Warning! Not Responsible for Broken Windshields! - Lehto's Law Ep. 3.43
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- We've all seen the signs on the back of rock trucks - claiming they are not liable when rocks from their trucks break windshields on cars. I explain why the signs are false and what you can do when one of them breaks your windshield. There is a podcast of this video: / warning-not-responsibl...
www.lehtoslaw.com
@stevelehto
Once caught a broken bat just before it hit a young boy in the face at a Marlins game in Florida they kept showing the replay on the jumbo tron his dad kept shaking my hand and thanking me when an usher came up and asked me to follow him to the dugout I gave the piece to the kid. Once in the dugout the batter gave me a big hug and signed another bat along with the rest of the team and I got to watch the rest of the game from the dugout.
A priest, a dash cam, and a rock walk into a bar. The bartender looked at them and said "Where's the windshield?".
Under CoVid, I am currently preparing for the bar exam at the Steve Lehto School of Law
lol
I laugh at these signs every time I see them. You can't stay back _twenty_ feet from a truck in California without someone else inserting themselves.
Never mind that you can't read the sign until you're 20 feet away from the truck anyhow.
So? Let them insert themselves. It's not that important. The point of driving isn't to get where you're going first, it's to GET there.
I had dascam video. The trucking company refused to pay for my windshield because they said the rock bounced off the road before hitting my windshield. However, the day after they were served, they paid the amount sought for damages; windshield, filing fee, and service fee.
It happened to me years ago and several other people on the road. The trucking company ended up paying for 27 windshields. As well as the state DOT officer stopping the truck about twenty miles away and seizing the truck because it was unsafe for the road. It helped that the weightmasters windshield was one of the worst broken hit by six rocks a cracked. It was something like $20k in fines the owner had to pay.
I have been the driver of the truck hauling gravel, and have been pulled over by a highway patrol, at the request of a vehicle with a broken windshield. The highway patrol examined my vehicle and there wasn't anything falling off my vehicle at that time. He then told the driver of the vehicle with the broken windshield that if he could'nt prove that the rock that broke his windshield went directly from my truck to his windshield, it was road hazard. So if the rock in question bounced off the road before it hit his windshield it wasn't my fault. I think I got lucky that day, and the guy with the broken windshield was just an asshole. I'm glad the police officer wad on my side, I was only making $15 per hr, it would have cost me a day and a half of wages to pay for the windshield. You have to love the CDL License, where it took the liability off the company and made it my fault if there are any defects in the equipment. It makes it hard to make a living driving truck for a living anymore, and they wonder why there's a shortage of drivers.
In the case of the rv there is the issue of where a rock comes from, and where a grill comes from. The rock could have been on the road as a road hazard or it could have come from the truck. You can't ticket or charge someone for something that might have been their fault, you have to prove it was their beyond a reasonable doubt. The grill was clear cut as to who was at fault, and though they were injured the family would have been able to affirm as much.
A couple of points from a truckdriver. Yes, we are cover by federal laws, BUT we also have laws in each state that can differ from federal law and other states. The real drawback to the federal rules is that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration doesn't have to get a law passed through congress. They can simply write a new regulation. That's why a trucker using a handheld phone is liable for a $2750.00 fine where as most states have not gotten around to banning the usage for automobile drivers. The other issue is that, yes while we are responsible for load securement, I never follow a gravel truck because they can have rocks come out. I also avoid log trucks and any truck that is not enclosed. Pickups are especially dangerous because the frequently have stuff in the back that might blow out. It's always important to check out all the other vehicles on the road for possible hazards. Thank fro this and all your videos. I find them quite interesting and informative.
2 points (1) 200 feet is nearly 12 car lengths- that's a huge distance and unrealistic on the highway with cars merging in front of you, and then if they stay 200 feet back, you will be going slower with each vehicle that merges onto the highway. Many universities and the U.S. National Academyof Sciences has shown that anything more than 50-75 feet (depending upon road conditions) between vehicles causes a butterfly effect of slowdowns that leads to multiple highways and connected roadways to slow down. Which takes a 70% decrease in incoming cars to resolve (rushhour on highway leads to slowdown on local roads) (2) Trucks must cover their loads- as stated by most state and federal DOT regulations. So if they've overloaded or have a hole in their tarps/covers- they shouldn't be on the road- plain and simple. At 300 feet away, gravel falling out of a truck is still dangerous to anyone else on the road.
Two people who never get pulled over: Dump trucks without covered loads and Harleys with illegal pipes
When I retired, I always wanted to drive a Semi, dont ask me why. One night on I-75 40 Miles from Georgia, I had a Trailer tire blow its tread it hit a car (nice), It almost totaled it. The State Hwy Patrol, told me that no one was responsible . He said it was considered a Road Hazard.
Our company would pay all funeral expenses, when it wasnt the drivers fault, and 99% of them was not the drivers fault. The ones that were Im sure it was mucho money, all according to how much blame was assigned to the driver.
+Charles Miller
It's in the companies best interest to assert the accident was no-fault in order to keep their insurance rates low. You'll know they think it's the driver's fault when he gets laid off shortly after the case is settled.
