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Damage from dump truck ejecta, what do I do?

Anyone here have any experience dealing with a paving or dump truck company, after getting hit by crap off one?

My Pony got smacked with some debris coming out of (or off of) a dump truck this morning on the way to work. The truck came out of highway construction and either had tar on it's wheels which picked up scraps of the ground up road surface or had grindings in it's bed. Either way a number of flat hard black projectiles came down out of the air to put a deep (sheet metal showing) chip in the hood and chipped the windshield (which promptly starred out).

I stopped at the next light and checked, found the damage and drove slow until the truck caught back up to me (I was hot when I passed, laid on the horn and gunned it to get out of the massive spray of Pony hurting missiles). I got us stopped and got his truck number, name, etc. then his foreman pulled up in another dump truck gave me their number and told me to ask for the safety manager. They both saw the damage, unfortunately in my morning (pre coffee) state I didn't think to get an unbiased witness.

I haven't gotten ahold of him, I left a message early but no return call. The driver did not have his bed tarped, but I'm not certain he was loaded. My instinct is that he was likely loaded because trucking (and paving in this case) companies hate to run a truck empty if at all avoidable. Still the stuff could have come off his tires.

So what's the best way to handle this? I've heard of people getting the company to fix the damage, and I've heard of companies flatly refusing to take ANY responsibility for what comes off their trucks. Should I ask them for the name of their insurance company or get mine involved?

Also anyone here know if paving companies generally have a policy regarding accelerating to full speed out of a freshly tarred construction zone? Truck companies love those safety policies. This guy was hitting 55 only a few hundred yards past the last cones. I had just shifted into 5th and downshifted to pass him so he must have been going full speed.

Reply to
Simon Juncal
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I am not sure what the laws are in your state, but I would not go saying the truck picked up debris off the road. That is a way out of paying the bill, now if the debris was on the truck and fell off the vehicle that would be a complete different case. If the truck flipped up anything off the road it would not be his fault.

Hope this will shed some light

Doglips

Reply to
Doglips

Nope... but I have a close friend that drove for a paving outfit for years. I'll send this post of yours along to him (he doesn't do newsgroups at all) and see what he replies, from a drivers point of view. Maybe the company he drove for has had to deal with this.

I've never heard of such a thing. I guess it's possible. I work around and know a lot of truckers, excavators, landsapers etc. (I am in the construction business... drywall, btw.)

I do know that my friend's company had a strict policy about getting the truck on people's property... a big "no no". The wieght of the trucks would damage driveways and lawns and they were held accountable for that. Similar but different. He'd back a fully loaded tri-axle dumper up for a mile rather that turn it around in somebodies driveway.

I had taken a "scenic" drive with my friend a time or two while he was working pavement. I can tell ya... his fully loaded (and sometimes overloaded) tri-axle dump truck would not get up to 55mph without some effort and a good stretch of road. I am not saying it couldn't be done, it just sounds like the driver/truck in your incident may have been empty, in order to excellerate that fast. Usually, from what I was exposed to on the "ride alongs", the dumpers formed/backed into a line and waited their turn until the pavers needed them. Then they were pushed along by the pavers while the asphalt was being laid. When they were empty, is was a mad rush back the yard to get more asphalt.

Maybe with more details, somebody with more truck experience can help you determine potential truck speed for a given amount of road.

I'll pass your story on and see what I get back.

-= Francis Yarra =- fyarraATjunoDOTcom

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Reply to
Nospam9212

Agreed.

I have gotten broken windshields several times over the years, and have had experiences all the way from them sending out a glass company to replace the windshield, to denying ANY responsibility and telling me to sue them!

Once they just sent me a check for the amount a glass company quoted !

BUT... the big thing is they seem to try to determine if it was something that came OFF of the truck, or something from the wheels.

The contention seems to be that anyone's car can pick up a stone in it's tread, and chuck it and that's just fate.

Funny, I've never gotten a broken windshield from an Aerostar, or Lexus tire ....

Anyway, I would be firm, and persistant with the company for a short time, then if you get no response suggest that you will have your lawyer contact them. Finally you might call your insurance company and let THEM put the pressure on for you. (after all, they are the ones who will ultimately pay for it if the company doesn't !)..

Reply to
Chief Wiggum

Others have commented sanely on what would constitute liability of the trucking outfit.... loose loads are a no-no.... road debris happens.

However.... a truck hauling asphalt will not do backhauls..... the time spent cleaning and preparing the box to haul the next load of asphalt just isn't worth it. You need to get the box spotless and then apply a "release agent" (usually diesel fuel) to get the asphalt to move out of the box. just an FYI...

-- Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

Reply to
Jim Warman

If it makes you feel any better, I'm a tightwad and usually suffer through a sandblasted windshield for way too long before I replace it....The whole time I suffer, not one stone will come and help change my mind - but within a week of springing for the new glass.....

And you're right about needing a witness... right now it's just your word against theirs - they likely pay their shyster, oops, I meant lawyer, more in retainer than we do for the whole suit.

We deal with a LOT of heavy trucks in our area - oilfield roads are not a good place in the rain. Always give them plenty of room to shuck the debris off their tires..... then you can at least see if there's a rock cought between the duals (they can really travel).

-- Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

Reply to
Jim Warman

Not sure if it will mess anything up...but i have heard clear fingernail polish will seal metal.

Just a thought.

Reply to
Shane Metzler

Do you have a $500 deductible on your comprehensive insurance? If your car is hit by flying debris, it is a comprehensive claim. At least for me that was a key factor. With my insurance, I have $0 deductible comprehensive coverage and comprehensive claims don't affect my rates. I had a piece of trim that a car in front of me ran over and flipped up into the air. It struck the side of my vehicle and did around $500 worth of damage. When I asked my agent about the damage, he said that as long as the debris was airborne when I hit it, it was a comprehensive claim. If I had hit the debris lying in the road myself, then it was a collision claim. In my case this was a $500 difference, since I have a $1000 deductible on my collision.

Regards,

Ed White

Sim> Chief Wiggum wrote:

Reply to
C. E. White

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