Truck sign: "Not responsible for highway debris" (to live, cost of)

[autism360]

Originally Posted by gbpakrfan

Yesterday I found myself following one of the countless landscaping trucks in our area that haul tree limbs, branches, etc., and I noticed a particularly disturbing/confusing message on the back of the truck. It said, "Not responsible for highway debris". Seriously??

So let me get this straight, Mr.Truckdriver. If tree branches come flying out and litter the road, or hit cars, or cause cars to swerve and cause accidents...you're not responsible? If you're not responsible, then who is? Everyone else?

This got me to thinking...usually a dangerous thing, I'll admit. Is there some sort of Arizona or Phoenix statute that if you have a sign on your vehicle saying you're not responsible, that actually makes you not responsible? Actually, that sounds more like being irresponsible...which is something different.

To take this a step further, if I put a sign on my car saying, "Not responsible if I run over bicyclists", can I then go out and take aim at everyone riding a bike and suffer no consequences?

Maybe they can get away with that sign in mexico but any Arizona cop is not going to withhold a ticket because of a silly homemade sign. You did not mention if the license plate was Az ,Mexico or some other state.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by autism360

Maybe they can get away with that sign in mexico but any Arizona cop is not going to withhold a ticket because of a silly homemade sign. You did not mention if the license plate was Az ,Mexico or some other state.

Oh I've seen those signs on many,many dump trucks around the Phoenix metro.

Being a former construction Teamster and truck driver for many,many years and being pulled over for dirt/rocks not properly covered I always chuckle when I see those signs as they mean ZERO if something flies off a truck OR if they don't have proper mud flaps to stop tossing stuff up.

[pittsflyer]

If you did have a dash cam and could prove it I wonder if you could go for massive punitive damages due the fact that is IS hard to prove and that they have likely been getting away with it for some time before someone finally came forward that had prove that held up in court.


I think dash cams are a great idea, I need to figure out how to convert my go pro into a passive dash cam that just records in a loop until I stop it.

Originally Posted by ScottsdaleMark

Here are a couple resources on the topic.LINK and LINK.

Essentially, all drivers are responsible for securing their load and responsible for debris they throw into the roadway just as they are responsible for their vehicle in the roadway. Regarding the stickers, they carry no legal weight. I've seen it other places, there was an ask-a-cop column I read it in one time, too.

They just put that warning on there to try to mitigate the number of people who will bother trying to get damages out of them for the endless stream of gravel that bounces out of their truck. I can put any sign I want on my vehicle, but that doesn't make it true.

That said, unless you have a dash cam ... honestly, what chances do you have of proving that the rock that hit your windshield -- which bounced off and which you don't have -- came from their truck? Nil.

So you either need a dash cam or you need a log through your windshield that serves as physical evidence and that can be linked conclusively to the truck in question.

[Disabledveteran1]

Originally Posted by gbpakrfan

Yesterday I found myself following one of the countless landscaping trucks in our area that haul tree limbs, branches, etc., and I noticed a particularly disturbing/confusing message on the back of the truck. It said, "Not responsible for highway debris". Seriously??

So let me get this straight, Mr.Truckdriver. If tree branches come flying out and litter the road, or hit cars, or cause cars to swerve and cause accidents...you're not responsible? If you're not responsible, then who is? Everyone else?

This got me to thinking...usually a dangerous thing, I'll admit. Is there some sort of Arizona or Phoenix statute that if you have a sign on your vehicle saying you're not responsible, that actually makes you not responsible? Actually, that sounds more like being irresponsible...which is something different.

To take this a step further, if I put a sign on my car saying, "Not responsible if I run over bicyclists", can I then go out and take aim at everyone riding a bike and suffer no consequences?

You forgot to state the part that says "stay back at 100 feet" If something was to fly out the back of the truck, that's plenty of room for you to dodge it. The way insurance companies work now days, you'd be partly responsible for following too close.
The way people tailgate around here I wish I was able to put this sign up behind my truck. Just like old times...

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by Disabledveteran1

You forgot to state the part that says "stay back at 100 feet" If something was to fly out the back of the truck, that's plenty of room for you to dodge it. The way insurance companies work now days, you'd be partly responsible for following too close.
The way people tailgate around here I wish I was able to put this sign up behind my truck. Just like old times...

Yep. Nothing wrong with that.

[phxone]

Originally Posted by gbpakrfan

Yesterday I found myself following one of the countless landscaping trucks in our area that haul tree limbs, branches, etc., and I noticed a particularly disturbing/confusing message on the back of the truck. It said, "Not responsible for highway debris". Seriously??

So let me get this straight, Mr.Truckdriver. If tree branches come flying out and litter the road, or hit cars, or cause cars to swerve and cause accidents...you're not responsible? If you're not responsible, then who is? Everyone else?

This got me to thinking...usually a dangerous thing, I'll admit. Is there some sort of Arizona or Phoenix statute that if you have a sign on your vehicle saying you're not responsible, that actually makes you not responsible? Actually, that sounds more like being irresponsible...which is something different.

To take this a step further, if I put a sign on my car saying, "Not responsible if I run over bicyclists", can I then go out and take aim at everyone riding a bike and suffer no consequences?

The sign does not give them immunity. However, it is virtually impossible to win a case against them if debris from the truck causes damage. You have no way to prove that the rock, etc. came from their truck.

[froglipz]

Just because it is on a sign, doesn't mean that it is so! Dash-cam!

[Finger Laker]

Originally Posted by phxone

The sign does not give them immunity. However, it is virtually impossible to win a case against them if debris from the truck causes damage. You have no way to prove that the rock, etc. came from their truck.

No it isn't. They may try to fight you, but if persistent they'll turn it in to their insurance or just pay it

[gbpakrfan]

Originally Posted by Disabledveteran1

You forgot to state the part that says "stay back at 100 feet" If something was to fly out the back of the truck, that's plenty of room for you to dodge it.

First of all, the sign on the back of the truck I was following said nothing about staying back 100 feet. But even if it did, is 100 feet sufficient to dodge something driving highway speeds? Plus, you would most likely have to swerve out of your lane and into an adjoining lane, which would likely cause a collision with another vehicle. Yeah, that 100 foot sign will solve the problem

[autism360]

I think the lesson here is if you are behind a truck loaded with trash that has a stupid sign that says they are not responsible for trash flying out of their truck you must assume there is an equally stupid driver behind the wheel of that truck and get as far away as possible from this accident waiting to happen.