In the Trucking Industry, when there is a accident, think probably happens in other places to, The Court will assign % of blame, they may say . The car driver was 95% at fault, and 5% truckers fault, say one light was not operational, bingo. I had a accident, they took 350 pictures of my Rig, But that 5% can become millions. Most Large trucking company's are self-insured for 7 to 10 million, otherwise they could not be in business. If you hire a driver with less then 2 years, it costs around 1200.00 a month, but after 2 years its the same as any driver, no matter how long they have been driving. And the new drivers wonder why they dont get paid as much ! I worked in the safety dept, of a large co. I saw some really terrible stuff. Hint dont ever hang out while driving beside of a truck. Period. They are Huge and made of heavy steel, today's cars are no match.
I spend as little time as possible next to a semi on the freeway. Running over dead deer in the dark is exciting enough for me.
I had a friend truck driver that had to watch himself committing a fatal accident. At first it was a no-fault, then later he got fired. That's really all I'm basing that on.
I love my job as a truck driver but so many people out here are so blasé about their actions that I will get minor burnout every few weeks. I am thankful for the number of years and miles I have covered without anything too major in my safety record.
Mr. Lehto,
I have recently found your TH-cam posts and have enjoyed them and found them to be informative. This morning, I watched episode 3.43 “Warning! Not responsible for Broken Windshields!”. Your description on how and why the warning sign was not valid was informative. I live in Florida and have experienced the joy of being behind a sand truck that did not secure its load. Driving behind such a vehicle can get your paint job sandblasted by the trucker’s load of sand.
Thinking about your scenario made me start thinking about an opposite viewpoint. This opposite viewpoint was this “Was the car driving 200 feet behind the truck operating in a safe manner?”
I am a semi-retired engineer. I spent over 30 years working as an engineer for the Florida Department of Transportation. During those years there was a constant focus on making the highways safer. With that in mind, here are a couple of numbers to ponder. At 70 miles per hour (posted speed limit on most Florida Interstate Highways), you are traveling at 103 feet per second. The Florida Drivers Handbook states that you keep a minimum following distance of four seconds (412 feet at 70 mph). Being 200 feet behind a truck gives you less than two seconds to react to a problem. So, if you are driving at 70 mph and are 200 feet behind a vehicle that may be kicking up or losing gravel and you are aware of that condition, are you driving your vehicle safely?
Driver handbooks say 2 seconds, defensive driving training recommends 3 seconds. If this was your job, then you know that at many times it would not be practical for vehicles to all be 4 seconds apart. If the following distance is to have time to react, what would your proper reaction be to a rock that you can't see coming?
I had this happen to my H1 Hummer and though I had no dashcam, I immediately called the state police and they pulled the trucker over about 5 miles down the road. He received a ticket for unsecured load and the trucking company paid the $1,000for the new heated window glass
As an adjuster most windshield cases were about $600 and just paid as cost of doing business. As for the signs. they do work as a preventive measure. No one can keep back 200' or what ever all of the time. In the grand scheme of things the awareness from the sign probably saves enough windshields to be worth their expense.
Not mentioned: Even if truck is unloaded, driver has responsibility to NOT have any loose gravel.....etc flying off his truck (includes trailer landing gear).
As a Commercial truck driver, the only thing that can fall from your truck LEGALLY, is feathers and clean water.
I used to haul tomato waste to dairies. The liquid that would come from the gate was clear so I wondered if that was considered water and it was okay if it leaked. I made an anonymous call to CHP to clarify. I explained what I was hauling and what was leaking and the officer asked would I drink it? I said oh hell no. Then he said it is not water LOL
IMHO I believe nothing should fall from your vehicle period.
Then you shouldn’t be held responsible if your clothes fall off and you go running naked around the outfield
It’s part of the game
Funny thing, the same month/year that you made this video (July 2017) I was in Utah and a truck dropped some rocks onto the highway, resulting in one chipping the window of the rental I was driving. I didn't get it on dashcam (although I do have one, just not on the rental I had that day) but I did take a series of pictures (from behind the truck, the side of the truck, a screen cap of the map app I was using, and a pic of the damage). I called the company and they put me on with the owner of the company. His first response was "I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do" but after I mentioned I had pictures, he quickly decided to take me seriously and talk about it. I sent him the pictures so he could see that the cover for the truck wasn't over the trailer. He tried to play a game of "the truck was heading East which means it had already dumped it's load therefore we're not responsible" but after further conversation, he ended up sending one of the companies he uses for chipped/cracked window repairs to our hotel and fixed it at his expense (which was great because Enterprise Car Rental would have charged me A LOT to fix it).
Steve. I had an incident happen in a big box hardware store parking lot. I talked to their legal office and they quickly stated that they were not responsible for anything that happened. After making sure that they owned the property, I then sent a letter asking for their legal representative in my state, because I planned on filing a lawsuit for a little over 500 dollars. This was just enough to replace my damaged bumper. Couple months went by, I them received a call saying that I would be receiving a settlement letter in the mail for the full asking amount. It was nice to stand up to a huge corporation and have my voice heard!
