darned if I do, doggoned if I don't

[dmccarty]

Re: darned if I do, doggoned if I don\'t

Wroughtn_harv,

I would not call them back and just leave well enough alone.

In NC if a rock fell off a truck then they could be cited for
failing to secure a load. But that has to be witnessed by an
officer to happen. Since you don't have a ticket the only
person who saw anything was the caller. And who are they?
And why did they not wave you over?

I have seen to many rocks bouncing on the roads that did not
fall off trucks but where picked up by tires. Thankfully, knock
on wood, I have never had a cracked windshield but I sure
have had rocks hit the front part of the cab roof and scare
the you know what out of me! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

My F350 will pick up rocks in the tires, especially if I was in a
bit of mud. The stuff only comes off when I hit highway
speeds. I know I have also picked up rocks in the treads and
I can hear them bounce around the tire wells once I'm on the
road. Not much I can do about it.... That is what insurance
is for.... /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

So unless you KNOW that you failed to secure your load who
can say where the rock came from or if there was even a
rock...

Later,
Dan McCarty

 

[fishman]

Re: darned if I do, doggoned if I don\'t

I guess I'll jump on the bandwagon here and concur that you shouldn't worry about paying . . . unless you regularly carry rock in your trailer and think you might have had some leftovers that day. If not, it's far more likely to have come from the road. My truck currently has two "bullseyes". Heck it might even have been my fault for following to closely.

I will say though, that trucks traveling with mounded loads that are untarped really torque me off. A few years ago I was travelling home with my family in the car when a large clod of clay bounce out of a dump truck going the opposite direction. It hit me square in the grill (thankfully not through the windshield) and pretty much messed it up. It was as big as a 5-lb sack of flour. I spun the car out and went off the road trying to avoid it. We were all pretty shaken up. The dump truck driver didn't stop, but I guess it's possible he didn't see me swerving frantically or hear the tires squealing. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[DocHeb]

Re: darned if I do, doggoned if I don\'t

If this happened to me I would contact my insurance agent to let them know, and I would not make any contact with the caller.

 

[jsnitz]

Re: darned if I do, doggoned if I don\'t

Be careful about being reasonable. Years ago a gal in a beat-up VW was parked next to me at the drive-in. Turned out that she had her door open against my car. When I went to leave, my bumper caught the edge of her door and tweaked it. I felt sorry enough for her to tell her that if she decided to get it fixed, let me know what it cost, thinking I would help her. Next thing I knew she had replaced the door with a new one and repainted the entire car and wanted me to pay for all that!

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Re: darned if I do, doggoned if I don\'t

I guess the old "what goes around, comes around" thingy due worked in this situation.

My bud that I was helping out when all this happened called. As we were going over things between us I mentioned my quandry.

He laughed and told me he was glad he could be of service. He happened to have an automotive glass installer in his debt and this was as good as time as any to clear that up. He wanted the persons name and where the car was and it would be taken care of, end of story, no guff from or for me.

I called the offended, party wary as a tomcat courting a porcupine. He explained that he appreciated the call but his insurance company had already taken care of it. He was sure I hadn't done it intentionally and so there was no hard feelings.

We talked a bit and then he mentioned that he had been out of work for over a year because of back problems. He was looking for something he could do over the phone or the puter. I told him I had his number on my answer machine and I would keep it and him in mind.

Then the thought of bud with the big heart and how he needs some phone help. I've put a bug in his ear.

Sometimes it's all sorta interesting how it all works.

Today has been a good day. If you don't consider losing two two and a half gallon gas cans full off the truck sometime last night. I've been carrying them there for about five years without a flicker of a problem. Then this morning as I was gassing up the truck I noticed them missing.

But when you figure the windshield thing working out so good, that's a wash, and the young man I was having the problem over with paying for Moby's dents called and wanted to know where to send the check. It seems he figured out that it might should had oughta be better to pay the twenty one hundred now versus two to three times that later.

Like I said, funny how it all works sometimes.

 

[Stonewall]

Re: darned if I do, doggoned if I don\'t

In Colorado A rock off a trailer or dump truck is not the haulers' fault. We have some major road projects going on around town and there is A LOT of gravel and fill in transit. Some of the more cognisant haulers post signs on the back of their rigs advising a 200 foot following distance and proclaiming that broken windshields are not their fault. We have so much sand a gravel on the roads over winter that the state makes the insurance carriers give everyone a cheaper deductible on windshield glass as the average life span is about 3 years before they are cracked to pieces or just too pitted to see through.

 

[Steven]

Re: darned if I do, doggoned if I don\'t

Most auto insurance covers glass repair under comprehensive coverage. this pays for full replacement cost. so I would not sweat it to much. unless you do not carry coverage.

 

[northcreek2624]

Re: darned if I do, doggoned if I don\'t

Harv,This would be a good time to throw out the red flag and ask for an instant replay.
After further review the charge would be overturned in your favor.
Glass insurance is the best insurance bargain to be had,I wouldn't feel too sorry for someone not willing to spring for the extra couple of bucks......Mike

 

[Turfman]

Re: darned if I do, doggoned if I don\'t

After 28 years as a state trooper this is how we handle these: If it comes off the vehicle, it is considered an auto accident (part of one vehicle or it's load strikes another vehicle while the first or both are in motion and causes damage = a motor vehicle accident). If the item is flipped up from the road then it is not an motor vehicle accident, just the cost of driving. Dropping rocks from a load makes the driver of the load liable. Flipping rocks from the road does not.

Now, it is your word against his and in this case you likely don't really know, but he says he saw it.

Glad it worked out well for both of you and you likely made a new friend.

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

Re: darned if I do, doggoned if I don\'t

Good job Harv /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif If I were the other party, this is way I would like to be delt with. I think you knew this all along and this was a test. To bad most on this board failed it./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif