Reactions to road enthusiast and road geeks?

[jfs1988]

While taking photos (not while driving of course) on a highway, have people on other vehicles ever given you stares or flip you the bird? Or have you been pulled over by a law enforcement officer?



My response: What are you staring at? Havent you had tourist on your highways before?

[jfs1988]

Stares: Many.

Stops: Just one by a Border Patrol officer along I-15 in northern San Diego County. I am both a roadgeek & a transportation vehicle (buses, trucks, trains, planes, cop cars, etc) geek. I showed the officer my ID, told him why I was taking photos, & he let me go. Its an innocent hobby that is interesting and harms no one. The officer was a nice guy about too.

[signalman]

I've had plenty of bizarre looks, but no one has ever said anything to me about what or why I was taking photos.  I don't keep it a secret that I'm a road enthusiaist.  Anyone who knows me personally knows of my hobby/obsession, and they all accept it.  Most are indefferent towards it, but occasionally I'll get a "oh, cool" or "hmm, that's different" type of response.  I've never encountered any negative responses from others.  Maybe I've been lucky, or maybe there are more closet road enthusiaists than I'd ever imagined.

[Scott5114]

I got honked at when I was taking a photo of the east end of US-266 on foot.

[NE2]

I got pulled over by the popo and driven out of the black area of Bostonland when walking on the sidewalk up to the Tobin Bridge. They thought I was going to jump, but my notebook of road sign sketches convinced them of my cover story.

I was also stopped for taking photos next to a big gubmint feddybux building, but the camera memory showed that I was careful to always take my photos with a road sign in the foreground.

Then there was that time spying for the Nimybans when I was almost eaten by a couple of goats for trying to spray their freeways with liquid grass. I got out of that one with clever plot manipulations.

[oscar]

As for problems with officialdom, my only problems have been in the vicinity of military bases.  The military is notoriously camera-shy.  In the latest instance, the military cop parked on the other side of the road mildly chided me about stopping to take photos of an emergency callbox, but seemed more concerned that my picture taking would continue as I approached a military airfield visible from the highway.  I knew about the airfield, and that such airfields are particularly sensitive areas (as are base entrances), so I wasn't planning on taking photos there.

On another Hawaii highway, I was taking a few photos of a vehicle passing through a one-lane bottleneck, to underscore how narrow the road was at that point.  One driver gave me a hard time, concerned that I might be recording who was passing by.  Since then, I've made a point of photographing only vehicles driving away from me. 

[maplestar]

As for problems with officialdom, my only problems have been in the vicinity of military bases.  The military is notoriously camera-shy.  In the latest instance, the military cop parked on the other side of the road mildly chided me about stopping to take photos of an emergency callbox, but seemed more concerned that my picture taking would continue as I approached a military airfield visible from the highway.  I knew about the airfield, and that such airfields are particularly sensitive areas (as are base entrances), so I wasn't planning on taking photos there.

On another Hawaii highway, I was taking a few photos of a vehicle passing through a one-lane bottleneck, to underscore how narrow the road was at that point.  One driver gave me a hard time, concerned that I might be recording who was passing by.  Since then, I've made a point of photographing only vehicles driving away from me. 

That reminds me of my first visit to the city of my then-girlfriend (now-wife) in Virginia. One of the first things we did on the trip was to visit the Cape Henry lighthouse and the First Landing memorial, which are both on Fort Story. So yes, as a foreign national, almost the first thing I did after arriving in the US was to bring a camera onto a military base. I was particularly paranoid about only taking photos of the tourist attractions and not their surroundings on that trip!

[Takumi]

I mostly just get stared at, but there was that one time I went to Alberta, Virginia and a man whose house had a VA 136 sign in it saw me taking a picture. He and his wife jumped into his truck, chased me down, cut me off in the middle of the road, and demanded to know why I took pictures of his house. I explained what I was doing and got out of there.

[Dougtone]

As for problems with officialdom, my only problems have been in the vicinity of military bases.  The military is notoriously camera-shy.  In the latest instance, the military cop parked on the other side of the road mildly chided me about stopping to take photos of an emergency callbox, but seemed more concerned that my picture taking would continue as I approached a military airfield visible from the highway.  I knew about the airfield, and that such airfields are particularly sensitive areas (as are base entrances), so I wasn't planning on taking photos there.

On another Hawaii highway, I was taking a few photos of a vehicle passing through a one-lane bottleneck, to underscore how narrow the road was at that point.  One driver gave me a hard time, concerned that I might be recording who was passing by.  Since then, I've made a point of photographing only vehicles driving away from me. 

That reminds me of my first visit to the city of my then-girlfriend (now-wife) in Virginia. One of the first things we did on the trip was to visit the Cape Henry lighthouse and the First Landing memorial, which are both on Fort Story. So yes, as a foreign national, almost the first thing I did after arriving in the US was to bring a camera onto a military base. I was particularly paranoid about only taking photos of the tourist attractions and not their surroundings on that trip!