Steve, I got to tell you , I stumbled on your channel and I'm absolutely consumed. Watch almost every video. You do an amazing job. I've been driving tractor trailers for 40 years , and I have heard it all, I once had a man follow me until I stopped to tell me I threw a rock on his car and caused damage, however the damage was so severe that it could have only been caused buy a 3-ton granite Boulder! In our area dump trucks have the sticker that says stay back we don't buy windshields. Try as I may not to be bitter about what truckers in the industry call four wheelers, I personally think it's worth the cost of a windshield every now and then just to get that giddy feeling of Revenge! Just kidding, keep up the good work
3:32 No, the load would not be insecure; that means the load feels vulnerable. Try unsecured.
Had those on trucks near KC. My friend and I used to joke we should make a sign to put up when we passed one of those trucks that said "Stay back 1/4 mile, not responsible for gunshot wounds"
I was behind a tanker truck one time in Nashville, TN and I was over 200 feet back fortunately. All of a sudden one of his tires exploded and big hunk of rubber tire was thrown well into the air 100 feet or so. This was at a high traffic point on the interstate so it was a dangerous flying object. Fortunately for me I just out of range and the tire hunk feel harmlessly in front of me. I can say even if it is not a legal sign you will do yourself a favor by heeding the warning. With regard to a broken windshield I actually has one broken by a rock coming from under the tire of a dump truck. I called the insurance company and they didn't even pursue it. They just fixed my windshield and like all insurance companies they just raised my rates down the road so I paid for it indirectly.
Yes that is where the rocks come from on big trucks out of he tire reads way more that off the bed of the trucks but it is considered road debris and the truck owner is no liable even if it clearly dropped from the underside of the truck
I was driving a tractor trailer truck and a retread on my tractor rear tire sheared off flying well off the road surface like a 12 foo long whip as a small car was passing me . I saw the horrid scene , unforgettable in my drivers side mirror but fortunately the retread fell behind the car I guess because the car still passed me
Yea I dont even bother to report anything to the insurance company if the police aren't involved .
Used to work for a trucking company that occasionally made residential deliveries. Their trucks occasionally ripped down low-hanging cable and telephone lines running across the street from the utility pole to the house. Our drivers laughed when that happened. Our terminal manager laughed when people called up complaining about what our truck had done. One ripped-down line also took out a bunch of siding on the house since it was installed under the siding. We told the homeowners, it wasn't our fault, it was the fault of the cable company or telephone company for having their line hanging too low crossing the street.
I was driving down I 75 and came upon a semi truck hauling rocks the size of golf balls. The back door on the trailer was only secured on one side and rocks were bouncing down the expressway covering all three lanes hit my windshield and put a star the size of a baseball in the center of my drivers side windshield. I followed the truck off the ramp to get the name and phone number for the trucking company. I drove to the trucking company and they reimbursed me for my windshield replacement After I showed them the damage.
Rocks get stuck in the double wheels on the back from forest and construction type 1 roads and fly out at speed on the open road
and if they have the propper mud flaps they may not be liable . but most states if not all require truck loads to be properly secured and even wheells cleared of mud or dirt leaving construction or quarries. i got forced off i 75 by a/c co truch who didnot have ladders secured on the rack. bungie cords cannot be used regularry they dry out in a few weeks. i was ok the truck came back but fhp gave him a citation . debree from trucks often occasional loads do a lot of damage and deaths
That sign is irrelevant, agreed. But, the rock that flies up in the air is most likely one that was on the road and was spit into the air by the tire. That stone may have fallen from a truck previously or be part of the road that has come loose. Roads are made of gravel, both asphalt and concrete. I've had my windshield broken four times, twice by cars, once by an empty flat-bed truck and once by kids throwing a rock from a turnpike overpass. I've seen gravel fall from a moving truck in front of me and while scary it only bounced about a foot or two high and then skidded along the ground. The trucks responsibility is to have good mud flaps that go low enough to do their job.
I've seen gravel haulers with debris on the fenders and ledges framing the bin. I guess if they fill the bin with gravel and miss, many end up on the fenders and framing. Also, blast area is not only 200 feet. I've seen gravel bounce and head over to the other side of the freeway. Oncoming traffic at 65mph will surely crack a windshield.
You have actually answered own question here - It may have fallen from another truck - Would it have fallen had the load been covered?? if it could not have fallen, then a subsequent vehicle could not have kicked it up.
As to materiel falling from guards and other exposed areas of the vehicle, then the same laws apply - Dust off before entering a public road or wear consequences of an unsecured load.
This is all well and good, but what about a sign in my yard that reads: "WARNING: STAY OFF LAWN. NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR HOMOCIDE"
lol
That would still be murder. When it comes to defense of property, it's all about proportion.
I used to work for a glass company and we replaced a number of windshields billed to a a road construction company who hauled a lot of gravel. So sometimes they do except responsibility.
I can’t imagine baseball being played at a slooowwwer pace. 😴
What about those signs at the supermarket that say: "Not responsible for shopping cart damage."
Did the shopping Center cause the trolley damage to your car?? or was it that inconsiderate Prick that was parked beside you??
