New locations, highway question

NEA Farmer

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
Messages
81
Location
Northeast Arkansas
Never paid much attention to terrain for metal detecting until I bit the hook and got reeled in. I always looked at old bridges with no water source beneath, old driveways where old houses were (meaning high spots for Natove camps sites) in order to locate potential aroowhead hunting sites.

Looking around a couple days ago, I had a memory come to mind. There was an armored car turned over probably 18 years ago. It was on a 4 lane divided highway that has since been converted to interstate. It was said that over $10K in change was flung out the back, most of which was recovered. There’s no way they got it all. What are laws pertaining to detecting these areas?
 
I'd be careful and wear a safety vest if you are going to be on the side of a busy highway. I don't think anyone would give you any problem. I'd imagine there would be a lot of trash on top of any change not recovered nearly 20 years ago though.
 
Never paid much attention to terrain for metal detecting until I bit the hook and got reeled in. I always looked at old bridges with no water source beneath, old driveways where old houses were (meaning high spots for Natove camps sites) in order to locate potential aroowhead hunting sites.

Looking around a couple days ago, I had a memory come to mind. There was an armored car turned over probably 18 years ago. It was on a 4 lane divided highway that has since been converted to interstate. It was said that over $10K in change was flung out the back, most of which was recovered. There’s no way they got it all. What are laws pertaining to detecting these areas?

Hey there NEA farmer: That type property would be "road right of way". So if that's a state highway, then state road right of way. If it's a federal, then federal road right of way. Because the "road" does not end at the edge of pavement. It extends off much further, for landscaping, buffer to adjoining properties, etc...

And do NOT confuse anything your state or county or federal might have in their laws for their parks, as having anything to do with road right of way. For example: Because "park" land and "road right of way" are not the same. Road right of way is NOT a park.

And so long as you're not disallowed to walk there (assuming pedestrians aren't dis-allowed in the first place), then I highly doubt that any road dept. has ever dreamed up a "no md'ing" rule for road-right of ways. So just do it.
 
Also NEA : Your story reminds me of one from my area: Back in the the very early 1960s, someone robbed some sort of establishment that dealt in mostly coins (carnival ? vending company ? I forget). They took bags and bags of coins, and drove off. The cops got on their tail, and a chase ensued. This was in Watsonville, CA.

The car got chased all the way to the foothills @ Hwy. 152, leading east out of town. On the windy hilly road, the car lost control , rolled, and crashed. It was at a gravelly construction staging area pullout. The cops got the crooks, and gathered up all the coins they could find.

The person telling me this story when I was a kid in the late 1970s, had been in high school at the time this happened. And he said that for years thereafter, whenever he and his buddies needed a few dollars in change, they would go to this spot, and rake the ground with their fingers looking for more. They always managed a few dollars, and could then fill their gas tank, buy beer, etc...

He was going to take me to the spot, since .... of course, metal detectors would make child's play of finding the rest, eh ? But alas, I never followed up with him. Have always figured that I could probably find out where it was via old newspaper microfilm , police blotter logs, etc... But .... haven't done it so far. The roads have probably all since changed since that time anyhow :p
 
:laughing: Reminds me of a story an old guy told me once...said, in the early 60's, he and his buddies left LosAngeles on their way to Vegas for a weekend of debauchery...Said they were all riding Harleys...said, he had saved up several years worth of Q's and had them all stuffed in his saddlebags...said, easily 100lbs of Q's....

Anyway, while in transit, while opening another beer, he somehow lost control and down into the ditch he Bullwinkled astride that big tail heavy bike!...Said during the process, Time suddenly went into a slow motion dream state.., a second lasted an hour or more, all senses sharp, (we've all experienced this Einstein phenomenon and interesting @ssover elbow death event)...


So he said, during this process, as he was Bullwinkling, tumbling through the air, his saddlebags burst open like a pinata and his Q's were raining down in beautiful glimmering arcs like he was involved in some sort of yard sprinkler Cinco De Mayo coin hailstorm! He said it was actually beautiful...

Ever since I heard his tale and began my career as a detectorist, I've always wondered?...Those crosses you see along the highway? Massive rollover wrecks? Lives lost in tragedy? Surely theres gotta be some coins that got flung the hell out in the fracas? Right? Everybody has a cup full of change in the car!

Some people find the concept or even the thought of hunting a modern highway wreck site morbid, not cool, lives were lost!.....Yet they have no problem ransacking a battlefield looking for buttons...?

I wonder what kind of wreck happened that precipitated Aquachiggers legendary river crossing massive hoard?...saddlebags stuffed with silver, some sort of unknown disaster...Like when a bee comes in through an open drivers side window and hits you square in the chest and drops in your crotch while your rolling 70mph?...A big spider drops out from under the visor in heavy traffic?...A deer darts out in the low vis hours, or a guy is running cruise control and texting during a snowstorm...?
 
