I’ve been wondering about this for quite a while now. On nearly all of the large dump truck that I see going back and fourth between construction sites here in town, there are warning labels. These signs say something the effect of “Stay at least 200 ft. back. Not responsible for damage caused by falling debree.” My question is this: do these signs have any legal viability. It is not the law that I must stay 200ft. behind a normal vehicle if I’m only doing 30mph, why would it be so for dump trucks?
As long as you don’t mind falling rocks and dirt scratching the hell out of your car, feel free to tailgate. I don’t believe there is any legal reason to keep your distance, only a logical reason.
Putting a sign on the back of a truck does not necessarily absolve the company fom liability and there is no law saying that you have to follow 200 feet behind a dump truck. I don’t know about you, but when I see a sign telling me about an obvious danger, I like to exercise “the better part of valor”. Which brings to mind this: Example of “better part of valor” .
If I may tack a rider onto this question - many of the warnings I’ve seen say “Do Not Push” - is this in the literal sense, as though a person standing by the parked truck should not push on the truck, or is “Push” a euphemism for “Tailgate”?
No Beelzebubba , they mean push in the literal sense. Sometimes a dump truck will get stuck in soft ground. Then the dozer operator has to get him out, on the side of most dumps you’ll see a length of cable to pull the truck out. It’s quicker and easier to push some of the dirt that was just unloaded to the back of the truck until it pushes against the truick, pushing the truck out. No one has to leave a vehicle. Sometimes, this damages the truck and i is generally frowned on.
ahem.
Like others have implied, being right will not undamage your car, nor will it unkill you should the truck’s tailgat flop open and drop boulders on you. That said, it is dang near impossible to get a trucking company to pay a repair bill for windshields. To do so you have to prove the truck was at point A at exactly time B, and that you were right behind it (and had good reason not to react prudently in the face of a warning to stay back 200 feet. However, as has also been implied, if you are right behind a dump truck that has a huge douglas fir stump sitting high on the top of the bed, and the load *almost *clears an underpass and drops that stump on your car and kills you…well, then some liability sure as hell will fall on the driver or at least the trucking company irrespective of your following distance.
I doubt that the sign has any legal force. Earthmovers and other such vehicles are supposed to keep their loads covered so that rocks don’t fall out. (Tho’ enforcement of this rule seems to be very lax, at least around here.)
Still, as others have noted, it just makes good sense to stay away from these guys.
Minnesota has a specific law requiring dump trucks loads to be covered with a tarp or something similar when carrying loads that could blow off when moving.
But hardly any trucks ever comply with this – you see uncovered loads driving down the highway all the time.
And if your vehicle is damaged by something that flys off their load, the trucking companies will fight you real hard – denying that their truck was on that highway on that day, that the load was uncovered, that they ever haul any such loads, that anything could ever fly off such a load, etc. Since you are unlikely to have proof, like a video of the truck with debris flying toward your windshield, it’s pretty hard to win this in court. Most people settle for reporting it to their own insurance company and getting their car fixed.
It would be nice if the State Highway Patrol would occasionally issue a ticket to dump trucks with uncovered loads, but they’re too busy running speed traps.
Staying back a goodly distance is prudent when stopped behind a large vehicle like this. The driver can’t see you if you’re up his tailpipe. If he decides to back up, you’re toast. I’ve actually seen this happen in the military.
My brother used to haul sand and gravel. His employer required the drivers to duct tape the inside of the tail gate to prevent rocks from falling out. They bought duct tape by the case (good for me, I got lots 
).
My mother in law once ran over a concrete block that fell off a work truck. He was caught. His excuse? She was following too close. :rolleyes:
If it falls off the truck, be it a rock or concrete block, it’s an unsafe load. Pure and simple.
If a rock is kicked up off the road, it’s not their fault. Provided they have the proper safety equipment/mud flaps on.