Trolleys are provided for your convenience, and are not a requirement (though it may be a little foolish to have a large shooing center without trolley's) it is up to the user to be responsible for the proper use of the trolley - If you are worried that your car may be damaged by a trolley, then best park someplace else, because it is only a matter of time.
Regarding rocks from gravel trucks. Up here (Ontario, Canada), if it comes off the tires it is an 'act of God', if it comes from the truck box it is 'an unsecured load'. There is a fine attached to an unsecured load and it is NOT cheap.
The baseball deal is sort of like the hunting laws in my state. If you allow someone to go hunting on your farm and the hunter falls out of his tree stand, or gets shot by another hunter or injured, the land owner isn't held responsible , but if a trespasser is injured on your farm there a good chance you will be held responsible.
I used to be a news photographer in Cleveland in the early 1990s. My seat was right behind the on deck circle on the field. Cleveland player Albert Bell threw a bat at me once. I ducked and it missed me. A few months later he threw a ball at a Sports Illustrated photographer that he was mad at. That guy git $35K. Later that season the player threw a ball at a fan who was heckling him. He also got money. There also was the danger of fans falling on you from above who were trying to catch balls. And then there was always the chance of having Sparky Anderson a few feet away from you as he was giving the umpire a face to face chat. Right before he was ejected. Love listening to you steve. Paul M Walsh
Some trucking companies would claim that the truck was hauling sand and not rock, not realizing that every load that they haul has this paperwork called a manifest that tells what, where, and when they were hauling, that’s why it is important to get the truck info and time it happens!
never follow a gravel truck. It is not the rocks off the load that cause trouble ( although it can happen ). It is the stones stuck in the treads of the tires that do the most damage. The most dangerous situation is a large rock caught between two tires that releases at high speed. Stay back.
My boss man handled it well. Broken windshield if it bounces off the ground then it’s a road hazard if it fell directly off the truck then you were following too close.
If it bounces off the road, it still fell out of the truck
Yeah it's witty, but wrong. As a truck driver, I'm the one responsible for any loads. Part of your pre trip is to make sure no rocks are on the landing gears, trailer (such as flatbeds), or on your tarp after you're loaded.
Stumbled across your videos
Love them watch almost daily
Thanks
Lemoore California - mid 80's bullriding event: bull jumps out of the ring and gets into the parking lot. Bull gets on top of cars and starts running around on hoods and windshields - breaking glass and crumpling sheet metal on dozens of cars. Fortunately they didn't have a warning sign, so I'm sure everyone got compensated.
Was on our way to Florida and passing through Nashville TN at about 2:30am only other vehicle on the road was a semi hauling milk, the back doors were flapping in the breeze and milk crates were falling off. I managed to slalom around most but hit one, took out the front right break line, of course I didn't notice it right away, on the freeway no need for breaks. Pinched off the line with a pair of vise grips and had it fixed in Mason GA. The next morning.
I was getting ready to go on a trip into outback New South Wales (Australia). On the Friday morning I had a new windscreen fitted to my car. I set of on the trip with three mates late on Friday night, early Saturday morning we were only sixty odd km's from our destination, when a truck with a low loader (flat bed) with a scrub clearing chain(two massive steel balls and heavy chains,dragged between two dozers) passed us in the dark with no lights on. He hit a bump in the road and showered my car with rocks, breaking the windscreen in several spots. I turned around and caught up with him flashed my lights and he pulled over. He was hesitant to discuss the damage, but a Highway Patrol car drove by and I suggested the officer might sort it out We discussed the damage and he agreed to pay, I still had the receipt in the car. He produced a cheque book and wrote a cheque for the total amount......"This isn't going to bounce is it ??" he said Nooo as my mate produced his Police ID.
I never got into watching millionaires play a game with a ball in stadiums built with my tax dollars.
Used to drive a dump truck. If you pick up a load of gravel at a quarry you are required to Chek the lip of of the dump bed and sweep any gravel off and make sure you tailgate has a tight seal so gravel can't leak out while going down the road and must have the bed/load cover in place!!
Steve, I think that "baseball rule" should be thrown out (!) because for a great many years it's been possible to hang protective netting. Also, it presumes that the only folks attending the game bought their own ticket, and that they possess the alacrity to dodge or catch a hot potato coming directly at them at a mile a minute, or faster. I bet you can remember playing shortstop and loosing a line drive in the Sun for a moment. Pucker factor off the charts! Go to hockey venues to see big examples of the nets..
You may recall a local lawyer named Larry Korn (sp) who gave his pro bono on the radio talk show Ask the Lawyer on WXYZ which later became WXYT. I remember a caller came out of a modest West Side neighborhood grocery store to find a cart hard onto the side of his car. He got the manager to come out for a look. The manager pointed to the sign on the wall; "Not responsible for damage to vehicles in this parking lot!" The manager claimed the the parking lot was offered as a convenience to their customers to use at their own risk. Mr. Korn told the caller that that was hogwash. He explained that a business that supplies a specific parking lot for it's customers creates a bailment, and can't avoid responsibility no matter how many signs they post.
BTW Your channel is now in my top ten!