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On federal interstate highways, you will see a sign at the on ramp telling the rules, which include saying that pedestrians are NOT allowed on the interstate highway. The only pedestrians that I have seen get away with being on the shoulder area were clean up crews that I'm sure had some kind of official permit or government clearance. I'm pretty sure that if you tried detecting a federal interstate highway area that the LEO's would stop and shoo you off quickly. But if you do try doing it, wear lots of fluorescent orange or lime green with the reflective strips (Type R or P, level II or III) and stay away from the traffic--there are some nut cases out there that would love to "take you out".

 
On federal interstate highways, you will see a sign at the on ramp telling the rules, which include saying that pedestrians are NOT allowed on the interstate highway.


What Crackerjack said....Look closely at the entrance ramps. Most Fed roadways/ interstates will have a sign of what is permitted. Most I've seen prohibit pedestrian traffic. If you notice, most hitchhikers are on the entrance ramps not the actual interstate itself....Yeh, I know that is a weird observation....:laughing:
 
Just take a few bags of trash, set them along (full) two or three, at intervals, wear your safety vest, park well off the shoulder, flashers on, adopt that highway bro!

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Every so often, you will see a person or persons along an interstate, diligently searching for some item that was lost out the window or intentionally thrown...

I remember a post from 5yrs ago, some guy was contacted by a young couple who, as they were merrily driving along eating McDs victuals,,,and, like a lot of people, tossing the containers out the window, the Wifes big wedding ring flew off!

He was actually able to find it with his detector...which I thought was a pretty astounding feat, especially with all the trash along highways...a ring hitting the pavement at 70mph and skipping, bouncing, hopping off into the ditch...
 
....He was actually able to find it with his detector...which I thought was a pretty astounding feat, ....

Oh yeah ?? Well if he was on an interstate where the sign says "no pedestrians beyond this point", then he was breaking the law. There's absolutely no excuse. Sheesk, what's next ? Clubbing baby seals ??
 
Oh yeah ?? Well if he was on an interstate where the sign says "no pedestrians beyond this point", then he was breaking the law. There's absolutely no excuse. Sheesk, what's next ? Clubbing baby seals ??

Valid point....Hmmm....I think seals are classified as pinnipeds though, not pedestrians?...To be legally classified a Pedestrian you have to walk upright and have legs and feet? Seals have flippers....So here we go, lets do a deep dive here.....I wonder if deer are classified as Pedestrians? I suppose the legal argument can be made....in the sense that they walk upright on legs...So I'm gonna roll with this...

Deer have no respect for seated Bipeds ensconced within fast moving Internal Combustion Engine conveyances...Nation wide, Deer kill more Humans than baby seal clubbers do, yet they encumber no undue enforcement efforts or fines, or bad media so why should we?...Deer are out running around all over the Nations highway system without any Govt. efforts to discourage this behavior or impose any fines? Besides an easily hoppable joke of a 4' fence that couldnt stop a deer let alone a small fur bearing quadruped that crawl right through the mesh?? Not even a turtle? Snake?

So yeah..wander around all you want on the Nations Highways! Do as you please!...every other creature on this Planet does!...Self Identify as anything other than a Human pedestrian biped if encountered by the Man! The argument is certainly valid..."I aint a Human pedestrian your Honor, I self identify as a fur bearing quadruped"....No enforcement for all, no enforcement for me...

Self Identifying as a Pinniped would come in handy to avoid other stupid Human legalities!...For instance, you can take a poop on any beach, marina dock, or sailboat deck you wish, fish without a license, bite swimmers...:laughing:..You know, a normal day at the beach!
 
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Valid point....Hmmm....I think seals are classified as pinnipeds though, not pedestrians?...To be legally classified a Pedestrian you have to ....

Funny post as usual puppy-mud. You know that I was comparing the evil-ness (of those persons who went looking for their lost ring on the side of the road) as being on par with the wrong-ness of clubbing baby seals (assuming there was a "no pedestrians" signage there).

But I think we can all agree, that no one cares one bit, even if such a sign exists. As long as you're not right along-side the shoulder being some sort of nuisance. And I bet if you told a passing highway patrol "I lost my ring here", I bet he would not tell you "no pedestrians".
 
Funny post as usual puppy-mud. You know that I was comparing the evil-ness (of those persons who went looking for their lost ring on the side of the road) as being on par with the wrong-ness of clubbing baby seals (assuming there was a "no pedestrians" signage there).

But I think we can all agree, that no one cares one bit, even if such a sign exists. As long as you're not right along-side the shoulder being some sort of nuisance. And I bet if you told a passing highway patrol "I lost my ring here", I bet he would not tell you "no pedestrians".

I would agree! Within reason Any grown man can hunt a highway with no trouble! As long as you are not wearing a backpack, dressed like a Hippy and stinking like patchouli!

LEO pulls up, "I'm out here hunting for my Daughters ring"...About the only animal a normal Highway fence might stop is a penguin...Somebody made mint on that contract! :laughing:
 
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