Drivers fighting to keep loose gravel off roads
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REDMOND, Wash. -- Loose gravel on freeways can damage cars and make for a frightening driving experience, and now there's a move afoot to try to make our roads free from gravel.
Drivers on Union Hill Road say debris falling from gravel trucks is a common -- and dangerous -- problem, and one that they want to stop.
Jeff Henshaw rides his motorcycle to work every day on a route frequented by gravel trucks.
"I will get hit at least three or four times a week by a piece of loose gravel coming off the back of the truck," he said.
Like many other drivers, Henshaw is fed up with the hazard.
"I've come home with either two, three or four inch bruises from pieces of gravel hitting me either on the legs, had it hit me on the face, I've had chips out of my helmets," he said.
In an effort to get to the bottom of the problem, Henshaw followed several trucks to a local asphalt plant. He wanted the owners to require all the trucks coming into the plant to cover their loads.
"(The owner) argued that the trucks were legal as they were. He argued that the gravel was too big to fly out," Henshaw said.
That's when Henshaw ran head first into the ambiguity in state law.
According to the state, any road that has material that can come loose and fly out must be covered or secured, but gravel trucks don't have to be covered, no matter how high it's piled, as long as the sides of the load sit six inches below the truck's side panels.
Representatives from both Cadman Gravel and the asphalt plant said they require their drivers to cover all their loads, but they said they have no control over other trucking companies they do business with.
Henshaw now wants to change the law.
"What I would like to see done is any vehicle with loose material in the back needs to be covered," he said.
Robin Able's daughter, Maria Federici, nearly died 8 years ago when an unsecured load crashed through her windshield. After the accident, Able succeeded in getting the law changed. The new law -- named after Federici -- forced stiffer penalties for unsecured loads and possible criminal charges if someone is injured.
"I know there's broken windshields every single day. I've talked to people who have had rocks the size of their fist come through," Abel said.
She's now working to get that last legal ambiguity cleared up, which would require all gravel trucks to be covered.
"We'll get it through Olympia, get those gravel trucks covered," she said.
Abel said the gravel and construction industry is now in favor of requiring gravel loads to be covered, so she expects the legislation to pass during the next session without a hitch.
Drivers on Union Hill Road say debris falling from gravel trucks is a common -- and dangerous -- problem, and one that they want to stop.
Jeff Henshaw rides his motorcycle to work every day on a route frequented by gravel trucks.
"I will get hit at least three or four times a week by a piece of loose gravel coming off the back of the truck," he said.
Like many other drivers, Henshaw is fed up with the hazard.
"I've come home with either two, three or four inch bruises from pieces of gravel hitting me either on the legs, had it hit me on the face, I've had chips out of my helmets," he said.
In an effort to get to the bottom of the problem, Henshaw followed several trucks to a local asphalt plant. He wanted the owners to require all the trucks coming into the plant to cover their loads.
"(The owner) argued that the trucks were legal as they were. He argued that the gravel was too big to fly out," Henshaw said.
That's when Henshaw ran head first into the ambiguity in state law.
According to the state, any road that has material that can come loose and fly out must be covered or secured, but gravel trucks don't have to be covered, no matter how high it's piled, as long as the sides of the load sit six inches below the truck's side panels.
Representatives from both Cadman Gravel and the asphalt plant said they require their drivers to cover all their loads, but they said they have no control over other trucking companies they do business with.
Henshaw now wants to change the law.
"What I would like to see done is any vehicle with loose material in the back needs to be covered," he said.
Robin Able's daughter, Maria Federici, nearly died 8 years ago when an unsecured load crashed through her windshield. After the accident, Able succeeded in getting the law changed. The new law -- named after Federici -- forced stiffer penalties for unsecured loads and possible criminal charges if someone is injured.
"I know there's broken windshields every single day. I've talked to people who have had rocks the size of their fist come through," Abel said.
She's now working to get that last legal ambiguity cleared up, which would require all gravel trucks to be covered.
"We'll get it through Olympia, get those gravel trucks covered," she said.
Abel said the gravel and construction industry is now in favor of requiring gravel loads to be covered, so she expects the legislation to pass during the next session without a hitch.
I've replaced 2 windshields at an out-of-pocket cost of a few hundred dollars for my deductible. Both cases were rocks flying from the top of an uncovered gravel truck on I90 and I5. Why should we the public have to pay for the negligence of these companies? How hard is it to quickly pull the covers on the these trucks? It's about time Olympia passed the second part of this law.
About damn time! I never understand why "cover your load" does not seem to apply to dump trunks!!!
If you follow these trucks close enough, the rocks will fall harmlessly onto the hood of your vehicle... Us motorcycle riders are still hosed though... cause it will still fall on us....LOL
@Mr. H Thats why I wear a full face helmet. Those riders that use open helmets with only sunglasses are nuts.
