Have you ever been driving along on a nice spring-time country drive, minding your own business, having a blast of a time, to then notice a truck is approaching from the other direction? You might shift your driving position from one handed to ten-and-two, in anticipation for the vortex of wind the truck will make as you drive past. After a quick shove from the truck’s draft, BANG! A high velocity rock has hit your windscreen.
Bloomin’ great! This is exactly what you needed. Can you even keep driving with this thing cracked? And who is responsible for fixing it? I sure don’t want to pay for it!
Unfortunately, as you might have guessed, deciding who is liable to replace the windscreen is not very easy. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know if this happens to you, and when the truck might be liable to pay.
Why Do Trucks Kick-Up Rocks?
It might seem frustrating and at times borderline intentional, so why do trucks kick up rocks? Other cars don’t seem to do it, what is their deal?! It’s all about mass and velocity.
A truck is far heavier, and far larger than your normal car. This means that a truck pushes and pulls a lot more air than the regular vehicle. This air has a greater force to not only pick up heavier rocks, but it is also able to slingshot them at your car much faster at the windscreens in cars. If you need your windscreen repaired, you can do so here.
How To Stop Trucks Kicking-Up Rocks
So if it’s the trucks kicking up the rocks, how do we stop them? Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to stop it. The truck cannot help kicking-up the rocks, and they are necessary for transporting goods around our roads.
Unless you were to get out and sweep all of the pebbles off thousands of kilometres of roads, it cannot be helped.
What You Should Do If You Drive Past A Truck And Your Window Breaks
If you drive past a truck, you should always prepare yourself. Be vigilant and ready that the truck will shift your car around on the road a bit, and that a rock may hit your window.
If it does and you can see damage, gently and safely pull over and assess the damage. If the damage is severe enough the car can’t be driven, call an autoglass expert.
When Is A Truck Or Company Liable For Your Cracked Windscreen?
So, if a truck drives past you and kicks a rock up at your windscreen, and it is not liable, when would it be? The difference for the truck/company to be liable is that the debris has to directly come from the truck.
But even then, it isn’t very easy for the truck to be accountable because there has to be a few conditions to be reached. They include:
- You must be 100 to 150 feet away from the tuck.
- The debris must have been improperly fixed to the truck.
- The debris must not have first hit the road.
- You must be able to prove the points above.
How Are You Supposed To Prove Your Claim Against A Truck Or Company?
So if you need to prove to a company that they are responsible for your damage, how are you supposed to do it? If there’s no evidence, it’s your word against theirs. There are a few ways.
- If you have a passenger, get them to video the truck. If there is more debris that looks like it will fly off, it may be able to be proven that your story is reasonably true.
- If the debris is branded, perhaps hold onto it to prove that the debris came from them.
- Lots of people have dash cams these days. If you have one you can use the footage.
- If there are eye witnesses, you can ask them to make a statement, or collect their details.
- It is rare to have on open roads where you might be trailing a lot of trucks, but if there is any CCTV footage close by, you can ask to use the footage.
What To Do If You Can’t Prove The Debris Came From The Truck?
Even if you think there is no way to prove that the truck or company was responsible for your broken windscreen, you should still call up and let them know. If you let them know, it will achieve two things:
- They will be able to take on the advice, and see where the danger occurred. Even though they might not pay for your damage, you would have made the community safer so it won’t happen again.
- Sometimes, these companies will pay for your damage even without proof. They understand that accidents happen on the road and they don’t want to anger the community.
What To Do If You Need To Get Your Window Repaired Or Replaced
If the damage is too great for a windscreen chip repair kit/windscreen repair kit, or a windscreen patch, don’t start googling “how to remove windscreen” in hopes you can become an overnight auto glass professional.
Why, you might ask?
Well it’s because we at Dean’s Autoglass already have an entire team of highly trained professionals that will do it for you, so you can be sure the job is done the right way, the first time. At Dean’s we have:
- 25 years experience
- Competitive prices
- Lifetime guarantee
- Fast turnaround
- All vehicle makes and models
- A mobile emergency service
So if you have ended up in an accident and you need your window repaired or replaced, you should come to Dean’s Autoglass and ask for a windscreen replacement price list. You will not be disappointed!