Get this. Just around the corner from my house they are currently building a few hundred new houses.

Just on my way to the bank, pulled out of my drive and drove up the road behind a huge lorry carrying mud n stuff from the building site. I kept my distance from the thing but some stones and mud (not much) fell off the truck and a stone hit the front driver side wing of my S. It made a real loud noise as it bounced off.

Got the trucks reg and details i pulled over to inspect and i have a huge stone ship there now and my car is squeeky clean, there wasnt a mark on it.

Can i force them to pay for the repair? Was gonna go up the site and complain to the site foreman or something.

 

Difficult, one without a witness, I'd have said.

It IS fcuinkg annoying, though!

 

i would go and see the site manager. Tell them exactly what happened and see what their response is. I suspect that they will blame the lorry company, but should give you their details for you to pursue them. Transport companies take this sort of thing quite seriously because if you make a complaint of an incorrectly secured load to VOSA they could loose their operators licence.

 

I have to say this is a very common occurence in Dubai given the sheer amount of construction traffic on the roads here. You often see cars flattened by loads falling off lorries, let alone stone chips!

Also, this creates many punctures as well as there is just so much crap on the roads. I've been hoofing down a free way to suddenly find bags of chippings or cement scattered all over the road with the lorry driver carrying on oblivious.

 

You got no chance of making a claim I'm afraid. You got to find the offending stone, then prove it fell off said truck.

Waste of time persuing it IMO. Sure you can complain, but nothing will come of it.

Just the same as get a stone chip driving up and down the motorway. Just one of those crappy things that occur.

 

if it goes to court. I'm suggesting that he approaches the lorry company in a reasonable manner and see how far he gets. If it is a reasonable company, he may well get a reasonable response.

 

They have a lot at stake. If enough complaints build up against an operator they lose their licence. So talk to the operator and tell them what happened. If they tell you to p*ss off then report them to VOSA. There are rules about moving this type of load and the load must be properly sheeted.
I know a guy who works for a quarry company. They check every truck leaving the quarry to make sure it's properly sheeted and they spray the worst of the crap off the chassis. - Why - becaue they were sick of shelling out money to local motorists for stone damage!

 

I am a demolition insurance broker and see numerous claims for allegations of debris falling from skip lorries etc. This is the tip of the iceberg as most contractors shield these 'small' claims from their insurers/brokers preferring to settle 'in cash' to protect their claims history/frequency (premiums for these 32 tonners can be

 

Mmmmm. I'll need to find a buidling site and lie in wait. The front of my car could do with a respray.

 

You wouldn't believe the number of twats that park directly behind lorries (2cm away) or next to site skips (bonnet under the lip) and are surprised when something happens. (incidentally did you know that if you drive into an unlit skip on a public road it is the owner's fault!) Personally I think there should be an idiot clause where they dont get a penny. TBH most of the time I am on my clients' side - SO many try ons these days.

We even had a guy in an XR3i who entered a 'road closed keep out' and ripped his underside out driving over a pipe crossing the road - contractors insurers paid in full.