So a couple of weeks ago my family was on a trip from NC to Glacier MT. We had just left the Billings MT KOA and was on Hwy 3. There was my wife and I in our 2021 Ford Expedition behind me was my brother in law in a 2500 Ram pulling a 32 ft travel trailer and behind them my father in-law driving a 34 ft RV as well as someone else with a truck pulling a camper. We were on this road just outside of billings. Its a long pretty straight open two lane road. Speed limit is 50 mph on the stretch I was on.
I was in the front of our group no one else in sight in front of me running around the speed limit at the time when I noticed a newer Audi SUV come out around of the the RV in the back and into the on coming lane to pass but I noticed hes moving at a high rate of speed makes it to my vehicle pretty quickly cuts us off ( because of oncoming traffic) I had to apply brakes and proceeds to keeping going in what I estimated was 90+ mph since we were passed like we were sitting still and the amount of distance he made up so quickly passing everyone at the same time. When he passed he threw a roster tail of rocks up and my vehicle was hit with what sounded like 20 plus rocks I fully expected to see my head lights busted it sounded that bad.
Stunned for a moment I looked at my window and saw 3 chips and one with cracks later I would find out I had 5 total on my window with 2 that had cracks all in the center from top to bottom almost in a perfect line. After I realize this I try to catch up to the guy and get the plate number and also call MT highway patrol to report the driver for reckless and careless driving resulting in damage to my vehicle. A couple of miles down the road he slowed down to around 65-70 and I was finally able to get pictures of his car and tag. It surprised him to see me catch up to him and see me behind him taking some pictures so he pulled over pretty quick which surprised me because I was not trying to get him to pull over. He got out of his car and asked what was the problem I told him what he had done passing us at 90+ mph he says "yeah thats how we drive around here. I can tell your now from around here" ( like being from NC I have never heard that before) he stated this several times and says that he doesnt like following behind anyone especially trucks. He apologized for his speed and apologized for the damage he caused but said he was late for a meeting in Great Falls that he was a (heavy equipment sales man ect. had a short conversation and he was pretty nice at the time saying several times he would pay for it) and that if followed him there he would pay for the damages but he was late for his meeting. I was on the phone with the Highway patrol and they advised me to just get his insurance information and that it would be best for me to file a claim with his insurance. I told him I was on vacation and I had not been able to fully inspect my window being we were on the side of the road with traffic passing and that would be out of the way it was 1hr 30mins away. And that I would just need his insurance info and I would file a claim and they could pay for it to be fixed once I got home he agreed and gave me his insurance info. Well I file a claim and of course the tells his progressive agent the story and everything matches but he now says he was only going 5mph over the speed limit when he passed everyone and he doesn't feel he is responsible now. He also told his progressive agent he had agreed to pay for the damages but has changed is mind now. The agent tells me that if he was driving at a high rate of speed like I had said 90+ and that he admitted to me he was if I could prove that they would pay for the damage. I only have my word and my wife's and the others in our party about the speed but the Agent has declined to speak to anyone else several times he doesn't care there was witnesses. He later calls me back and tells me the spoke to the Montana state patrol and that his customer is not responsible for any rocks that come up off the road. He didn't mention the careless or reckless driving to them so he tells me since the highway patrol told him his customer is not responsible they were going to deny the claim but said if his customer told him to pay it that they would but that he changed his mind on that now.
Do I have any recourse on this does the Montana laws on careless driving not apply? Does it really not matter I have witnesses or that he had agreed to pay for the damages? Normally I wouldn't care about the damage to my window but this guy was driving like an idiot , admitted it to me and agreed to pay. And the progressive agent knows he admitted to agreeing to pay for the damage he told me he did when I asked him about it and I have it recorded he admitted everything to the agent just not the speed. Says he can only do what his customer wants him to do about the claim and that he never reviewed with a progressive lawyer and was just going by what the state patrol told him. And that his customers word carries more weight than mine or witnesses because he is their customer.
I was in the front of our group no one else in sight in front of me running around the speed limit at the time when I noticed a newer Audi SUV come out around of the the RV in the back and into the on coming lane to pass but I noticed hes moving at a high rate of speed makes it to my vehicle pretty quickly cuts us off ( because of oncoming traffic) I had to apply brakes and proceeds to keeping going in what I estimated was 90+ mph since we were passed like we were sitting still and the amount of distance he made up so quickly passing everyone at the same time. When he passed he threw a roster tail of rocks up and my vehicle was hit with what sounded like 20 plus rocks I fully expected to see my head lights busted it sounded that bad.
Stunned for a moment I looked at my window and saw 3 chips and one with cracks later I would find out I had 5 total on my window with 2 that had cracks all in the center from top to bottom almost in a perfect line. After I realize this I try to catch up to the guy and get the plate number and also call MT highway patrol to report the driver for reckless and careless driving resulting in damage to my vehicle. A couple of miles down the road he slowed down to around 65-70 and I was finally able to get pictures of his car and tag. It surprised him to see me catch up to him and see me behind him taking some pictures so he pulled over pretty quick which surprised me because I was not trying to get him to pull over. He got out of his car and asked what was the problem I told him what he had done passing us at 90+ mph he says "yeah thats how we drive around here. I can tell your now from around here" ( like being from NC I have never heard that before) he stated this several times and says that he doesnt like following behind anyone especially trucks. He apologized for his speed and apologized for the damage he caused but said he was late for a meeting in Great Falls that he was a (heavy equipment sales man ect. had a short conversation and he was pretty nice at the time saying several times he would pay for it) and that if followed him there he would pay for the damages but he was late for his meeting. I was on the phone with the Highway patrol and they advised me to just get his insurance information and that it would be best for me to file a claim with his insurance. I told him I was on vacation and I had not been able to fully inspect my window being we were on the side of the road with traffic passing and that would be out of the way it was 1hr 30mins away. And that I would just need his insurance info and I would file a claim and they could pay for it to be fixed once I got home he agreed and gave me his insurance info. Well I file a claim and of course the tells his progressive agent the story and everything matches but he now says he was only going 5mph over the speed limit when he passed everyone and he doesn't feel he is responsible now. He also told his progressive agent he had agreed to pay for the damages but has changed is mind now. The agent tells me that if he was driving at a high rate of speed like I had said 90+ and that he admitted to me he was if I could prove that they would pay for the damage. I only have my word and my wife's and the others in our party about the speed but the Agent has declined to speak to anyone else several times he doesn't care there was witnesses. He later calls me back and tells me the spoke to the Montana state patrol and that his customer is not responsible for any rocks that come up off the road. He didn't mention the careless or reckless driving to them so he tells me since the highway patrol told him his customer is not responsible they were going to deny the claim but said if his customer told him to pay it that they would but that he changed his mind on that now.
Do I have any recourse on this does the Montana laws on careless driving not apply? Does it really not matter I have witnesses or that he had agreed to pay for the damages? Normally I wouldn't care about the damage to my window but this guy was driving like an idiot , admitted it to me and agreed to pay. And the progressive agent knows he admitted to agreeing to pay for the damage he told me he did when I asked him about it and I have it recorded he admitted everything to the agent just not the speed. Says he can only do what his customer wants him to do about the claim and that he never reviewed with a progressive lawyer and was just going by what the state patrol told him. And that his customers word carries more weight than mine or witnesses because he is their customer.
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