Windshied falling off cracks some Cadillacs windshield

[sc98cbra]

Hey guys,
So the other day (Thanksgiving) My dad had asked me to get in his truck and carry the golf cart home (about 2 miles away from home). Well… I was leaving the state park, and literally 20 feet from the entrance, I noticed a green Cadillac pretty much intentionally pull behind me. Next thing I know (about 20 more feet later) I see this fool flash his lights at me. I was thinking “What is this idiot doing?” So he finally gets me to pull over and says “Your windshield fell off of your golf cart and chipped my window.” He called the highway patrol and they tried to tell him that the state of SC will replace his windshield for free, but he was too dumb to understand. They filled out some collision paper and told me I have 15 days to turn it into the DMV, or I’ll have my license suspended.

My question is; since he intentionally pulled behind me, knowing that I just pulled out, Can I fight it? Will my insurance go up over a stupid windshield?

 

[Lloyd Xmas]

So did the windshield actually fall off the cart..? If it did then yes you are liable. You mentioned that guy did pull behind you but how was he supposed to know that windshield was going to fall off and hit his car.

 

[sc98cbra]

I believe that he pulled behind me attempting to hit me saying it was my fault and that I pulled out in front of him, but I floored the truck when I seen that he had gotten behind me purposely.

 

[RedRocketMike]

I think you're trying to make this into more than it is. He probably got so close because your windshield hit his car and he was trying to get your attention or your plate number. You really think he would intentially rear end you? You know who is at fault in a rear end collision?

 

[sc98cbra]

I think you're trying to make this into more than it is. He probably got so close because your windshield hit his car and he was trying to get your attention or your plate number. You really think he would intentially rear end you? You know who is at fault in a rear end collision?

I may have worded it wrong. I pull out of the state park. I see a cadi switch into my lane. I floor it to avoid a potential accident. Windshield falls off. Cadi flashes me. I pull over. He calls the HP.

 

[RedRocketMike]

Oh ok, that make more sense now. So you pull out, he gets over a lane for whatever reason, you hammer down to hurry up, and windshield flys off and hits his car. I got it. Well windshields usually aren't too expensive, they can be sometimes. I called my insurance company after a rock cracked my own windshield and they said they would replace but I had to pay a $50 deductable. I asked if my rates would go up and my agent told me I had to get into the thousands before I had to worry about any kind of rate increase.

 

[oldmodman]

It's your father's problem, not yours.
It was his truck and his golf cart. And (I assume) his poor maintenance on the golf cart that caused the windshield to fall off. His insurance company should handle everything. You should not even be involved.

 

[exdeath]

Regardless of him following too closely and possibly avoiding it if he observed proper following distance doesn't really matter; it's like saying a women deserves to be raped because of the clothes she wears. Poor taste in clothes or not, the transgression belongs to the individual who initiated the actual physical crossing of boundaries.

In this case, you had an unrestrained object fly out of your vehicle and cause damage to another persons private property, which makes you and your dad responsible for it.

From what you describe, the person didn't get on your bumper until after the event occurred unknowingly to you and had every right to make contact with you to notify you of the incident and take steps to make sure he is compensated (filing a report, swapping insurance info, etc).

The same can be said for truck drivers hauling gravel, etc. Though it was still an honest accident and nobody is blaming you, it just is what it is. Put yourself in the other position.