Dick Horner when you buy your ticket. you can choose to sit .in a section that has a much lower risk. of what ever. I know before they put nets up for hockey games I would sit in section where pucks would land all the time. because I wanted a souvenir. the times I was hit where the times I wasn't paying attention.
But how can you prove that something "flew off a truck" as opposed to the item being on the road and being "kicked up" by the tire... and would the truck still be at fault ?
Question: My vehicle was birdshot sprayed with rocks and debris due to a semi truck, MISSING A MUDGUARD/MUDFLAP ON ONE SIDE OF HIS RIG, cutting in front of me to pass a slower passenger car in the slow lane. State law clearly states;
No person shall operate upon a public highway or street any motor vehicle, including a separate truck tractor (normally used in a tractor-trailer combination), or combination of vehicles having a carrying capacity in excess of three thousand pounds (3,000 lbs.), if the motor vehicle or combination of vehicles is not equipped with rear fenders, mudflaps or mudguards of such size as to substantially prevent the projection of rocks, dirt, water or other substances to the rear. The fenders, flaps or guards shall be of a type approved by the commissioner of safety.
Windshield was cracked as well as dozens of fresh paint chips and cracked emblem on the grill.
I am just wanting my car fixed to its previous condition, I do not want any more/any less than that. Just want my vehicle repaired. What is my best course of action? I have video of the truck after it cut in front of me, you can clearly see the missing mudguard and you can hear the semi spraying me with rocks, dinging my windshield with pebbles, sounding like hail. I could not get over to the slow lane because of a vehicle he passed being there. (it was spraying both lanes anyways). Thoughts?
I learned something from this video Steve. Thank you.
The other side of the coin is little Johnny breaks your windshield at home while playing. And I've overheard MANY people say... "Just go get behind a gravel truck and say it came off his truck". People do that! That's why trucking companies are not very willing to pay for windshields. The other issue would be a road hazard. Did the truck pick up a rock from the road? Neither the driver or the company is responsible for that. But Steve is right, a sticker doesn't remove any responsibility for an unsecured load. And anything short of having video proof probably isn't going to get you very far. Because people do lie, and trucks do throw stones they have picked up off the road. I've been on both sides of the fence. I had a guy with an enclosed trailer hauling freight, break the windshield in my gravel truck. I saw the rock come out of his tire, road hazard! Nothing I could do about it. I also had a lady tell me I broke her windshield. But there was a problem with her story. The truck was empty. And my company was going to pay for her windshield! I told them not to do that. She called them and told them where and when it happened, the direction we were traveling. I showed the company my TIME STAMPED paperwork. It proved I could not of been loaded. So maybe I picked up a stone off the road? Or she was just lying to get a free windshield. She insisted it came off the top of the truck. But the truck had nothing in it. So she was lying! And that's why you often get a rude response from a trucking company.
Another home run , really well done always appreciate the advice and great content👍✌
One time was returning from a job in company van with a coworker down 696. Out of nowhere a came a pigeon off an overpass and smashed the windshield. We suspect the bird was dead before it hit us.
I’ve always wondered at baseball stadiums why they don’t extend the nets down the first and third base lines those are the hardest hit balls in the game and they rip right into the stands
Had it happen twice. I just called my insurance and they had my windshield replaced at no charge to me. I didn't even have to drive anywhere. They came to me.
Nothing is “worth pursuing” today, it’s like we’ve reverted to the wild-west.
Same thing happened to me. I had the lic # and name on the side of the truck. I went to our DMV, and, after paying $5.00, the guy at the DMV told me the lic # was unregistered and the company named on the truck didn't exist. Thank you very much !
I love when I see these stickers on the back of trucks 😂
Just make a sign that reads....
"Warning, Not responsible for Shooting Dump Truck Drivers for breaking my windshield."
I lived in LA in 1988, I was in NC for business when Kurt became "Roy Hobbs".
I watch that game at least once a year.
From the boys of summer to the Natural....play ball.
Here in S. Dakota they aren't libel for broken windshields the trucking companies went to the legislature and got the law passed.
It wasn't an unsecured load, but my brother was driving a box truck on I-75 in Atlanta. The driveshaft got thrown out from under the truck and caused a pileup of a dozen cars or so. Everyone was furious with him, of course. He got surprised when he didn't get ticketed. The cop said that the driveshaft, after leaving the truck, became debris in the roadway. He didn't get a ticket for littering or dumping either. I thought it was an interesting situation.
He should have gotten a ticket for driving an unsafe/hazardous vehicle. But the rules are the same here, once something touches the road, then it is road debris.
If you have collision coverage - make the claim and forget about suing. Even if you don't have collision, its generally much cheaper to pay for a windshield to litigate it. Between filing fees, cost of service, you'll be out at least $75. Also, you need toi make sure you sue the proper entity, as odds are you won't know the name of the driver.
Assuming you've done everything right, and the defendant is a substantial entity, rather than a dump truck bandit, odds are you'll get a check in the mail once the company is served. The next most likely result is you'll get a default judgment and have to undertake collection.
I would think if the insurance had a bunch of losses over the same road for windshields they might pursue to try and get the hauling companies to take notice and be more careful.
More likely they would put an exclusion in the policy. Much cheaper and the then required rider for coverage in that area makes more money.
