If you drive over them in the unauthorized direction, north to south, the way Ridgewood traffic drives toward the highway, the teeth puncture all four tires simultaneously. They're legal on private property in Texas. They're legal in every state I checked. And with proper signage warning of their presence, the property owner has zero liability for vehicle damage. I confirmed this with Jim, who confirmed it with the county sheriff who said, and I'm quoting, "Nate, it's your land.
You can put tank traps out there if you want, as long as you post a warning." I installed the strips on a Saturday morning positioned at the midpoint of the road where the cameras had the clearest sight lines. I laid them flush with the road surface, covered the edges with packed clay so they blended naturally, and tested them twice with an old tire mounted on a roller to make sure they deployed cleanly. Four teeth per tire, 16 punctures total for any vehicle heading the wrong direction. Then I sat on my porch with a glass of iced tea and waited.
Sarah came out and sat next to me. "You look like a man who just finished something." "I look like a man who just started something." I said I didn't activate the strips right away. I wanted documentation first.
Proof that Diane had received the warnings, read the signs, and chosen to drive through anyway. So for the first two weeks, the strip sat dormant. The teeth stayed flat. Cars drove over them without incident. and I logged every single one. 14 days, 206 vehicles.
My cameras captured license plates, timestamps, and driver faces for every car that used my road. Diane's Escalade appeared in the footage every weekday morning at approximately 7:15 and every evening at approximately 5:40. She drove right past the new signs, the massive, reflective, impossible to miss signs without slowing down. On three occasions, the cameras caught her looking directly at the signs as she passed. She read them, she understood them, and she kept driving.
She also kept posting. The day after the new signs went up, she posted on the HOA Facebook page. "Heads up, everyone, the farmer next door has put up more ridiculous signs. Now he's claiming there are tire deflation devices on his dirt road. There aren't.
It's a scare tactic. He's bluffing because he knows he can't legally stop us from using a road that's been community access for years. Keep driving, keep smiling, and don't let one person's paranoia ruin your morning." #RidgewoodStrong #NotCared #Rise, 61 likes, 34 laughing emojis, a comment from a woman named