I have recently purchased a home in CT. My neighbor's house is behind
ours (as seen from the road). He has a right to drive through my
property to get to his on a paved driveway. The problem is that I have
small children and that he continues to drive 40 miles per hour
despite the fact that I have asked him to slow down. I have found out
the previous owner of my house also was tired of his speeding and
installed speed bumps on the driveway (on my property). The neighbor
sued and won and the speed bumps were removed.

What are my legal options to get him to slow down?  E.g., Can I
enforce a speed limit? Can I sue for endangerment and get an
injunction?

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Clarification of Question by aleksengel-ga on 18 Nov 2005 17:50 PST

Thanks for the suggestions. I have clarifying questions on two of the answers:

To Mark:  I like the idea of the concrete planters but don't really
see how the fire chief is going to see that as more acceptable than
speed bumps. Given the length of fire trucks, it would seem more
difficult to maneuver through planters on alternative sides than over
speed bumps. I'll go find my local fire chief and ask about it, but
will "decorative" fly?

To Arat: If my town agrees to establish a speed limit on my property,
will I be able to report violations or will I need to rely on a cop
being willing to hide out behind a bush and do actual radar
measurements?

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 18 Nov 2005 18:03 PST

There is a Supreme Court case in Connecticut that clearly establishes
the ability of the court to act in the case of a dispute like yours,
and to set limits on the use of rights-of-way.  These limits can
include limits on speed, based on factors like safety, noise, nuisance
dust, and so on.

So...part of the answer to your question seems to be that, Yes, you
can ask the courts for injunctive relief.

If you'd like, I can post the details of the relevant case as an
answer to your question.

Of course, you would be well-advised to consult with a local attorney
familiar with such matters before going forward with any sort of
action.

And if you do, you may also want to ask them what the responsibilites
of the seller of the house, and any real estate agents involved,
should have been in making known the fact of an existing and clearly
well-established nuisance.  They may carry some liability in all this.

And one last thing...your neighbor sounds like a jerk!

Let me know how you'd like to proceed on this.

pafalafa-ga

I believe this is called an easment.  You should locate the document
that created it.  See if there are any conditions.

According to Connecticut law:

"The traffic authority of any town, city or borough may establish
speed limits on streets, highways and bridges or in any parking area
for ten cars or more or on any private road wholly within the
municipality under its jurisdiction; provided such limit on streets,
highways, bridges and parking areas for ten cars or more shall become
effective only after application for approval thereof has been
submitted in writing to the State Traffic Commission and a certificate
of such approval has been forwarded by the commission to the traffic
authority; and provided such signs giving notice of such speed limits
shall have been erected as the State Traffic Commission directs,
provided the erection of such signs on any private road shall be at
the expense of the owner of such road. The presence of such signs
adjacent to or on the highway or parking area for ten cars or more
shall be prima facie evidence that they have been so placed under the
direction of and with the approval of the State Traffic Commission.
Approval of such speed limits may be revoked by said commission at any
time if it deems such revocation to be in the interest of public
safety and welfare, and thereupon such speed limits shall cease to be
effective and any signs that have been erected shall be removed. Any
speed in excess of such limits, other than speeding as provided for in
section 14-219, shall be prima facie evidence that such speed is not
reasonable, but the fact that the speed of a vehicle is lower than
such limits shall not relieve the operator from the duty to decrease
speed when a special hazard exists with respect to pedestrians or
other traffic or by reason of weather or highway conditions."

(http://search.cga.state.ct.us/dlpubs/pub/htm/chap248.htm#Sec14-218a.htm )

Essentially, this says that your local town government can establish a
speed limit for your property, so I would suggest contacting them
immediately, citing this law and using the safety of your family as
your arguments.

Hope this helps.

Creative use of landscaping and curbing to introduce turbulence in
traffic flow is a well-established practice. You can achieve similar
results by narrowing the lane and/or making it sinuous. Note that this
is NOT an impediment as a speed bump is (and fire trucks HATE speed
bumps!), but rather a decorative enhancement. Large concrete planters,
bollards, or the like can be used to create a modified traffic flow
and improve safety. Even just putting a decorative planter every 20
feet on alternating sides of the drive may be enough.

Be careful to consider emergency vehicle access. The fire department
should be happy to provide guidelines. If not, the traffic planner
(who may have any of a dozen different titles, depending on where you
live) can usually help.

Thinking laterally:

Can you oblige him to pay for, or share payment for, fencing? If so, a
fence with a child-proof gate might be the answer?

Or can you create a definite sidewalk beside the roadway, and teach
your children to use it as they would the regular sidewalk?

Or, could you instal some sort of electronic beam which sets off
warning lights or sounds when any vehicle (not just his) enters the
driveway.

I would also put a warning sign at the entry ("Children,15 mph please"
- or similar, which might not slow him down, but should warn delivery
vans, visiting friends and emergency vehicles at least.