Always remember that insurance company's job is to take in money. Paying claims is a penalty for not writing policies correctly.
The day I see a dump truck with the cover over the loaded trailer is the day I'll eat that trailer.
Also, what about the signs in store lots that say they are not responsible for any damage caused by their shopping carts hitting your car?
I mean it depends on what the store does to mitigate damage. Generally if they provide reasonable cart return locations, and have employees making sure they stay available a rouge cart isn't their responsibility because they weren't in control and offered mitigation to prevent the problem in the first place. If the employee collecting large amounts of carts crashes into you on the other hand obviously you're not responsible and the store would be.
Cart returns aren't just for convenience.
Reminds me of the time that I pulled into a store parking lot. It was a real windy day. The wind caught a shopping cart and was pushing it at a good clip across the parking lot. I just watched in amazement. Then I realized it was heading towards a parked car. It was too late for me to do anything at that point. The cart slammed into the side of the parked car!
Hey Steve. I live in NC and had an incident once. I know that to purchase Comprehensive insurance to pay for repairs like these.
Driving to work one afternoon, i caught up with a large dump truck and imediately noticed large rocks bouncing and trying to get around I noticed the tailgate wasn t locked to prevent this. Driver could have easily not had this but was in my opinion negligent. Yup.before getting by one hit that put a large crack in windshield. If it had happened by accident I wouldn t have done any more. I got license plate no and phone no off plate and ad printed on truck.
When I got to work I called NC highway patrol and in 30 min a trooper met me in parking lot and I explained what happened.
He said he certainly understood and I was free to call owner and he might replace but isnt required by law to do so. I called and owner said he didn t have a truck on the road at the time I said. Hmmm.
I got info to call off truck.
I let insurance to replace glass but feel if driver is negligent like in this incident owner be liable.
I guess if I had taken pic of truck showing flapping gate and rocks coming out I may have had a case
I wonder if I would have had much more damage in doing this
If you haven't already done so I would love to hear about "bailment". I see on the back of a coat check ticket, car park ticket, etc., "No bailment created>"
I had one of them stone my windshield while travelling in the other direction on a 2 lane road. Damn sure can't fault me on that.
All my vehicles are now a little older, paid for, and I can afford the risk of not having Comprehensive Insurance. I am semi retired with lots of free time and usually have a dash camera. The gravel companies don't even sweep the tailgate with several inches of rocks piled up. Have dodged flying rocks many times. When one finds its mark I will file in a small claims court. My plan will be to have the owner, driver, manager, loader operator, scale attendant and guard supenaed. It won't be so funny or inconciquencial when the whole business is closed to be in court. The judge will rule in your favor at the 3rd no show.
English is why I was a farmer not a dentist. College a in all science and math with enough credits to graduate but never passed 101 english. Now this thing puts what it wants when spoken to.
The question is how much would all that cost you? I've never been to court to know what it costs to have subpoenaes (sp?) Issued nor know what it costs for filing. But I would think it could cost more than shelling out $500 for a windshield. I've also heard of situations where even if you win the defendant refuses to pay the bill. Then you have to pay more to collect.
The baseball teams do really step up when fans get hit. I have read about paying the medical bills, free tickets, chilling with the team, and so on. Makes me smile when positive stuff are done here in our great land. I almost digressed on the "joke".... Whew! was a close one.....
I'll often risk speeding to get around a gravel truck. You don't want to be close behind them when they cross any bridge or go over a bump.
My insurance company just paid it. I have a pretty expensive windshield, no aftermarket replacement, and numerous features and it wasn’t worth the expense for the insurance company to pursue.
I replace a windshield one time in a corvette that had a hobie cat pontoon go through the passenger side. The truck in front of the Vette had a stack of pontoons that were not tied down and when taking off at a light, the pontoon slid off and into the windshield. I guess the truck driver should have had a sign that said stay back 200 feet.
Thanks Steve!
FMCSA or State DOT . The signs may not mean anything except to warn you not to be driving so close your windshield get broken by an errant rock. Around here those dump trucks have a tarp-like screens that cover the top of the truck when they are loaded.
I drive one of these evil gravel trucks :-) I happened to be in the office one time we got a call like this. My dispatcher was actually very polite. We're a small company that sells directly to the customer. We have to be nice. He politely explained that they needed to make a police report called this number, our insurance company. There must have been some resistance on the other end of the line because he apologized and explained it a second time. That was it. End of the conversation. I'd guess this probably has the same outcome. The caller just takes the path of least resistance and has their own insurance take care of it. Also, our trucks do not have the "Stay Back..." stickers. Our boss probably realizes they are meaningless, as well.
I drive about 30 miles to and from work everyday and had so many rock pecks I've lost count. Usually if the crack gets bad enough I just let my insurance take care of it. It's a lot easier.
I used to work as an adjuster for a major insurance company. As a practical matter, it would cost more to pursue than the windshield cost, especially when the windshield is done through a network partner who keeps costs down. Just in terms of the other claims that the adjuster could be handling instead of messing with the trucking company, not to mention attorney time. Windshields don’t cost all that much.
