What can I do?

Icdean86

New Member
Hit wires with 13'2 load and catching the blame. Help!

So a couple of months back I pulled out of a bus repair garage with a bus bound for the torch. Before leaving I got out the height stick and measured to the buses exhaust (the highest point) 13'2. Confident in my under legal height measurement I pulled on to the road. After a mile I had a left turn that was fairly tight so most of my attention was on my swing and keeping my trailer out of the ditch. As I started to pull away I felt a tug and looked back to see Fios wires roll over the exhaust tip and fall to the ground. The line wiped down the road coming off of every pole until it found an old one and snapped it.
So now the insurance company wants to drop me from the company insurance because they would rather settle then fight the phone company. This will keep me from my plans of going solo or finding another job in trucking.

How can I fight this?
 
Hit wires with 13'2 load and catching the blame. Help!

So a couple of months back I pulled out of a bus repair garage with a bus bound for the torch. Before leaving I got out the height stick and measured to the buses exhaust (the highest point) 13'2. Confident in my under legal height measurement I pulled on to the road. After a mile I had a left turn that was fairly tight so most of my attention was on my swing and keeping my trailer out of the ditch. As I started to pull away I felt a tug and looked back to see Fios wires roll over the exhaust tip and fall to the ground. The line wiped down the road coming off of every pole until it found an old one and snapped it.
So now the insurance company wants to drop me from the company insurance because they would rather settle then fight the phone company. This will keep me from my plans of going solo or finding another job in trucking.

How can I fight this?

Should of kept on driving man. :shift:
 
Get detailed specs on the bus.
Prove that it wasn't over height on your trailer.
Were you ticketed???
 
The one detail missing, is, what kind of street were you on?

I did deliveries in residential areas for a while, and having to watch for low power lines and tree limbs was considered our responsibility.

Comes down to whether the lines were required to be 13'6" or not, but even then, you are still in a position of responsibility to avoid these situations. Not saying I wouldn't have made the same mistake, as nobody is perfect, but not really sure how you are going to be able to help yourself in this situation.
 
Check out the National Electric Code, and the state that it happened in, should have its own public utility code. There will be minimum heights listed that utility companies need to meet. Usually cable and phone lines are the lowest hung as they pay the power companies to use their poles
 
Hit wires with 13'2 load and catching the blame. Help!

So a couple of months back I pulled out of a bus repair garage with a bus bound for the torch. Before leaving I got out the height stick and measured to the buses exhaust (the highest point) 13'2. Confident in my under legal height measurement I pulled on to the road. After a mile I had a left turn that was fairly tight so most of my attention was on my swing and keeping my trailer out of the ditch. As I started to pull away I felt a tug and looked back to see Fios wires roll over the exhaust tip and fall to the ground. The line wiped down the road coming off of every pole until it found an old one and snapped it.
So now the insurance company wants to drop me from the company insurance because they would rather settle then fight the phone company. This will keep me from my plans of going solo or finding another job in trucking.

How can I fight this?
are you sure the bus did not have rooftop escape hatches..???

are you sure the bus did not have rooftop a/c's..??

all the busses i have seen, have the exhaust at the top corner of the rear, built in, not standing above the roofline.

this will most certainly go on your record, most likely it is also on a police report too.

which means it's an accident, where you "topped" the load.

like in this pic, the exhaust is in the corner, about roofline level, not far above....

(actual pic of my state public bus)

1541361019391.png
 
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I knew it had to be cable wires you hit even before I read your post. Hydro wires and even cable wires do have a minimum height they should be strung at but, sometimes the cable companies just string up some wires below that height. I am not sure if they are meant to be temporary.
When I was working in moving the drivers would pull down wires and all he said was they were not high enough in the first place.
 
Yes, there is a minimum street clearance required. I took down a cable line once, myself. I looked to see where the cable went, knocked on the door and apologized to the lady for taking out her TV and then called the cable company myself. They told me don't worry about it, it's just a line drop and that line needed to be raised anyway, they'd be right out. I told the lady what they said and went on my way.

But I stopped as soon as I realized I had dropped a line.

IcDean86, sounds like, didn't stop and took out an entire neighborhood from pole to pole to pole until the line finally just broke. I think he's hosed.
 
Thank you guys for your input. To paint more of a picture I will add some detail.

The exhaust was the highest point (not the hatches, I measured them also) and is what snagged the cable. I measured again after and it bent the exhaust to down to 13.1.

This road has two construction company's , an auto salvage yard and has the bus company that we serve. There a not a single NO Truck signs on either.

I found out that a tree had fell on it a few day prior and that the boro not Verison put the line back up.

I only hit one line at a T intersection but it caused a chain reaction taking the line off of other poles.

Thank you all again for the input. It looks like I have no choice but to take this to court.
 
Thank you guys for your input. To paint more of a picture I will add some detail.

The exhaust was the highest point (not the hatches, I measured them also) and is what snagged the cable. I measured again after and it bent the exhaust to down to 13.1.

This road has two construction company's , an auto salvage yard and has the bus company that we serve. There a not a single NO Truck signs on either.

I found out that a tree had fell on it a few day prior and that the boro not Verison put the line back up.

I only hit one line at a T intersection but it caused a chain reaction taking the line off of other poles.

Thank you all again for the input. It looks like I have no choice but to take this to court.

Hope all is well. Sorry that happened to you. But, court is usually the last and final resort. I probably would seek another alternative. Don't see how you would have the upper hand by taking yourself to court. This is what insurance companies are for. Something is not right when an employer doesn't want to include the insurance company especially when it occurred during work hours. I recommend you think some more on this before going the legal route.
 
Thank you guys for your input. To paint more of a picture I will add some detail.

The exhaust was the highest point (not the hatches, I measured them also) and is what snagged the cable. I measured again after and it bent the exhaust to down to 13.1.

This road has two construction company's , an auto salvage yard and has the bus company that we serve. There a not a single NO Truck signs on either.

I found out that a tree had fell on it a few day prior and that the boro not Verison put the line back up.

I only hit one line at a T intersection but it caused a chain reaction taking the line off of other poles.

Thank you all again for the input. It looks like I have no choice but to take this to court.
i think that if Verizon can verify that the line was downed by the tree, and the town put it back up, then you may be in the clear for any wrong doings.

no telling though, what you ripped out, like the verizon fios connection panel on the poles and strung cabling, house wirings, etc.

yes, this is what insurance is for, i also believe the town will be held blameless as well.

i think verizon can get this done on thier insurance as well, for weather related damages.

let us know, what happens.
 
Imho, the tree pulling it down and VZ not being the one to put it back is your best thing. If you measured, and somehow have proof of that this shouldn't even have been an issue.
 
i think that if Verizon can verify that the line was downed by the tree, and the town put it back up, then you may be in the clear for any wrong doings.

no telling though, what you ripped out, like the verizon fios connection panel on the poles and strung cabling, house wirings, etc.

yes, this is what insurance is for, i also believe the town will be held blameless as well.

i think verizon can get this done on thier insurance as well, for weather related damages.

let us know, what happens.

Usually companies and organization stay out of things like this. They only let their own insurance companies handle anything related. I think, he is going to be held responsible for insurance purposes. His own company are the crooks for not helping him out and doing the right thing. :order:
 

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