1 for the exotic cars

[BladesNSX]

Dont you hate it when your enjoying a drive in your NSX (or other beloved car) and a crusty dirty dump truck is on the road driving like an ass, cutting people off, and all the while raining those damned pebbles or rocks all over the road. I had the pleasure of pulling one over today and citing him. I always knew there was a statute in Florida against trucks dropping crap all over the road. So, for the guys in Florida don't hesitate to call up FHP on those guys. They are required to cover their load; there should not be any debris falling from those trucks. This one was for all you guys with all the paint chips on your car. Now if I could just find an "NSX lane/parking" only statute.

Blade

[This message has been edited by BladesNSX (edited 08 August 2001).]

[This message has been edited by BladesNSX (edited 08 August 2001).]

 

[hejo]

Right on!!! Our state has that statute too but the fine is so small they don't give a ....

My wife had a brand new Accord several years ago and a truck dropped crap all over the road. She was so pissed she caught up to the a.. h... and got his plate and company name off the side of the truck. Our insurance company made them pay to have the whole car repainted.

Our agent said the trucking company didn't care as they had figured the cost of paying claims versus the time it takes to cover up into the business model. Can you believe it? I wanted to drop a load sh.. on the owners lawn.

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

I really wish WA state had such a law. All day long semi trucks drop gravel and crap on the road. People wonder why so many windshields get broken on 520. It infuriated me to see a state sweeper truck the other day going back and forth here in Redmond to only have gravel trucks go back and forth all day long dropping their load. I SEE that they have retractable covers. WHY do they not put them on?! Good job Blades. Are you a trooper for the FHP?

Cheers,
-- Chris

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[1HOT NSX]

Thank you Blades. I'm not sure we have a law in California to cover that, but after two Mercedes windshields, one Z windshield and numerous rock chips on all my cars (two on my NSX in 12K miles) I can really appreciate what you did. I only hope the CHP could do the same here in Cal.

 

[tabasco]

GREAT JOB Blades,

I hate those SOBs. I am constantly watching in my mirrors for truck and then try to get in a lane that will be as far away as possible. I do not understand why the insurance industry doesn't lobby state and local governments to make very strict laws and fines for this action. Maybe the windshield industry lobbies against such laws.



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'00 Candy Apple Blue / Black

 

[Lud]

GOOD WORK, KEVIN!!!

I hate people who drive trucks like that. It makes no sense that it is not illegal everywhere. If I threw pebbles out my window at other cars I'd be charged with a felony, yet these guys can dump a steady stream of rocks and other debris off their trucks and that's OK?

 

[nsxtasy]

It makes no sense that it is not illegal everywhere.

Maybe it IS. But even where it IS illegal, the law isn't much use unless the authorities are enforcing it. Thanks, Kevin. I just wish this could be strictly enforced everywhere...

 

[hejo]

Originally posted by Lud:
If I threw pebbles out my window at other cars I'd be charged with a felony...

Ok now this has me thinking... Lud what would it take to get a petitiion setup to make this problem highly visible? How many signatures would need to be collected? Is this safety issue as I know people start scattering when these guys drop. I wonder if there's any data on the number of accidents caused by this crap.

I'm sure every sports car club would support it. I know the repairs guy wouldn't like it but it's not like they still don't get enough business from crashes.

Oh yes and it should be called the Blades Petitiion...

[This message has been edited by hejo (edited 07 August 2001).]

 

[tabasco]

Originally posted by hejo:

...Oh yes and it should be called the Blades Petitiion...

Where do I sign?


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'00 Candy Apple Blue / Black

[This message has been edited by tabasco (edited 07 August 2001).]

 

[ilya]

just another reason to legalize the mounting of small weapons onto personal vehicles.

 

[bill]

Nice job Blades. Those guys definately upset me in my NSX and cause me physical pain riding my Ducati. I would bet that road debris in some areas causes more damage than exceeding the speed limit (within reason of course). Just curious if the citation was a moving violation with points assessed against the driver's license.

