Open letter to dump truck drivers....

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Dear dump, gravel, cement, sand and asphalt haulers,

I am FED UP with the lot of you. For years now, I have had to tolerate sharing the road with you ingrates. I've been forgiving....patient...and about as tolerant as I am able to be. NO LONGER! Please tell me, WHY you think it's ok to travel the roads and interstates with your loads uncovered and many times peaked high enough to be OVER the highest part of the bedsides....spewing rocks and the like back upon those behind you?? Are you so lazy and inconsiderate that you just don't care? In the past ten years I have had to replace three windshields because of you. This doesn't even take into account the countless window chips I've had repaired. Surely, you've occasionally driven the roads in a passenger vehicle and have discovered, like the rest of us, the EXPENSIVE damage uncovered gravel trucks do to windshields and front ends?? I'm HIGHLY upset by this on your part. Every day that I drive to work I find you IDIOTS in gravel trucks HEAPING with gravel....covers neatly ROLLED UP toward the front of the load UNUSED....while you machine-gun every car in a 300 yard path behind you. Do you expect me to give you courtesy on the roads from now on? No. I will cut you off, flip you off, honk my horn, flash my lights....and do just about anything else I can do to make your day as crummy as you make mine. Yes, I used to respect those in you profession. You were providing goods and services and assisting in building our infrastructure. Well, NO LONGER. I'm DONE with the lot of you. This includes cement mixers that seem to find it far too difficult to clean off ALL of the residue of cement that has accumulated on your vehicle. Instead, you prefer to be discourteous, rude, lazy, and an all around JERK.
From this point forward....I will be recording you on a smart phone and calling each and every one of your employers as well as the police. I will be making you PAY for every cracked, chipped and dented part of my vehicle that is damaged by YOU. You swine have brought this upon yourselves and I WILL make YOU responsible.
Good day.
 
Good luck-I dodge the mobile gravel pits all day myself, with their insulting "Not responsible for objects kicked up from road" signs-inconsiderate (CENSORED!!!)s!!!
 
I love those painted on messages, keep back X number of feet.

Instead of telling others what to do, shouldn't they take responsibility for their vehicle. Make sure it's safe, that the load is secure, and that they are not pulling out in front of others and are able to move quickly enough in traffic that folks don't come up on them?
 
I don't get it.
If I throw something out of my pickup I am liable for the damage it does.
If I put something in the bed of my pickup and it falls out I am liable for the damage it does.

Why not dump truck drivers?
 
I took a large rock from a dump truck through the front passenger side window this spring. Shards of glass sprayed on the seat/floor. Thank goodness the kids were in the back seat....

Unlike other states I've lived in WI doesn't mandate mudflaps for dump trucks either. So not only are they dropping stuff out the back, their tires are also kicking up stuff at the person behind them too.
 
Wa must be a lot more lax than NY. If you even consider going near a road without the load covered or no mudflaps, you get a huge fine from the DOT.

And ... how far would you get without the dump trucks to make roads?
 
Having driven bottom dumps and dump trucks I have a question. are these trucks actually losing part of a load or is it the stuff coming up from the tires that was already on the street? If its rocks and what not falling out of the truck yes they are responsible for damage. what if one of the 18 tires picked up a rock of the road that's not their fault.

Rocks falling off a truck would never fly here. that's a big ticket! Sounds like you're Highway Patrol may need to get more involved if in fact it is stuff falling out of the truck
 
I heard a rumor that if gravel falls out of a truck and bounces off the road, it's then "road debris" and an "act of god" as far as your insurance counts. So if you want to be covered, follow so closely you catch rocks before they bounce.
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My state has an exception where if the truck is within a six mile radius of the pit it doesn't need to cover its load.

Maybe if the US had dash cameras like Russia in widespread use the commmercial insurers would get the hint.
 
Despite what they paint on their trucks they are responsible. Just like the parking garages that say they aren't, but in reality they are. They want you to believe that so you don't call.
 
What I see a lot is where rocks trickle out of the bed because the gate isn't a tight seal. I haven't really seen rocks fly out of the top of the truck.

