wind shield chip fraud?

[emosun]

So this is way off topic from hondas....

Basically it's this , I was driving my diesel truck on the highway when I noticed my battery light come on followed by lots of smoke out the back. I pulled over to the side of the road just in time as tons of steam poured out from my hood. Just as I open my hood a semi truck driver pulls up behind me. I thought perhaps he was stopping to help me , however he was quite upset and insisted that something flew off my vehicle and chipped his windshield.

From what I can see , my water pump has seized , which caused the alt to stop working and obviously the overheating and steam. However , everything in the cooling system is still intact and not missing.

Should I have the vehicle inspected by a professional to confirm nothing is missing?

I get the feeling he may have seen my breakdown as an opportunity for blame for a chip he might already had. Or maybe fishing for a cash handout?

Ideas , advice would be appreciated as windshield chips caused by other vehicles is already strange area in the law it seems.

[reklipz]

Most interesting. I think you're safe giving the guy your information and letting insurance deal with the claim. I can't imagine there's any way anything would come of this (in the way of you being held accountable etc.); he has no proof. Just my $0.02.

[illinois_erik]

sucks about your truck.. I would have had a good chuckle at the truck driver. you didnt give him any personal information right...

[BurtonRiderT6]

You say a semi truck as in an 18-wheeler truck right? That's one hell of a bounce for something to fall off a truck and get that high up there.

[GeoffM]

How did the rest of the conversation go with the driver?

If something broke on your car and broke his windshield, it was most likely metal.
Any fresh breaks will be clean and shiny. Hopefully they'll stand out like a highlighter.

[Accrdwgnguy]

Who cares? His insurance should cover windshield replacement anyways. And if you are driving a semi with little to no coverage, who's fault is that? Not you.

Besides that, it was likely a rock kicked up by someone's tires. Maybe not yours, but even if so....that's just a risk you take driving on public roads. I doubt the guy's own insurance company will take him seriously.

[BurtonRiderT6]

Besides that, it was likely a rock kicked up by someone's tires. Maybe not yours, but even if so....that's just a risk you take driving on public roads. I doubt the guy's own insurance company will take him seriously.

Damn, I wish I knew that. I would have saved tons driving a gravel truck.

[Ralphie]

Since it can't be proved where the debris came from, then it won't go anywhere.

[steelbluesleepR]

shit happens on the road. do you have mudflaps? if you do, you've done everything you can. if it was something from your bed that flew out or fell off, particularly if it was something large like a 2x4, then it would be your fault for an unsecured load. since it was a rock or something small, that's just the cost of driving on highways sometimes.


On a similar note, if a semi's tire blows out and damages your car, are they liable for it? I think it's kinda bullshit that they are allowed to drive these things until they literally explode, especially if nothing happens to the driver/company.

[Accrdwgnguy]

On a similar note, if a semi's tire blows out and damages your car, are they liable for it? I think it's kinda bullshit that they are allowed to drive these things until they literally explode, especially if nothing happens to the driver/company.

Yea almost happened to me a month ago, I was behind a semi and passed it just as the tire tread ripped off and flew out behind the truck. Dude just kept on going like nothing happened...I would've run him off the road if it hit the car.

[Ralphie]

That is why I do not ride behind, or alongside, semi's.

I pass them like a foot long turd.

Half the time they won't stop, and even if they do, good luck getting anywhere with them when you pull over.

A lot of them carry as well and they are a little crazy in the head, so I wouldn't stop on the highway and argue with a trucker lol.

[emosun]

A lot of them carry as well and they are a little crazy in the head, so I wouldn't stop on the highway and argue with a trucker lol.

I didn't really have a choice at the time what with the pickup blowing up and all.

I ended up calling my mom and going back for my secondary pickup and tow roping it home.

[8ball]

had a nazi try to tell me i ruined his windshield once... I floored it and his car was slower than mine... middle of traffic on my way to work... wish I would have been armed would of blown his head off and drove through the backwoods into work... lost that fucker int the backwoods though... fucking nazis

[deevergote]

Unless he can prove that the chip was caused by either gross negligence in your driving (such as peeling out in gravel) or that your truck was so poorly maintained that parts were flying off... neither of which sounds like the case. In most cases, windshield chips are considered to be unavoidable and expected setbacks. There's little he can do, other than waste his own time and money going after you in court for something his insurance would fix, or that he could probably even fix himself!

I'm actually fixing a chip in my Fit's windshield tomorrow. Some asshat in a Durango just HAD to pull out in front of me, even though there was nobody coming behind me... and he kicked up a stone that left a nice bullseye right in my line of vision. I gave him the finger, and let it go. It happens.

[Ralphie]

I didn't really have a choice at the time what with the pickup blowing up and all.

I ended up calling my mom and going back for my secondary pickup and tow roping it home.

I wasn't directing that to you, rather Acrdwagn.


You obv had no choice.

Did you exchange info with the guy?

If it were me id have told him to just keep on driving.

It really sounds like he was fishing for cash.

I don't pay anyone any mind if they're a stranger unless it's an obvious emergency.