If you’ve driven around Dallas/Ft. Worth, you can’t miss the road construction. It’s seemingly everywhere (and never-ending). No matter where you look, there are tons of trucks, materials and workers, lane changes and closures. Have you noticed the small sign on the back of those big, dump truck tailgates:
WARNING
STAY BACK 200 FT
NOT RESPONSIBLE
FOR BROKEN
WINDSHIELDS!
So let’s say you’re driving along and a rock flies out of that truck and hits your windshield, creating a lovely spider web of cracks on your windshield. But the truck has a sign on the tailgate that basically says, too bad – we’re not responsible.
Are they? What if I put a sign on my car that says, “Warning, I’m not responsible for accidents.” Am I relieved of responsibility just because I have a sign on my car?
Hanging a sign does not necessarily relieve these trucks from liability, but they may dodge liability based on other factors. If the rock hits the road first, then bounces up to hit your car or windshield, it could be considered a road hazard for which the truck may likely not be liable.
If the rock falls directly from the truck to hit your car, however, it may be a different story. The best thing to do, if it can be done safely, is to try and take a picture of the back of the truck. This will allow for evaluation of potential claims related to these issues, but the fact is, these claims can be very intensive and very hard to prove. Most companies will not respond or pay off complaints, and typically, the damage doesn’t warrant filing a lawsuit.
The best thing to do is heed the warning and stay well behind large trucks – or be more proactive and change lanes.
