Pipeline/high tension wire "trail" riding?

[palandor]

What's the official (aka legal) word on if it's ok to ride on high-tension wire tower paths?

And if not, is there a place in SW Ohio where people do it anyway and it's overlooked by LEOs?

(besides Thrashing Trails, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of area around the Dayton/Xenia area.)

[Fonzie]

I'm no attorney, but I'm guessing it's private property, similar to the railroad

Though the railroad has the advantage of being there first in most cases, before everything else developed around it

[Bad324]

As far as pipeline right-a-ways go, the 95% of the time the property itself is owned by the transmission company so its private property. Whether or not LEO's care is a matter I'm unsure of though

[redkow97]

What's the official (aka legal) word on if it's ok to ride on high-tension wire tower paths?

It's probably not legal, but your odds of getting in trouble are low.

friends of mine used to ride under power lines between I-77 and SR 21 (in Richfield, just north of Hawthorne Rd. You can see the clearing very easily on Google Maps)

the gas company had some meters and stuff there, and the electric company had high-tension wires over the clearing. Friends of ours owned the surrounding property though. all the clearings belonged to the power company though.

The only time the gas company ever gave us a hard time was when someone drove over their gas lines, which is apparently a big safety no-no.

there's likely no tactful way to CALL and ask the electric company, but if you see anyone working there, I'd feel comfortable asking them.

Consider the type of guys who work on high-tension lines for a living. Sticklers for safety? yes. Authoritarian a-holes? probably not.

If you ask something like, "hey - we were wondering if we could ride dirt bikes back there. As long as we didn't tear up the main road that the trucks go on, do you think anyone would have a problem with that?" They're likely to appreciate the fact that you're at least considering the condition of their road and tell you "let's pretend this conversation never happened."

Edited April 19, 2010 by redkow97

[Bad324]

The only time the gas company ever gave us a hard time was when someone drove over their gas lines, which is apparently a big safety no-no

how long ago was this? That is crazy they had unburied lines that close to residential areas.

But yes its a HUGE safety no-no. Those are high pressure transmission lines and depending on type/age/condition of the pipe, one hole in that baby is enough to cause hearing loss and literally blow the clothes right off someone and cause serious injury if not death