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Having driven bottom dumps and dump trucks I have a question. are these trucks actually losing part of a load or is it the stuff coming up from the tires that was already on the street? If its rocks and what not falling out of the truck yes they are responsible for damage. what if one of the 18 tires picked up a rock of the road that's not their fault.

Rocks falling off a truck would never fly here. that's a big ticket! Sounds like you're Highway Patrol may need to get more involved if in fact it is stuff falling out of the truck
 
Good stuff. Wait for the "its not their fault", and "how can you impede business with such things?" crowd to come on the defense.

No different than trucks throwing tires and it being "OK" according to some to spew big stuff all over high speed roadways.

This is usually the same crowd that is all for "personal responsibility" (apparently not).
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Wa must be a lot more lax than NY. If you even consider going near a road without the load covered or no mudflaps, you get a huge fine from the DOT.

And ... how far would you get without the dump trucks to make roads?

DOT and State Patrol has a number to call for an 'Unsecured Load'. But the law isn't exactly clear about when to cover....and how high the load can be above the sides of the bed. Only RIGHT next to the bed sides....what about the pyramid shape? Look at the diagram and see what I mean.

http://www.wsp.wa.gov/traveler/loadloss.htm

As for the comment about " how far would you get without dump trucks to make the roads'? What does that have to do with my comment and about being responsible for damaging others property by not covering and doing the best you can to prevent such damage? So am I supposed to accept that my cars are to be damaged so that our roads can be built??
 
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I find they are pretty good here about covering loads. Never seen actual material spill from the bed, just sand sometimes blows out. The odd time stuff shakes out from undercarriage but that's why I don't follow closely enough to take a rock in the windshield.
If you become a pain for the local law enforcement by reporting constantly and going to the media, they might start doing their job.
Just be careful how much you annoy a driver, one could be having a bad day... and make yours much worse than a windshield chip.
 
What about the various amorphous lumps of hardened concrete that end up in intersections? I presume they come from cement leaking out of cement trucks. Some of the lumps around here are not very small. Is that deliberate or accidental?
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I find they are pretty good here about covering loads. Never seen actual material spill from the bed, just sand sometimes blows out. The odd time stuff shakes out from undercarriage but that's why I don't follow closely enough to take a rock in the windshield.
If you become a pain for the local law enforcement by reporting constantly and going to the media, they might start doing their job.
Just be careful how much you annoy a driver, one could be having a bad day... and make yours much worse than a windshield chip.

Yesterday I was at least 400 yards back and with two cars in front of me. The trucks load was peaked above the cab....and as I saw the dust and stones flying off the top....I got hit with one that bounced off my hood and into my windshield. I had NO PLACE to escape to in order to avoid that. Cars started to go left and right (nearly causing an accident) to avoid further stone damage. I got a chip in my windshield.
Where I live, and drive, I see this almost daily. A few times I have to exit the interstate and take back rods to work (slowing me down considerably and forcing me to drive on a stop and go, traffic light infested roadway). It's gotten to be more than an annoyance. And it's also given me an almost hatred of truck drivers. It's also been my experience that they are on cell phones half the time and swerving in the lane. Idiots! I had THAT happen two days ago....almost got side munched by a double trailered rig. Jerk! I sped up, changed lanes....and did my best to get away from this clown.
It would be refreshing to just be able to drive to work without fear of being killed or having my vehicles damaged from these simpletons. I'm fed up I tell you.
 
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It's much the same here. They need more enforcement, that's all. These days with the plethora of digital cameras, all it would take is a bit of commitment to get some pictures taken and turned over to enforcement agencies.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I find they are pretty good here about covering loads. Never seen actual material spill from the bed, just sand sometimes blows out. The odd time stuff shakes out from undercarriage but that's why I don't follow closely enough to take a rock in the windshield.


I'm assuming this was partly at least in response to my comment. I was well back from the truck. I'm not a good judge of distances, but several hundred feet. I stay well back from these, because I know what they do. Rocks bounce, and it doesn't take much time to close the distance and catch one off a bounce... My situation is an odd one, but it was several hundred dollars of pain none the less.
 
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