Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

[jay_merrill]

Re: Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

Then why is it if a dump truck is hauling gravel, and a stone breaks your windshield,,,,,,,,,,,,,Its an act of God. Man put the gravel in the truck, God put the snow on the truck,,, but the law is the other way around??????????

Because those placards that you see on dump trucks proclaiming "not responsible for broken windshields," etc., are complete horsepucky. Truck drivers are required to secure their loads and you can go after them for repairs. That said, I think most people don't because of the hassle involved.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

Because those placards that you see on dump trucks proclaiming "not responsible for broken windshields," etc., are complete horsepucky. Truck drivers are required to secure their loads and you can go after them for repairs. That said, I think most people don't because of the hassle involved.

In Ohio, the law says a stone from a truck is an act of god. No placards on the trucks. I found this law out when a truck that just pulled out of a gravel pit dropped a lot of stones busting my windshield. I called the company that owned the truck with the plate number. They said not responsible, so I called the state highway patrol,,,,they said its an act of god. No doubt some states are different.

I had a salt truck bust a windshield out while I was stationed in Maine. The highway garage sent me to a private business and paid for it. In Ohio, I would have had to use my own insurance.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

Someone in Ohio might find cause for an interesting court case. If I'm not mistaken, the requirement to secure a load is federally mandated, not state mandated.

Commercial truck driving is a bit of a complex situation from a regulatory standpoint, because much of it under DOT/FMCSA regulation. For example, a CDL is actually a Federal license which is only administered by the home state of the driver. I am aware of a few state laws (Louisiana has several) affecting CDL drivers, but they are more stringent than the federal guidlelines. I'm not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV, but I'm pretty sure that states are prohbited from passing laws concerning commercial trucking, that are less stringent than the federal laws.

All of this is not to say that Ohio and a few other states have done such things - I'm sure they do it all of the time. Its also not to say that there is much chance of anyone actually fighting the issue. I just wonder sometimes what would happen if someone got mad enough to "take it to the mat."

 

[dingbat]

Re: Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

My wife used to do the insurance for a local trucking firm.

To start with the placards are BS. I don?t see how you can disclaim liability without consent or participation of the second party. Otherwise I'm getting a sign that states I'm not liable for my actions and getting rid of my insurance polices.

If the object falls off the truck and hits the ground before striking your vehicle it?s a road hazard. It?s the object falls directly off the truck and strikes your vehicle the truck is liable.

 

[flingus]

Re: Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

Wow, if those placards are law then I need to get one for my girlfriends car that says.. "If I hit you its your fault!"

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

You are liable in BC but it is not enforced often.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

It appears to be specific to each state as to whether or not it's required to remove snow/ice from you vehicle and as to the punishment for not doing so. I talked to a lady at the MS DOT and they said there is no law here, other than an obstructed windshield, but you could wind up in civil court as a result of damages... if they (the other driver) could prove it.

It's probably just so rare here that it's never become an issue.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

I'm glad it's a law here, one of my pet peeves are people who do not clean off their vehicles and expect the wind to do it. I have been hit many times with flying chunks of snow and ice. How about on a two lane road when passing or being passed?

How would it be my fault if I was doing 55 in the right lane, and "Johnny doesnt wanna clean his car" is doing 75 in the left lane. He comes by, wind grabs some ice on his car and it hits mine. Laugh if you like, happened to me a few storms back. Scared me, as I didn't even see it coming. Saw it fly off the hood of the truck passing me, lost it above my line of vison and bang right center of my hood. I got lucky it didn't cause any damage, but if the same thing happened with a larger sheet of ice, and caught the windshield... I can only imagine the outcome.

I consider it the responsability of the operator of that vehicle. I clean my F-250 off every storm, from the roof to the build up on the wheel wells, it's not that difficult to do. Trucks have it tougher, but in my opinion, it's all part of the job!

 

[Beefer]

Re: Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

Snow? Don't know what that is, but here in Florida, being blinded by the sun reflecting off the car in front of you is nobody's fault.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Are you liable for the snow blowing off your car?

Well in the republic of MA its your neighbors fault for not telling you.