There is a lot of debate regarding the recent roadside cache ban that is in effect until
Groundspeak & the MOT here in BC can get some sort of agreement in place. Everyone is getting really antsy over it and I can see in the forums that the reviewers are doing what they can.
I think that most of us forget that we must use common sense when hiding a geocache and that some areas are perceived to be dangerous to ourselves as well as others. Highways are not always the best spot. I personally think that if you are hiding on a highway a good pullout is required. Not a 4 foot shoulder but an actual pullout, rest area, road, etc.
Now these new temporary measures might spawn some caches illegally placed just because. That is not going to do any of us any good. All it will do is show that geocachers have no regard for the guidelines, the law, etc. It makes all of us look bad.
Here on Vancouver Island I have seen so many illegal placements and not just ones on the highways. For the most part I ignore them unless they are on a structure that will cause a problem such as a dam or a BC Park cache that does not follow the BC Parks Policy on geocaching.
These policies have been painstakingly discussed and fought for and designed to cause as little environmental impact as possible but still allow us to hide and find caches. The geocacher who ignores and thinks that it does not apply to him/her puts us all in the hotseat and has the potential to ruin it for all of us.
I am not saying that we should get out there and become cache police. For the most part this hobby is self-policed and I still have hope that everyone thinks first and hides second.
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