Big Rig Drivers on the Hook for Dings, Dents

Snap. Pop. Bang.

You are speeding down the freeway behind a hulking, gravel-hauling big rig and you hear these sounds. They are the sounds of your paint job and windshield being buffeted by tiny rocks hurled from the back of that truck.

In a matter of seconds, your pride and joy--the fuel-injected baby you lovingly wash, wax and shine--has a complexion like the surface of the moon.

This is a fairly common problem. Paint chips and dents caused by flying rocks are responsible for about 5% of California’s $3-billion auto body repair industry, according to experts.

Peter Yoo of Los Angeles has a brand new Audi, and there is nothing he hates more than having some 18-wheeled behemoth spraying his car with gravel. He wrote to Behind the Wheel, wondering if he has any recourse.

Question: “Shouldn’t they be held liable for damage to vehicles following behind?”

Answer: Not only are truckers who let their load spill on other motorists liable for your damage, but they can face fines if they are caught in the act by police.

A 1990 state law requires trucks carrying gravel, sand and other loose materials to cover their loads to protect other motorists.

If your car is being assaulted by one of these gravel-laden trucks, call (800) TELL-CHP (835-5247) and report the culprit. Your insurance can pay for your damage or you can try to identify the owner of the truck and file a claim.

Your chances of getting reimbursed are much better if you jot down the license plate of the truck and the time and place your car came under attack.

A California Highway Patrol spokeswoman, Anne DaVigo, recommends, if the rocks flying from a truck are the size of cantaloupes and threaten to kill someone, that you dial 911 and report it.

Traffic in Southern California is bad enough. We shouldn’t have to add killer boulders to our commuting worries.

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Speaking of debris on the freeways, J. Giorgini of Los Angeles wrote to say that he has solved one of the greatest Southern California mysteries: Who is producing all that garbage that litters the side of our freeways?

He said he was driving behind a garbage truck and looked up to see a hail of debris blowing from the top of the truck, sprinkling drivers and the freeway with cups, fast-food containers and those ubiquitous plastic grocery bags.

Giorgini suggests that the waste management industry is helping to keep itself in business by distributing a good chunk of its inventory on the way to the landfills.

Q: “Am I the only person who has made such observations?”

A: It is probably a pretty common occurrence but if you ask folks in the waste management industry to comment on this, they act as if you are reporting a UFO sighting.

Arnie Berghoff, a spokesman for Browning Ferris Industries, which operates the Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Granada Hills, said the laws of physics prevent a garbage truck from spewing debris on the freeway.

He said the trucks that collect garbage from your home compact the refuse with a hydraulic arm and then pack it into a sealed metal container in the back of the truck before getting on a freeway. Many of these garbage trucks then haul their loads to transfer centers, where the trash is loaded into 18-wheel big rigs and taken to distant landfills. These rigs, like gravel-hauling trucks, are required by law to cover their loads, he said.

But isn’t it possible that some errant trash could blow out of these trucks? “It’s possible but highly unlikely,” Berghoff said. Ah, that’s exactly what the government keeps saying about UFO sightings.

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Continuing on the theme of garbage on the freeways, Rod La Rocque of La Habra wrote to ask why he often sees Caltrans sweepers operating on the freeways at mid-morning and early-afternoon hours. He noted that most cities in Southern California schedule their sweepers to clean city streets before dawn to avoid creating a traffic problem.

Q: “Why can’t Caltrans do the same with the freeways?”

A: According to officials at the California Department of Transportation, routine freeway sweeping is scheduled only for off-peak hours. (Caltrans defines off-peak hours as 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and after 6:30 p.m.)

The exception to this rule is when sweepers are called to clean up after a messy traffic accident.

But a Caltrans spokeswoman, Deborah Harris, said the agency tries to make sure the sweepers are not adding to our worsening traffic congestion. “If a sweeping operation is causing a backup of 15 minutes or more, then the operation is suspended,” she said.

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Edward Elson of Anaheim wrote to say that he has a big problem with the flower plaques installed on the sound walls near the junction of the Garden Grove and San Diego freeways around Garden Grove. To be blunt, Elson thinks the plaques are ugly. What’s more, he wonders if Caltrans is creating a hazard by decorating sound walls with designs that could distract motorists.

Q: “The 85% of drivers who are alone in their vehicles cannot look at them without taking their eyes off the road ahead. So what purpose are they intended to serve in the first place?”

A: The flower plaques you see along the freeway are part of a larger Caltrans effort to build and design sound walls with a bit more aesthetic appeal. Caltrans officials don’t think the flower plaques or any of the sound wall designs will distract anybody.

Maybe Caltrans is simply thinking ahead to 2025, when freeway speeds are expected to drop to 20 mph and motorists will have nothing better to do but gaze at the decorative barriers.

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And finally, demonstrating that it often takes a bit of ingenuity to drive in Southern California, Troy Mitchell of Granada Hills wrote to explain how he resolved an annoying problem that plagues motorists who drive clean-air vehicles.

State law allows solo drivers in nonpolluting vehicles such as electric- and natural gas-powered cars to use the carpool lanes. But the law is not common knowledge.

Mitchell wrote: “I get yelled at, cursed out and flipped off every day by fellow commuters who think I’m breaking the law.”

“My solution to this road rage is a cheesy blow-up doll. She sits next to me in the passenger seat. Now people think I’m crazy but they are not angry anymore.”

Only in L.A.

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If you have a question, gripe or story idea about driving in Southern California, write to Behind the Wheel, c/o Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, or send an e-mail to behindthewheel@latimes.com.