 

[hejo]

Originally posted by ilya:
just another reason to legalize the mounting of small weapons onto personal vehicles.

I've wanted to mount paint ball weapons to mark the idiots. That way we could see them coming. In France they make new drivers display a card. When I see one of those I give a wide berth.

 

[BladesNSX]

Thanks guys,

I actually work for a City in Miami and not for the State (they pay too little for too much work anyways). I am pretty sure that there is a law against this in most states. If not I think it's a really good idea to petition for stricter enforcement. Bill, the guy I cited got a moving violation with a hefty fine. If someone could get the statistics of damage caused by road debris and enough voices, some changes can be made indeed. Great idea guys. Usually the troopers are too busy to bother with these trucks. But there is the DOT police. Try giving them a call. These trucks usually travel the same path since its for business. Let the DOT know and they will set up a trap to catch these guys. DOT usually focus on commercial vehicles. Here in Miami there have been some really nasty accidents as a result of debris on the road. A metal rod was kicked up on the highway and found its way through a guy's windshield and into his daughter's chest. She survived it thank goodness. The point is that this problem can be annoying and even dangerous. After we solve this problem, we can work on getting weapons installed on our NSXs. What's your pleasure Ilya? Vulcan cannon, short range missles, or something Akira3D might cook up.


Blade

[This message has been edited by BladesNSX (edited 08 August 2001).]

 

[steveny]

Some of the reasons that one might not tarp a load are: Its a pain in the ass to climb up on the truck. It is cheaper over all to not do so, after all truckers pay the highest amount of insurance from falling debris already, its not like it could be raised for a falling debris claim anyways. Most of the guys that do this kind of work have done so all there lives and there knees hurt. This makes it difficult to climb up on the truck and tarp a load. They are running behind and needed to be somewhere 10 minutes ago and there boss is bitching "where the hell are you". They attempted to tarp the load but.... there boss did not replace the torn tarp that the driver asked to have replaced 3 weeks ago. There are no bungee straps because the last guy that used the truck lost them. Or maybe they really do not give a damn. But I can assure you They are not driving down the road watching in the rear veiw mirror, laughing, as debris flies out of the truck onto automobiles. At least I never did. I used to be one of these people. Its NO FUN. You ever see a truck going real slow up a short hill. You can't get around him his flashers are going. Well the rest of that story is there probably was someone that would not get over or exceed the speed limit at the bottom of the hill so he could get a run at it. I have probably stuck my neck out a long ways here but I am sure everyone here is intelligent enough to understand there is two sides to every story.

 

[NSXLNT]

I don't believe that the problem is uncovered loads. The biggest problems come from construction vehicles like dump trucks and flat bed trailers carrying back hoes. These vehicles get all kinds of dirt and stones caught up in their tires,wheel wells, etc., and then when they get out on the road,
the crap starts to fall off and bounce all over the place, sand blasting everyone in their path. But what can you do? You can't require they power wash their vehicles before they get on the roads. And how can you prove that the stone that just trashed your pristene hood actually came from their particular vehicle? Even if you keep your distance, some other car in front of you will kick the crap back up and it will eventually find it's way on to your hood or windshield. It must be one of Murphey's Laws.
Anyway, Blades-thanks for keeping at least one offender in check.

 

[westernb4]

Wonder why there's so much enforcement of things like missing front license plate infractions and so little ticketing of these guys that can cause thousands of dollars of property damage even on a short trip!

 

[BladesNSX]

Hmmm..

Hey Steveny I hope I didn't touch a nerve or anything. In my incident the guy was:
Speeding, dropping rocks in waves from the back of the truck, and didn't pull over for me for three blocks despite my lights and sirens. I had to go in front of the idiot to make him stop. I understand where you are coming from. My main point was to address laziness that can result in property damage and/or pose a threat or hazard. If your boss is too cheap or lazy to do what is right....Well enough said.

Blade