While driving home yesterday, I found myself behind a dump truck full of construction debris. The truck hits a bump in the road and several pieces of debris go flying out and bounce all over the road. There was no way to avoid the debris field. One peice of debris was a small rock that happened to hit my windshield and crack it. If followed the truck and motioned for him to pull over which he does. I tell him that I’d like his insurance information to file a claim for a new windshield. He walks to the back of the truck to show me the trump card. He has a sign…the sign says “not responsible for damage caused by debris falling out of this vehicle.” The only thing I could do was get his plate number and who he worked for…I get to spend my day today dealing with this.
This morning, instead of getting mad about it, I decided to make my own sign. “Not responsible if I bash your face in with a baseball bat if debris fall out of your truck and damages my car.” If I had only had this sign yesterday.
Most of those ‘no responsibility’ signs are in places where you have made a choice. ‘This airline is not responsible for lost baggage because you, you fool, made the choice to fly with us’.
But ‘I’m not responsible for my own gear on a random, open road’ is crap.
Sue him. Sue him and make it public. Take joy in it.
It wouldn’t count if it was floating along above his truck in 12 foot high neon letters. An truck with an unsecured load on an open road shedding debris everywhere?? the sign only illustrates that they are aware of the problem and couldn’t give a flying f*ck. Christ if nothing else it’s gotta count as littering.
Not to defend the truck company, because I too think those signs are stupid and unenforceable, but …
The signs I’ve seen on open-bed dump trucks and the like say something like “Stay back 200 feet. Not responsible for damage caused by debris” or some such. The “Stay back 200 feet” part is usually in very large type, and is usually fairly visible.
I have heard (no cite, although I’ll try to dig one up) that trucking companies have had lawsuits dismissed on the grounds that the following car was too close, and thus the driver was ignoring a suggestion designed to promote his/her own safety. Never mind that the only time two vehicles are 200 feet apart from each other on any sort of road is when there is absolutely no traffic whatsoever.
I only ever see the ones that say “Not responsible for objects coming from the road”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one claiming they weren’t responsible for debris coming from their own truck.
The truck driver and the trucking company are responsible for how they load the truck. They are also responsible for anything that falls out.
Call your insurance company and report the damage, giving them all the information you have on the truck, the driver, and the location of the incident. They’ll take care of getting your window repaired.
Doing a quick web search, I found this from North Carolina - Securing Cargo. It says (in part) “There are two basic reasons for covering cargo, (1) to protect people from spilled cargo, and (2) to protect the cargo from weather. Spill protection is a safety requirement in many states. Be familiar with the laws in the states you drive in.”
Not to disagree (because you’re probably right), but is there a reason I can’t then do the same?
“Vehicle may come to a screeching halt at any time. Please stay back 200 feet. Not responsible for damage caused to following vehicle.”
That is, basically, the same thing, isn’t it? What’s to stop me from doing a break check to everyone who tailgates me…and then smugly pointing at the sign?
I think this is a little different. There are laws regarding tailgating. I have a friend that rear-ended another vehicle and was ticketed for “Failing to stop to avoid an accident” - fancy way of saying tailgating.
If you were to randomly slam on your brakes, you are driving in a recklessly (whether or not you had a sign). The trucker was acting recklessly by not securing his load (whether or not he had a sign). But if you need to stop for traffic and the guy behind you smacks into since he was tailgating, you aren’t at fault - he is.
I heard a radio report about just this thing. According to my fogy memory of the unidentified radio report, rocks and other debris, (within reason), are considered “road hazards” and the truck companies really aren’t responsible. Your insurance may not cover it either.
So those signs are more an act of compassion than an attempt to engage in some sort of contract.
From the way I’ve had it explained it to my by various law enforcement personnel (I’m in Colorado), our state laws require that loads smaller than one inch in diameter be secured. Truckers are responsible for parts for their loads that fall off and hit your car. They are not responsible for a rock that was already on the ground that the truck kicked up. There seems to be a gray area where the load falls from the truck onto the ground, and then bounces and hits your car. The consensus seemed to be that the truck would be at fault, but it would be difficult to win in court. If the rock falls off onto your car, though, it’s pretty clear cut, and trucking companies’ insurance companies do pay for this sort of thing.