Gravel does not normally come out of the dump beds on dump trucks. Most gravel comes from the tire tread of trucks and cars that have been on gravel roads. The gravel is flung from the treads at a high velocity and can even across the median into oncoming traffic. I have noticed in my own driving habits that by increasing the following distance between my vehicle and those in front of me, the incident rate of my car being struck by foreign objects dramatically reduces. Just an observation, but there seems to me to be an awful lot of drivers who do not adhere to the 2-second rule. The other day I saw a car with a license plate ring that said " I brake for tail-gaters" following the car in front of it very close. LOL
Ya got that right. I have more windshield DINGS on my vehicles than I wish. I got tired of changing out my glass. The windshield on my motorhome was hit by a rock, flung from a "cowboy" pickup with huge "mudders" on it, some cute young lady driving it on I-5 South out of Mt Vernon, Wa. Pissed me off. $890.00 piece of glass. Was less than a year old. Two second rule didn't help. I was at least 6 seconds behind when I saw rocks bouncing off the road, coming from her treads. Wrote down her license plate & passenger took pictures. Not sure why. I had the dime sized chip "sealed" but it's still visible. This is a drag when you save your money for years to get a cool rig then some uneducated bimbo takes the mud tires on the interstate.
I also ride a large Harley motorcycle and have had rocks bounce off my windshield.
Gotta have our lawmakers take a look at this tire-tread issue. They can pry the stones from their tread with a screwdriver  or  plyers before hitting the highways and flinging it all over innocent drivers.
Living in Bonney Lake I deal with this issue quite often-CORLISS. I have more than a dozen dings in my current windshield because of them. They NEED to pass a law requiring trucks carrying gravel/sand/dirt/rocks etc not only have a cover on them but a way to stop the material they are carrying from coming out of the gap at the bottom.Â
I've had that happen on the Maple Valley Highway. Rock must've flown off a passing truck and dinked the windshield. Very small but it was so small, it scared the absolute crap out of me! Took about 20 minutes or so before I completely recovered!
They do need to be covered, but something also needs to be done about the dirt and rocks that come out the bottom. I was two lanes away and a couple hundred feet behind a truck full of dirt on I-5 today and the air turbulence across the top of the load was blowing the dirt all over the place and hitting my car. Not as bad as rocks, but still needs to be covered.
there might be a law requiring people to secure their loads, but I'll bet most of the people in the state don't know about it and I have yet to see a cop pull someone over for having furniture, balls and bikes in their pickup bed, sofas, lawnmowers and loose wood on their flatbed homemade trailers, and "contractors" with loads of building debris and nails.
I've got a cracked windshield right now after following a dump truck a couple weeks ago - and I was following at fairly long distance precisely to avoid that outcome.
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There's no reason on God's green earth that these guys should not be required to cover their loads. A good canvas tarp costs half as much as a windshield.
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@Mountainguy .. Except you have to pay for your windshield, and they have to pay for the tarp.. The law needs to be changed to make them liable for the damage done by rocks and stuff coming off of their vehicle.. the problem is proving it came off their vehicle..
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Covering the load does little with regard to gravel. A mechanism/device to catch the debris that falls through the cracks of the dump trucks at the bottom will signficantly curb the problem. If you examine the dump trucks very carefully, the gravel isn't flying out over the top as much as every little road imperfection is enough shake some gravel out from the bottom. If you watch dump trucks leave a construction site, watch the bottom of the trailer as it rolls off a curb, more than a handful of gravel falls out through the bottom. Give it a look.
my buddy's step-aunt makes $61 every hour on the computer. She has been out of a job for 6 months but last month her pay check was $17346 just working on the computer for a few hours. Read more on this site
http://www.LazyCash49.com
I bought a brand new car this summer. After owning it for 7 miles, a chunk of rock the size of a softball went through my windshield, after flying out of the back of a dump truck. Good thing I was alone in the car, because the rock landed on my passenger seat.
Improperly contained loads in transit have assisted the lawbreakers in killing MANY Americans to date. So then what's the big plan for active interdiction that we are going to see? Oh yeah. The companies with the big city, county, and state projects getting speeding passes and uncovered load passes as usual while the small jobbers pay the way.
I'm all for it. I ride a motorcycle and have been sand blasted by gravel trucks on the freeway.Â
Well I have had my truck and car windows hit by rocks and there were no trucks in site. A rock sitting on the road and hit on its edge, compressed by a fast moving tire, will shoot off like a bullet.
"(The owner) argued that the trucks were legal as they were. He argued that the gravel was too big to fly out," Henshaw said.
Henshaw must be a republican, doesn't beleave in facts. I average a windshield a year. We had a truck filled with sand, sand blasting us on I-5. If a pick must cover thier to the dump, then a dump truck should cover thier load plowing down I-5. And yes Mr. Henshaw, gravel can fly out of your trucks!
