Windshield Crack Caused by a Rock from a Texas Truck – Who Pays?

If the question is "What is Texas known for"? Then the answer might just be good food and bad roads. I don't think there is any argument that some of the best meals you can find are at hole-in-the-wall places in small communities such as Bixby, Cold Springs, Lakeport, and New Deal.  And some of the worst roads you could ever experience will be the roads that you have to take to get to those communities.

What makes Texas roadways so difficult to navigate? It's actually a combination of things. Our unique weather of a lot of rain followed by no rain followed by a lot of rain and then intense heat can really play havoc with the roadbed. While the roadbed is enduring climatic issues there are heavy trucks passing over many of these roadways too. And many of those trucks sling mud and gunk onto the road surface which can lead to even more failures.

And of course, where there are damaged roads there are road repair crews tasked with keeping our streets, highways, and interstates safely passable. But that brings up an interesting question that I have wondered many times. Perhaps you have wondered this as well.

If I am traveling down a Texas roadway and a rock falls off the back of a truck and that rock cracks my windshield, who is responsible for the damage?

You might think this is an open and shut easily adjudicated issue. It's not. There are a lot of factors at play the most important of which is this. Did the rock fall from the truck directly onto your windshield or did it hit the ground and then strike your car?

If it hit the ground then it's road debris and not the fault of the truck. In fact, it's really hard to prove that a rock chipping your windshield is the direct fault of the truck operator. There are rules in place regarding how far you need to stay back from a transport truck. There will have to be proof that the rock actually came from the truck's bed. There will also need to be proof that the truck was overloaded and not packed properly.

So those signs you see on the back of trucks that haul gravel and construction debris that say "Stay back 200 feet", they mean it. It's actually for your own protection because no one wants to deal with a cracked or "starred" windshield.

Can You Drive in Texas With a Cracked Windshield?

The short answer is "yes." The best answer should be "no." Driving with anything that could impede your vision is never good. Often, a small nick, chip, or star in a windshield can be repaired with resin material for little or no cost, and that repair will prevent the rest of the windshield from cracking.

However, according to Texas law, inspectors focus on an area the size of a sheet of notebook paper—literally 8.5 inches by 11 inches—directly in front of the driver's line of sight. If that area is not blemished and cracked, then the windshield could be considered passable for state inspection.

Now if there are other chips and cracks, especially longer cracks that don't impede the driver's ability to see the windshield might still pass an inspection but they usually don't. This is why getting those little nicks and chips repaired quickly is so important. All it takes is a bump in the road or a few hours of intense Louisiana heat for those tiny blemishes to explode into larger cracks and concerns on your windshield.

Another thing to consider, depending on your car insurance deductible you might be able to get your windshield repaired or replaced with minimal out-of-pocket expense to you and your family.