# Are drivers of (substantially) lifted trucks subject to add'l liability in accidents?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-drivers-of-substantially-lifted-trucks-subject-to-addl-liability-in-accidents/695594>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 15, 2014, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-drivers-of-substantially-lifted-trucks-subject-to-addl-liability-in-accidents/695594 "2014-08-15T10:30:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\
**Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-drivers-of-substantially-lifted-trucks-subject-to-addl-liability-in-accidents/695594/21 "2014-08-15T19:01:05Z")

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> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#):
>
> I guess my question would be:
> 
> Additional liability in what way?
> 
> If you’re in a crash and you’re 100% at fault you’re 100% liable for the actual damages. That’s the same whether you’re driving a fiat or an ambulance or the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. If you’re 0% at fault you’re 0% liable. If its somewhere in the middle your insurance company will negotiate a liability percentage with the other insurance company. (Not exactly so if you’re in a no fault insurance state, but I digress.) It’s the same whether the damages are $100 or $1,000,000.
> 
> Are you suggesting additional punitive damages just because you think their vehicle looks scary or dangerous or isn’t to your personal taste?

It isn’t punitive. When you raise a truck, the bumper is no longer even with all the other bumpers on the road. If someone rear-ends you, their car may travel under yours until your bumper hits something inside the other vehicle’s passenger area that causes it to stop. I don’t know all the ins and outs of insurance, but I think that modifying a vehicle in such a way that its systems that were originally meant to protect people in the event of a crash are now more likely to cause injury and death might open one up to liability beyond simple fault in an accident.

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