 @snoopy84 Let me get this straight....Because he (the owner of the company, NOT Henshaw) didn't think that the gravel could fly out of the truck, you believe that he is a republican? You, sir, are rediculous.
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I believe that since your picture has a man with gray hair, you must be colorblind. That makes just as much sense as your comment.
 @Smashquail  @snoopy84 And you don't know how to spell ridiculous!
 @snoopy84 Henshaw is the motorcycle rider, recounting the conversation with the owner of the gravel company (who was unnamed) who claimed that gravel was too large to fly out of the back of trucks.
Tailgators!! Â You see them everywhere!!
 @None Speaking from experience?
 @None Tailgating nothing. I had a rock about the size of a golf ball hit my windshield from about 6 seconds away from a truck. But yes, some follow to close.Â
@Alaska316 at six seconds at 60 miles per hour that is less then a a full car length for stopping distance.
 @wynooheeman Going 60 mph for 6 seconds, you cover 528 feet. That's quite a bit more than a full car length. Unless of course you drive an aircraft carrier.
Cops could always follow the trucks and pull them over for simple littering. 'Course it could take up to half an hour to properly investigate each truck and the spilled litter. Two cops working together on a well-traveled route could probably get half a dozen trucks or more all sidelined somewhere for 30-60 minutes at a time. Call it well-deserved harassment. Redmond cops might actually enjoy it!
Thank you! And you know what else -- Bike Paths too! I'm on my fourth flat this year so far thanks to all the debris on the paths, roads and sidewalks. Broken glass, gravel and asphalt. All over Washington. Can't we demand that trucks "cover their load" ?!
I always thought it was against the law to have an unsecured load on the freeway. Why should big trucks carrying gravel be any different?!
I have watchd a rock sail out of the back of one of these trucks 2 lanes over and hit my windshield. You dont have to tailgate to get hit. I have been hit by a rock out of a truck that was already over the crest of a hill. You dont have to tailgate to get hit. Over the last nine years I have replaced four windshields, countless motorcycle helmet shields and nursed several large bruises from rocks out of these trucks. Its about time for these companies to get their act together and do the right thing.
About time. There was gravel all over the roads in the Three Lakes area. I also hate when they chip seal the roads.
@Hachee_Bungwhy I hate having to pay for recapping a hyw in 7 years if they don't chip seal it and drive the 35 MPH when they do so rocks don't fly!
 @Hachee_Bungwhy I hate scrubbing tar off my truck after chip sealing.
I just got hit in the face TODAY by a rock from one of those truck on the freeway!! I was on my motorcycle, it damn near knocked me senseless, I agree they need to cover those loads, I wasn't even in the same lane and was a ways back, I was ready to hurt someone but had to talk myself down...
I've never understood why the gravel trucks have those rolled covers but don't use them. Â Not every truck has one but when they do they don't seem to ever use them. Â Requiring loads to be covered won't stop all rock damage but it will go a long way to cutting it down. Â
Good deal! I'm tired of rock chips on my windshield.
This has always been a problem here. Nothing like getting rocks tossed by overpaid lazy dump truck drivers into your face to ruin your day. Unless a cop pulls you over for hauling butt to pass said jerk (but getting off when the trooper heard my story - but I had to pass said jerk AGAIN).
 @nkroadcaptain Why are they lazy?
I had a mud flap hit my windshield square on the other day on I-5. Left paint smears all over the windshield. Didn't know what it was until I reviewed my dash cam. It's like going to war every day trying to get to work and home safely.Â
 @Joe You have a "dash cam"?
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 @Joe I got hit by a pool ball size rock from a truck and it was quite a ways in front of me in another lane...I never tailgate.
 @Joe Don't TAILGATE!
@rockguy @Joe Perhaps you should do your job and cover your load. I continue to be amazed by the lack of commitment to do what it is right.
 @rockguy  @Joe you dont have to tailgate those slow stupid bastards to get rock chips to fly in to you
 @rockguy  @Joe  -- hahaha. That made me laugh. Thanks.
You don't have to tailgate to get hit by loose gravel.
 @LeftisBest No, you can be to the left or right of the gravel trucks and still be hit by loose gravel.
@rockguy @Joe Does'nt matter,those rocks bounce for a long way.
It would be a case of common sense to have any load, regardless of private or commercial purposes. Why are the gravel trucks exempt from this exactly? I think Ive replaced two or three in a six month period from impacts received from gravel trucks. I notice the law says "six inches under the sides" but the mound in the center is well above the sides of the gravel truck walls in the trucks I have seen personally.
Should have been "...Ive replaced two or three windshields in a six month period...." When will we get that edit button, again? Ugh