and hit another vehicle while driving on the highway. Am I at fault. There was no way to get it off the hood of the car as it was frozen on - but I guess as the engine warmed up the hood, it became dislodged and the air flow got under it and launched it up over my car and it partly hit a pickup truck behind me. He followed me off the highway and at a red light, got out of his truck and ran to my window. I told him there was no way I could have removed the ice safely in advance without scraping the car and risking significant damage to my paint etc. You just don't do that sort of thing... Am I at fault? Mind you, I have no idea, and neither did he, whether there was any damage....

 

hmm...what about filing a report to your insurance agency and let them figure it out? I am sure that should be covered under the comprehensive coverage (for the other side)...

 

You probably are at fault to some point, but at the same time, if it hit the guy behind you, it means he was equally at fault for following you too closely. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

I would think that this would be filed sort of like if you hit a tire or something in the road and it bounced back and hit someone. In those cases, typically no one is labelled as being at fault. You definitely have an interesting situation.

-GT

 

You are not at fault, it's like a stone chip, just like GT said.

 

some picky asshole in a focking PU, huh ? so WTF did he want ???

 

It is your responsibility to clean your car before you drive it. We all get lazy. If you hit the ice it will break. If there were no damage to the other car then you should be fine. This is my opion.

 

 

And he shouldn't have been following you too closely.
Tough, but ...

 

I think I asked this question to my insurance company once. I am pretty sure they said you would be at fault, but you can give them a call to find out.

 

Sorry, Im just trying to undertand your statement..

. - Ok,

- Ok, I hear you brother.

- Ok, you first said If you him the ice it will break.

- Ok, you first said If there were damage to the other car then you should be fine. which was the

This is my opion - Opinion

 

Same thing as getting tagged by a rock from a diesel truck on the highway, and cracking the windshield....not sure exactly how, or if the vehicle driver could be held responsible.

I've wondered about that from a legal standpoint...

 

Sorry, but I think it's your fault. If you put a suitcase on top of your car, failed to secure it, and it flew off and cracked someone's radiator, it would be your fault. You're responsible for removing snow/ice from you car.

I've seen sheets of ice tossed impressive distances by the wind while people were driving down the highway, so he wouldn't necessarily have to be riding your tail (though the chances are good, I'm sure). I think claiming that he was tailgating is your best defense.

 

Only responsible if rock fell off of truck, not if rock was on roadway and truck caused it to fly up - that is considered a road hazard.

 

Same concept should hold true for ice or anything else then.

 

My bad. I am having a tough day spelling and typing. 8-o

 

in terms of insurance, i dont think it's your fault, but i do think a car should be completely clean before you drive on the street. that includes ice, glass bottles, babyseat, etc... just my

 

 

It is. For ice on the road. Not on your car. As said above it is your responsibility to clean your car of any debris before moving it. By not moving it you are creating a hazardous condition for others on the road.

 

hmmm....a wide variety of opinions here. I'm gonna call my insurance adjuster friend and see what he thinks.

In the end, we didn't exchange any info etc. And, as I said earlier, I'm not sure if there was any damage to his truck. I think most of the ice hit the windshield.

My gut feeling after thinking about this some more is that I likely bear some responsibility. I know I need to clear the car of any'loose debri' - snow ice whatever...but this was not 'loose' at the time of my driving. The ice on the hood of the car was practically welded on. Only after the engine warmed up the hood for 15 minutes or so of driving did it come off. The only way I could have removed it would have been to: a) taken my scraper - not a good move for the paint obviously b) waited until it melted off (days???) c) used some sort of de-icer (not even sure this is practical.....d) in retrospect, I could have let the car warm up for several minutes and then seen if the ice would have come off.

I think answer d is what I'll do in the future.

 

A good wax coat will tend to help prevent ice from sticking that badly. I have always found it very useful and important to make sure my car's paint is especially well protected in a harsh winter environment. (Actually, in any harsh environment.)

 

blame nature

 

Well... It is LEGAL to let water drip from your vehicle when u are driving. And snow/ice is but water.

 

You can pour hot water over the ice. It will melt it instantly with no damage.

 

You can stab someone to death with a good sturdy icicle... is that the same as pouring a glass of water on them??

 

lol no it won't

 

You know what, unless this guy has a witness to prove the ice came from YOUR car, he has no case whatsoever. If the ins co calls you just tell them you have no idea what the guy was talking about when he confronted you. Then just tell them the ice didnt come from your car. How the hell can anyone prove that it did??

Also, I know someone that works in accounting for a large concrete co. They do not use insurance for damaged windows. All you need to do is just call the company, tell them that one of your trucks flung a rock and cracked your window on this road at this time and they will cut you a check for repairs. He said it happens often.

 

Have you ever tried it? I have done this many times. The ice will melt.

 

I've seen many people try to melt ice with glasses or buckets of water only to have them freeze and add more ice to the problem.

 

You are wrong. I have done this. It works.

 

i hope you're not using boiling water though.. rapid expansion of paint in freezing temps can't be good...

 

Running hot water.

 

eh, you've seen it work I've seen it make the problem worse.

 

pour some cold water on it.

 

:padlock:

 

Come on Guys!!!!! Any significant piece of ice that would do damage should be heavy enough to fall behind the car quickly. That dude was following too closely and got pissed when his bad habit bit him in the ass. You should have told him to stay out of your trunk and back off. It figures he was driving an F150. It's about time people take a little responsibility for their actions........Geeeeeeeezzzzzzzz!

 

I don't think he would have been able to prove in court that the ice came from your car. You could just deny it. Nice thing about ice is that the evidence melts!

 

I hear an echo...

 

Maybe you Boston folks have a different kind of water that doesn't freeze in the cold...

 

I'm not sure if it'll damage your car much (as I've only done this on a car that has fairly bad swirl marks on it already--so I can't really tell), but if you give the ice a good whack with the *brush* side of the snowbrush, it usually shatters the ice and lifts it off the surface (either that, or you could open the hood and give it a bit of a slam--doing that to the trunk usually works too). The idea is to make the surface flex a bit to make the ice remove itself from the surface of the car. I'd theorize that as long as you didn't let the shattered ice slide around too much, you shouldn't be in too much trouble. However, I could always be wrong--but I think I'm fairly observant, and haven't noticed any damage......

For the record, I don't believe you should be held totally accountable for the incident. At least you aren't like some of us Canadians that drive around with a foot of snow on the car with only the windshield and side windows cleaned off (foot of snow still on the damn rear window). You made a concerted effort to clean your car as best you could before setting off.

Why can't they design some sort of forcefield!!??