I've visited the Cape Henry Lighthouse on Fort Story as well.  If I recall, I had to go through two checkpoints with military personnel before I was cleared to see the lighthouse.  They were very clear about making sure I knew what I could and what I could not see or take photographs of.  I'll admit to being paranoid about what I could photograph as a result, but I was willing to accept it as part of doing my part to protect national security, since I post my pictures to an online account on Flickr.

Other than that, I've received my share of weird looks, honks and comments when taking pictures of signs.  It doesn't really faze me anymore.  One time when I had been taking pictures of signs at an intersection, a lady had asked me why I was taking pictures of her house.  I explained that I was not, but rather I was taking pictures of signs.  Confused, she asked me why I would do that.  I told her that I was an artist.  She then peacefully walked away.

[Alps]

I mostly just get stared at, but there was that one time I went to Alberta, Virginia and a man whose house had a VA 136 sign in it saw me taking a picture. He and his wife jumped into his truck, chased me down, cut me off in the middle of the road, and demanded to know why I took pictures of his house. I explained what I was doing and got out of there.

I've had similar - taking old photos of a bridge, a whole family came out of a long house (8 or 10 of them). One of the guys asked what I was doing, and I said "Just taking photos of this old bridge, I'm basically done now." He replied, "Yeah you are." I wisely got the fuck out.

As for being stopped, no, but I did get contacted by the FBI a couple of weeks after visiting Chicago. (: Seems that someone didn't like the number of bridge photos I was taking (all of the drawbridges around downtown, of which there are dozens). It was a pretty short explanation, and they seemed to have already understood before calling me. Must have found my website or something.

As for personal reactions, yeah, I've gotten honked and yelled at, but mostly because I'm taking photos while driving, not because I'm taking photos of them. People don't seem to comprehend that I can take photos without looking in the viewfinder.

[roadman65]

People used to get paranoid too when I used to take rail pictures as well.  One time I was near Chicago, and I stopped to photograph rail engines in a freight yard and some woman, who was in the tower, saw me and read me the riot act.

What was even more interesting is that I eventually asked permission if I can stay and shoot.  Of course, we all know what that was.  When I asked why, she did not even give me a reason, but  her response was "because this is a railroad yard" which is not an explanation.  The fact that I humbled myself to her was not even appreciated either.  At least she could have been nice and stated that she did not want the responsibility of strangers on her land, but I think she really did not care about that.

I even got confronted by a man in a cowboy hat, when I took pictures of either an ALCO or Baldwin owned by a defunct sand and limestone plant in Davenport, FL once.  For those who do not know locomotives, but an ALCO or Baldwin sightings are rare, and pictures of them live are quite valuable!  Anyway,  I was on the CSX right of way, not even his land, and he was saying this " I do not like strangers who I do not know on my land taking pictures" while proudly wearing his cowboy hat.  I honestly think he watched too much television and envisioned himself as one of those cowboy bad guys.

I can imagine if you get anal people on railroads, then you would in roads too.  The thing is these people who worry about an unknown taking pictures of their house aught to worry more about the Google car coming by or the feds taking pictures than a mere amateur visiting.

[Brandon]

Never had an issue, but then again, I take a good number of photographs of a similar nature for phase I environmental site assessments.

[roadman65]

I was doing a school project once in the Mall at Millenia in Orlando, FL where I had a professional movie camera that the big guy broadcasters use, and security approached me with flashing yellow lights.  The woman rent a cop told me I needed special permission from mall management to be able to photograph ( I know this is movie and photograph is the wrong word, but I do not want our resident speller here to accuse me of using caption over captured or vise versa). 

[Duke87]

I was briefly stopped and questioned by a cop who saw me take a photo of the Cross Bronx Expressway from an overpass. He was nice enough and seemed to be more personally curious than law enforcement curious.

[hbelkins]

As for being stopped, no, but I did get contacted by the FBI a couple of weeks after visiting Chicago.

How did they know it was you?



I've had my share of honks and yells and whistles when I was out of the vehicle taking photos, including one instance in Tompkinsville, Ky., where this random couple asked me to take their picture but never gave me any info where to email the picture to when I got home.

(I've also had people yell, honk and whistle when I've been taking photos for work and wearing my reflective KYTC garb, as well as people lay on the horn if I was being interviewed by one of the TV stations for a story, but that seems to be common because I see and hear it a lot in live shots when I watch the local news).

Only once have I encountered any issues while taking photos while driving. I was driving east on the new four-lane portion of KY 80 in the western part of the state a few years ago and was snapping photos of the signage. A motorist passed me, honked, and motioned me to pull over. I figured I had a tire going down or had left my gas cap door open, but the guy asked what I was taking pictures of and thought I had taken a picture of his kid, who was with him. I explained that I was a hobbyist who took pictures of roads and signs, and it seemed to satisfy him.

I don't understand why people don't realize that there's nothing illegal about taking photos of anything that goes on in public.

As for law enforcement intervention, I recall three instances. An Indiana state cop took exception to our stop at a construction site at the Fort-to-Port meet. A West Virginia state cop stopped by when we were taking photos at the temporary end of US 35 at WV 34, but couldn't have been nicer when I explained that we were just taking pictures of the project. And I stopped to take photos of an old sign in Dover, NH, when a couple of cops on horseback approached me. Apparently I had improperly parked, which was the problem. I apologized and that was the end of the situation.

