We are now on a 3rd windshield on 3 different cars in 2 years from rocks coming out of dump trucks. Why don't these MF's have to cover their loads?
The truck drivers only care about what's in front of them going down the road. What spills out from behind is someone else's problem to deal with.
In North Carolina there is a law that dump trucker drivers must cover their loads. Despite the law nearly none do so. The only way to hold them responsible is to get a dash cam and prove the rocks/debris came from their truck. This is doubly difficult in our state because most obscure the rear plate so it is unreadable. Step one is to check if your state has a law requiring dump truck drivers to cover their loads. This is typically only a continuous a problem when there is a construction area near your home or worksite where they are clearing land (or bringing in fill) over a long period of time. The best thing to do is to get a group of neighbors and/or co-workers to start complaining loudly to the local police & politicians about the problem. Demand that the police start monitoring the entrance/exit from the construction side and start handing out tickets. Get the local media involved with people showing off the damage to their cars. This approach (above) worked for us in RTP (NC) -- nothing else worked. Soon the cops were monitoring the roads, handing out tickets, and the dump truck drivers started to cover their loads -- causing the issues with debris falling from trucks to drop sharply.
This maybe the time I get a dash cam. I keep talking myself out if it, but this maybe the needed butt kick to do it. They don't care, and I am sure without the dash cam, and probably even with it the company will go out its way to give you the run around.
a highschool classmates father was killed because a block of ice came off the top of a semi and went through his windshield.
If you're lucky and it's a government truck (local DPW, State, etc.) take note of the truck number (or road/mile marker/etc) and call their office complaining. If it's near road work with contractors look for the supervisors pickup for a truck number. Back in the day I had a summer job working for the County DPW where I lived and they would cover costs from complaints coming in about paint overspray/chips in glass. You had to prove you were where the road crew was and the situation. Someone in the office would check with the crew supervisor to find out if the complaint had merit. Truck drivers start covering their loads once the crew supervisor gets reprimanded.
All loads must be secured. The definition of load includes anything that is transported on the truck, whether it is intentionally on the truck or not, even whether the driver knows about it or not. This includes ice, a tree branch, a pebble that falls from caked on mud, etc. A driver can be cited for transporting a unsecured load and is responsible for any damage caused by a unsecured load. One exception can be tires kicking up road debris and hitting your vehicle. If a driver or his company decided to challenge your claim, they will likely suggest it was you following too closely that caused the issue. However, if the load was not covered, a mud flap was missing, or there is loose and exposed material, including mud, said argument can become pretty weak. Even if a truck cannot be immediately identified, it is not too hard to figure out who the responsible party is. A dump truck is usually local, picking up a load from a quarry and the like and delivering to a construction site. Time and distance calculations checked against local quarry records should be enough. Being able to determine if the truck was loaded or empty when the incident happened helps as well. A competent trucker or manager is often better off to pay a claim to a motorist than risk law enforcement involvement. Fines and worse are possible, especially if there is a history of issues. Of course, never threaten anyone with legal action if they don't pay you. Personally, I've taken the damage caused by dump truck drivers rather than pursue compensation. My newer car and my semi have been sand blasted and windshields chipped by these guys speeding past me in the left lane. However, the time I would have to spend to recover my small losses is not worth it to me. It would take something more, such if the driver were road raging. Dump truck drivers have a challenging profession, including, if not especially, financially. I would only look to bring the hammer down on a serious a$$hole.
A recent local news story on drivers attempting to hold dump truck companies accountable for broken windows and other damage to no avail. As I outlined earlier in this thread the only way to reduce the problem is to have multiple people contact local politicians and police to complain about the issue and demand proper enforcement on tow trucks. This will not help drivers who got damaged cars already but will prevent further occurrences. Or you could do what a group of a dozen drivers did last year out in RTP -- park blocking the entrance to the construction site not allowing trucks in or out until the trucking company(s) provided their proper insurance information so all the people could file claims (most had video dashcam evidence). Windshield Woes: Drivers struggle with repairs and responsibility Windshield repair companies are reporting a surge in business, but what's good for business is not so great for commuters. https://www.wral.com/story/windshie...gle-with-repairs-and-responsibility/21049172/ Windshield repair companies are reporting a surge in business, but what’s good for business is not so great for commuters. “We are fielding at least 300 calls for repairs a month. And we are far from the only business in the area doing this kind of work,” said Ross Smith, the co-owner of Raleigh Auto Glass. Smith and co-owner Gray Sweat tell WRAL 5 On Your Side that the bulk of their business comes from drivers who use Interstates 40 and 440 to commute through the Triangle. Recently, Craig Overway reached out to WRAL 5 On Your Side after his window was cracked while driving on I-40 to Chapel Hill. “I was just getting pelted,” Overway said. Overway pulled out his cellphone and captured video of debris falling off a Pullenboy Hauling truck. “I was trying to get as much documentation as I could,” Overway said. Overway says there was also damage to the body of his car and paint job. “I took it to a body shop, caliber collision and it was like $4,600 if they were to fix it all,” Overway said. Overway wanted Pullenboy Hauling to pay for the damage and contacted them in every way he could — phone calls, emails, social media. WRAL 5 On Your Side went to the company’s listed address in Rollesville and to the home listed to the owner, Dannesia Pullen. In both cases, Pullen wasn’t anywhere to be found. When Pullen responded to a WRAL 5 On Your Side email, she denied owning a trucking company. WRAL 5 On Your Side then provided her with a link to a story WRAL did on her trucking company during the pandemic. WRAL 5 On Your Side checked Pullenboy Hauling’s US DOT number and found that it is still active. The company has four trucks and four drivers. Pullen has yet to comment on Overway’s situation. Sweat and Smith tell WRAL 5 On Your Side say they’re not surprised. Both say there is a big difference between a company being responsible for debris and taking responsibility for it. “It’s very rare for someone to actually pay for someone else’s windshield,” Smith said. If your windshield is cracked: 1. File an incident report 2. Talk to your insurance company. Your premium won’t likely go up if you file under your comprehensive policy. 3. Consider adding glass protection to your insurance policy 4. Know that the signs on the back of a truck claiming they’re not responsible are bogus 5. Consider getting a dash camera in the future. While they’re expensive having video evidence will help with your claim. (Article has video)
This issue is 100% solvable. The question is, how important is the issue to you, really? Are you willing to put some time into research and contacting various industry participants? If so, how much time roughly? I estimate full compliance for dump trucks to comply with cargo securement laws would average about 20 minutes per day. Drivers would fear compliance could cause them to miss a turn (a paid roundtrip) for the day. Actual likelihood would be, perhaps, 1 turn every six days. Regardless, it is the responsibility of drivers to have secured loads. There are already established practices within the industry to ensure compliance with certain laws involving weight limits and HAZMAT. In other words, if someone screws up, everyone goes to jail. OK, maybe not that draconian. Usually. Still, most comply, as each participant has a vested interest to. Further, precedent has been established in other industries to handle claims when a particular responsible party cannot be held accountable. Rather the industry itself pays. There are several established ways to implement such a system. There are two primary paths that I currently see to change industry practices. However, the issue presented is not a pressing concern for me as I am not sufficiently affected and actually work in a different aspect of trucking. However, if you are willing to put some effort into this, I would be willing to lend a hand.