They are getting more expensive as more high tech items are being added. It will be interesting to see how that affects the way insurance companies handle these situations.
Gravel trucks in my area Don't Even Have LICENSE PLATES !!!!!!!! And they still have those Ignorant 200ft. Stickers!!!!!!!!
In Illinois, it's called depositing dangerous materials on the roadway. They are required o make sure no debris is on the lip of the dump and the load is covered. Unless you have a dashcam, the trucking companies and the insurance carriers will not bother talking to you.
A variation I've seen adds "not responsible for objects coming from road." Presumably they think the rock will bounce off the road before hitting you and they will be off the hook.
The sign saying to stay back wouldn’t bother me if they also followed the actual laws here and covered their loads. 90% of the time here their tarps are still rolled up on the side instead of I wrong the gravel and sand they haul. That in itself makes them responsible in my eyes if my windshield is damaged because they lost any amount of their load.
About 30% of these claims are bullshit.
Lets say I am "Bobs scrap yard"
I get a phone call with an irate person telling us that our truck driver had something fly off and damage their car.
First thing I do is apologize, I ask then where it happend which way were they heading time, make model and year of their car.
Ok great I will look into that for you.
All of our trucks have GPS tracking logs camera facing forward one on the cab one looking back.
Pull up location and GPS logs.
None of our trucks were even anywhere NEAR that area or that road.
After a quick inquiry I realized that after you type in "our area name Scrap Yard" our name pops up.
People do your fucking due diligence.
J
And then even if GPS info comes up as legit, they might have had a broken windshield previously and were driving down the road and took the info off of your truck looking for a sucker to pay for their windshield.
Isn't there a difference, though, between gross and ordinary negligence? In that, with some kind of warning, they are only responsible if there was gross negligence. That doesn't apply to trucks, but what about other fields of endeavor? I heard this from Judge Wapner years ago, and have been puzzled ever since.
About 10 years ago a truck damaged by car while changing lanes, probably did not see me. I called is insurance company, they took the information. Little later they said that the driver denies that anything happened. I called his trucking company, and soon their ins company paid up, total value of the car - it was quite old.
If your following closer than 200 feet, then your "following to close" and your at risk of crashing into that truck. Don't tailgate and you won't get broken windshields
So you're not allowed to pass the truck even though it is going under the speed limit on a three-lane highway? That sucks!
@@stevelehto lol. Sure you can pass on a 3 lane highway, just maintain proper distance between your self and the car/truck in front of you. 3 second rule at least
@@HodggoblinThey often drive vehicles from dealer to dealer. In platoons. If you are doing that, you are not tailgating.
@@Hodggoblin ignore the clear warning of following too close to a truck and you will have no one to blame but yourself
@@Hodggoblin what you and the video do not understand(maybe) is that a truck that works in off and on road conditions may have road hazards dangerous to following too closely. The same warnings is posted on EMT vehicles along with laws for police.
Just a question, you have the video and the witness and the car is clearly following to close to they get fined?
Your discussion of "the baseball rule" was fascinating. Just wondering, has anyone ever successfully sued a baseball club for injuries sustained by such an event at a game?
My stepdad was sued because someone claimed some firewood fell off his truck and hit their windshield. Much to their embarrassment he could prove he was working another job that day that was in a different area not hauling firewood.
A few years ago I had just left my house and was just picking up speed, when a truck coming the other way threw a rock against my windshield and cracked it. i turned around and took off after it and followed it for at least 10 or more miles trying to get the drivers attention to get him to pull over, well he finally did. i told him what happened and he said I'm not responsible for that. I insisted he was so he called the company and they said no. So we called the state police and they said no, he is not responsible because he had no way of knowing that his tire picked up a rock and it hit my windshield. Oh well it was worth a try. Also I'm one of those guys who does pay attention at baseball games.
I think trucks carrying construction equipment on trailers are a lot more dangerous. They put a backhoe on after it's been in mud and gravel, and it drops mud and gravel on the highway for miles. My understanding is they have a legal obligation to clean that crap off before they drive on the road. If you see them in front of you, back way up and report them. Then watch them get pulled over by the highway patrol and laugh as you pass them by.
On a similar note, I was driving on I-70 In MD and came up behind a truck that had a section of its roof hanging over the top of the trailer doors with a 2ft section of frame flopping in the breeze. I called the police and within 5 minutes the truck was being pulled over. The truck driver may not have known his trailer was broken into from the top.
I was once at a Texas Rangers home game when a pop-fly foul-ball (that got considerable hang time) struck a middle-age man right in the face!
Remarkably, he was descending the steps of the stadium while carrying a cardboard tray of large sodas in one hand and a cardboard tray of nachos and hot dogs in the other. The entire stadium gave an empathetic "AWWWWW..."
Amazingly, although clearly badly shaken, he somehow did not drop the wildly bobbling trays of overpriced food and drink, regained his composure, and resumed his descent down the steps!
For that he received a round of applause from the crowd!
No idea if he sued...
Good thing he didn't drop all of that food. That would have been a couple thousand bucks in damages!
In NC, scammers... I mean insurance companies won't do jack shit without a police report.
Doesn't surprise me. They often throw up hoops for you to jump through just to wear you out (and hope you go away).
