directed by police or it's a rest stop or an emergency. A.R.S. §28-873(A)(15). But then I know a lot of truck parking areas on the Arizona interstates are just wide spots on the side of the road, so perhaps those are "rest stops" within the meaning of the law. (Or not, it's been twelve years since I drove that stretch of highway and I only did it once, so I don't remember what the road looks like there.)

 

Maybe someone could put one in one of the grassy medians and call it frogger?

 

I've done caches in the (wide) middle of an Autobahn median, the challenge was to figure out how to get there without breaking the law:

Monk Yard 48/1 After that one, I hid a couple myself along the same lines: Get Your Kicks (and bonus). Can't get 'em as park and grabs, but they are legally accessible.

Edited December 20, 2010 by hzoi

[AZcachemeister]

I spent a few weekends over the last three months stopping along the freeway every 1/4 mile or so.

I-10 west of Phoenix has A LOT of benchmarks in the median!

Only once did an officer stop to see what I was doing, and after the explanation I was told to carry on.

 

I can remember at least one location where a cache in the median could be legally accessed without parking on or crossing the traffic lanes on foot, but still the median is state property...who did you get permission from to place the cache?

 

Despite that, a cache along the freeway that is only accessible by stopping on the freeway probably wouldn't get approved published, and if it did I would certainly say it shouldn't have.

 

And now that I think about it, rest stops are state property too...did those caches' owners get permission from their state departments of transportation??