[roadman65]

Man you guys make me feel lucky as for auto pictures I have not yet been harassed.  The closest thing for me, though, is exiting the Florida Turnpike at Fort Pierce.  After paying the toll I slowed down (not too much mind you) so I can photograph the overhead gantry at the SR 70 intersection.  Then an aggressive driver behind me started to pass me on the right.  My car was angled enough where simple common sense could have told him that I was going to the far right lane for SR 70 EB.   However, he could not figure it out, and was surprised when I made it into that particular lane and honked at me as if I cut him off carelessly.

I yelled at him.  I do not know if he heard me as my a/c is busted for my windows to be open, but I cannot remember if he heard me or not. 

Hopefully I can shoot in peace, still, after hearing these stories.

[vdeane]

I've never been stopped or harassed either... I even once got a picture of an overhead sign on I-81 with a cop right behind me, though that was before NY jumped on the "no handheld devices while driving" bandwagon.

[corco]

As for being stopped, no, but I did get contacted by the FBI a couple of weeks after visiting Chicago.

Whoa-how did they know you were you?

[Scott5114]

I forgot about the time I got harassed by the toll collector on I-355. I was taking a picture of one of the little stop signs on the side of the booth and she flipped out. "NO PHOTOS ON THE TOLLWAY!" She also threatened to confiscate my camera. Awesome customer service there, lady. At least I was in a car full of roadgeeks so nobody else was complaining.

[DaBigE]

As a roadgeek, I've never had any problems...maybe a couple stares, but I was too busy focusing on taking a photo to notice or care.

As a professional, while on official business, I've been questioned by local police twice. Both were in fairly small communities, so I can understand the locals being skeptical of "outsiders" as well as the cops having nothing better to do. One time was when I was doing a manual traffic count...marked car and everything. The cop in that case was just humoring the caller, he knew exactly what I was doing and didn't want to disturb me. He only asked about the upcoming project I was getting counts for (what it was going to encompass, when it was going to occur, etc.).

The other time I was walking around a construction site taking photos of progress. Granted, it was a Sunday afternoon in a small town, but I was in full safety gear, vest and everything (and not the el-cheapo Walmart stuff either) and hardly sneaking around. His concern was how it seemed like I was taking a lot of photos in the direction of a grocery store of all places...nothing that couldn't have been seen on a Google Street View photo. I was up-front about everything, stating that it just happened to be in the background of my shots and not even in focus. Even after showing him my photos that backed up my story and a business card, he still radioed me in. When a squeaky clean record came back, he did a complete 180, almost acting a bit embarrassed--now trying to cover his screw-up with project related questions.

[Roadgeek Adam]

Now, when I do road photography, I just tend to get stared at by passing drivers, since I like my favorite view of shields to the right and road in view. So, as far as roads, I've not had much issue. Unless there is a good reason, I do try my best to not trespass on lands I don't belong. Didn't stop the dirty look I got on the Verazanno from some woman near the tollbooth, because photography is still a no-no on the TBTA bridges.

As for the railfan in me, I've gotten in trouble with the bubblegum machines several times, most notably on New Milford Avenue in Oradell, New Jersey. I was taking photos of the former Erie station site there and someone in Oradell ($$$$) reported me to the cops. (Thankfully I got a railfan cop, but they sent 4 police cars.) Some of this was expected, being September 11, 2011 (but schedule being tight caused that.) Notably I was yelled at by a Staten Island Railway engineer at the Jefferson Avenue station who didn't stop yelling at me about it. Conductor didn't seem to care and normally its the conductor I care more about.

I think in general, railfans get a lot more crap for photography than roadgeeks do.

[roadman65]

Railfans get a lot of crap, because you have to trespass on private property.  Roads are public and you would figure that you would get no trouble there, but you do.  Google, red light cameras, etc get all kinds of stuff on roads, and is world wide on the internet.  Yet they worry about small petty stuff.

With rail yards the railroad companies are liable if you trip and fall while on the railroad ROW, but many photos of roads are in public places like where you drive and you cannot sue the state, county, city, etc unless a negligent thing like a pot hole unfixed within days that cause a danger problem or something, but a while in a vehicle doing what thousands do each day, come on.

[NE2]

Railfans get a lot of crap, because you have to trespass on private property.

Public road crossings don't exist.
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.867324,-87.637424&spn=0.012959,0.028346&gl=us&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=41.8672,-87.637515&panoid=ygygHJXpM6xf_w43CBVY5A&cbp=12,212.07,,0,-3.25
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.450956,-81.367021&spn=0.0153,0.028346&gl=us&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=28.450956,-81.367021&panoid=fz2eL47AsaYs24P5XVcdzQ&cbp=12,176.63,,0,2.07 (this one has no sidewalk, only a shoulder, so the popo might get pissy anyway)
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.31796,-76.915466&spn=0.006667,0.014173&gl=us&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=40.317911,-76.915684&panoid=K7CO22EIscVDCraRDCY6ow&cbp=12,211.19,,0,0.71 (see those rectangular holes in the fence? they were deliberately put there for railfans to take photos through)