@stinky cheese I'm not arguing that i'm saying, in NC if you want a claim on insurance you have to have a police report. Hit a deer: police report. Somebody dinged your door at the store: police report. Follow what i'm saying now? Not every situation truly needs a police report, even by law. Yet insurance companies require one for almost any type of claim. In NC only damages estimated above $500 require a police report. So that very minor fender bender, that only caused a scratch, in heavy traffic that both parties agreed didn't do $500 in damages. If one decides to claim that scratch after looking at it later... sorry won't happen because there is no police report.
swmp9x19 yeah my insurance won't do jack without a police report.
Being a Padres fan, I painfully remember 1984.
In my experience the no fault insurance thing automatically awards the car drive payment from the truck insurance company even if no accident report is done by the cops so if a truck number is written down the truck is automatically assumed to be at fault. I think that's the way it works because the employer will tell the driver " never stop at a car drivers insistence for a precieved infraction. Only pull over if the cops flash you down
Steve, years ago when I was a police officer I had a bolt and piece of hardware fall off of a flat bed truck traveling on I-71, I watched it bounce off the side of the truck, into my lane and break out my windshield. Called ahead to the DOT scales we were about 10 miles from and asked them to divert him when we came in. They did, I got all his info, vehicle info, company info, etc. When I called my insurance, they said yeh we'll take it but it doesn't really matter, just fixed the glass under the comprehensive.
I submit that the "not responsible for damages" part is meaningless, but "keep back 200 feet" is very important. If the driver can't see you, you are following too close, setting yourself up to collide with not only debris, but the truck itself.
People can be insecure, rocks and gravel loads are unsecured.
The meaning of the sign is - if you follow too close you'll eventually get a rock in your windshield.
I have paid a claim for a trucking company that caused the damages.
Interestingly on your last comment on the baseball rule, would be interested to hear your thoughts on cormer v Kansas City royals baseball corp. case where their mascot, Slugerrr the lion was sued for firing hot dog cannon into crowd and striking crowdmember in the eye. Almost too good to make up
70 mph is about 100 feet/second. 200 feet back is 2 seconds back. A rock falling from about 20 feet will take 1.15 seconds to hit the ground. By the time it bounces back up and starts coming back down, BAM it slams into your windshield.
The trucks are about 11 feet tall. So if you are far enough back, then the rock has come off of the pavement, and not their truck. A truck that passed 10 minutes earlier could have dropped a rock, and then the truck in front of you picked it up with their wheels. This is really hard to prove if you don't know where it came from. Also, trucking companies get anyone who needs a new windshield phoning them whether it came from one of their trucks or not, so that is why they react the way they do.
@@notpoliticallycorrect4774 It's almost like you didn't watch the video
@@notpoliticallycorrect4774 Yeah, and rocks only bounce once, right?
Stop it right their @ the 4:16 time mark. I been through this many times before . Rarely does gravel come off the truck in the cargo area . It typically comes from the tire treads or or between the dual tires. When open top trucks were required to put tarps on the open tops the pebbles and gravel coming off the wheels was ruled to be road debris and there for not a liability of the truck owner. Most tarp loads are a joke. The only time I have seen a tarp load be of use is in open top trash trailers to keep paper and plastic bags from flying out of the load
As a dump truck driver I have spent hours traveling behind other dump trucks and it is amazing with all the bumping a dump truck does that dirt ( with pebbles and rocks ) does not bounce off the top of the swing doors or the side gunnals .
Certainly an aggrieved passenger car driver can file an insurance claim against the truck owner and win but the Trucker the truck owner is not liable for road debris as I defined it in the first part of this comment.
It seem that the definition for road debris was figured out by law maker when lawmakers demanded tarps on open loads. They work together to give the public a false sense of safety and to protect the truck owner from constantly having to pay for broken windshields
Yes this 200 foot signs on the back of dump trucks are wishful thinking by he truck owner and their insurance company but it a good idea never the less yet traveling 65 to 75 miles an hour when a pebble or small rock flies off the tire of a dump truck it hits the windshield after its first or second bounce. Each bounce can be as long as 100 feet at least so in practically 200 feet still doesn't do it yet who is going to drive 200 feet behind a truck in heavy high speed travel.
I was driving a tractor trailer truck on the interstate by pass around Richmond va I think its call I 495 . It is a jaw shattering bumpy road and big stuff is bounced out of pickups and one ton contractors trucks . At night time I saw what look to me like a shiny new asphalt patch in the concrete roadway by the time I got too close to the object . A dish washer I think. I couldn't slow down or maneuver around it and passed right over it and believe you me it could of done serious damage to the airlines under the truck . The debris came out at the very rear of the trailer in which a car was following ( tailgating ) my rear apparently . I heard about it on the CB. But it was road debris and the truck owner is not liable the car was following too closely behind the truck . It was the passenger cars fault and I did not have a 200 stay back sign on the rear of the truck
Off topic but to warn car drivers stay away from big truck trailer tires . The retreads will fly off and could absolutely demolish a small car or SUV . So when passing a large truck while traveling above the posted speed limit get in front of the truck post haste