I almost got broadsided by a gravel truck that didn't stop or even slow at a t-intersection. I have the plate of the truck but it had no markings to identify the owner. I followed it to a gravel yard with idle truckers and figured I wasn't up to the task. What can I do with a California plate and shaken nerves to report the incident to the truck's owner?

Sixto
MB-less

The police would be the right people to contact, since it's a hit & run. Your insurance carrier as well, they will be the ones to go after the gravel guys.

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

This is one of those times it's good to have friends in law enforcement. If you report it to the local authorities, it's a good chance they can't do anything since there was no collision or (external) damage. If you have a friend in the department, they will keep an eye out and also can get owner information.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Simple=Better, there was no contact between vehicles. I saw early enough that he had no intention of stopping.

Peterbilt going ~20 into the side of a Suburban - would it have toppled me or just made right hand u-turns very easy?

Sixto
MB-less

Ah, I misread. You would probably be looking for a new suburban.

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

You can actually legally pull the owners info from dmv for a small fee. Maybe free. Online or in the office maybe. It's been awhile.

Law Enforcement report, is all you can do.

How much effort are you going to put into tracking down someone who almost did something? Is there even a stop sign at this intersection? I know many rural T intersections here do not have them.

Sure the guy was in the wrong from the description you provided, but if anything this episode should serve to remind that life is short, and can be made shorter. How much of your remaining time do you want to waste in a fruitless chase? Pet a dog. Play with a kid. Hold a woman. Watch a sunset.

MV

drink a favorite beverage

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Sure, all harmless, until.........OTOH:

IF that "friend" in Law Enforcement looks-up the license plate and gives that info to sixto, he or she may be on-the-hook to account for why they did so against department policy - if things come into question at some future time.

That's the potential downside of doing 'favors' for your buds in the outside world. There'll be a trail that will lead to the computer terminal, time, and possibly even the person that did that looking up.

Is the gravel yard a place that sells gravel or does the truck belong to the gravel co?

In any case, if you can get a ICC , DOT or commercial carrier # from the door you can find find the owner from there.

I appreciate being told what my employees do with my trade name. I'm not out to make a case, I just want them to ensure their liability policy is current. I want to do *them* a favor.

I couldn't get close enough to the door to note that information. I followed the truck to the driveway of the gravel depot but it looked like nowhere I belong. I pulled around to the chain fence on the main road from where I could see the truck parked, at least a truck with a front plate matching the rear plate I noted, but it was too far for my phone on full zoom to read anything on the door. No markings on the tail end other than the plate. I have a picture of the fellow in dark glasses who emerged from the cab but that's incidental to taking a picture of the truck. He got into a porta-potty by the fence. Suburban, tow line, porta-potty... it was too tempting



My scared face is burned into the chrome bumper of that Peterbilt

Sixto
MB-less

CSI: Gravel truck edition

We return to our glorious hero, sixto, as he is almost turned into the condiment in a Chevy Suburban sandwich as he dodges another harrowing brush with death and a gravel truck. Since it was the third time this week that a gravel truck had attempted to dispatch him, he became increasingly suspicious of the true intentions of the truck driver and any connections that he might have to his evil archnemesis, Dr. BMW. Though sixto had sold his 87 300D to Pick 'n' Pull earlier in the year, the evil Dr. BMW still held a grudge against him for all the help that he provided to keep other 'Benzes on the road. Sixto was not about to let him get away with attempted murder again, and so he set in pursuit of the gravel truck.

The gravel truck driver was no dimwit, however, and so he soon noticed that he was being followed by sixto's Suburban. He leaned hard on the accelerator, calling out the window, "LET THIS SMOKE GET IN YOUR EYES!" Unfortunately for the gravel truck driver, if there was one thing sixto was used to, it was diesel smoke in his eyes, and so he maintained pursuit. Soon, they were tearing through residential neighborhoods at speeds in excess of 45 MPH, scaring old ladies, cars, and even cabbies.

They quickly headed onto the highway, where the gravel truck driver proved to have a sidekick who began firing machine gun fire on our hero. Summoning with all his might the driving skills he had picked up from watching Chuck Norris movies, sixto managed to dodge the bullets while firing back with an M16 that he kept in the glovebox for just such occasions. Unfortunately, one of the bullets struck sixto's right-front tire, rendering his steed disabled because sixto didn't want to spend money on a new rim. He whipped his mighty steed to the shoulder while dispatching a couple of RPGs to the gravel truck driver in farewell. Though our hero was a master of all things automotive and could change a tire in 20 seconds, it appeared that all was lost. Or was it...?

After changing his tire, he got back on the road and noticed a big clue: a trail of gravel! One of his RPGs had met it's mark, opening up a hole in the truck and causing it to leave a trail of gravel leading to the where-ever the truck was headed! Hoping that the truck had a full load of gravel, our hero pressed on. Soon, he was off the highway, in a business district and then in the suburbs, following the telling trail of gravel. Unfortunately for our hero, the trail of gravel slowly began to thin out before outright disappearing! Was the trail gone? The chase lost? The RPGs fired for nothing?

No! As sixto was just getting ready to turn back home, he noticed a break in the bushes on the side of the road! Cleverly concealing his Suburban behind a small garden shed that managed to hide almost half of the massive front grille, he snuck up through the bushes to spot his target: the gravel truck! As the driver emerged, a tall, muscular man with dark sunglasses, and an unscrupulous mustache and general appearance, sixto snapped a couple of pictures of the driver and the truck, also memorizing the driver's license plate. The driver then proceeded to enter a porta-potty, from which he never emerged. With this additional element added to the mystery, sixto felt like he had been left with more questions than answers; however, at least he had a clue to the truck driver's identity: a license plate. Could he find the owner through this bit of information? Or would Dr. BMW's henchman evade our hero once more?



To be continued....

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I should really get back to work now.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

If he hustled over to a porta-biff chances are he had an urgent reason to be distracted.

Id let it go. Sometimes people completely forget things like stop signs, and maybe it scared him too if he realized he almost hit you.

Just the other day i puttered right through a red light driving a fully loaded shuttle at my part time job. I was on autopilot because ive done the route and gone through that light properly 4 thousand times, and was too late to brake (and it was only a left turn light for the opposite direction with no cars coming, not an intersection) but the mistake scared me and im far more careful about not zoning out.

The guys probably been to that gravel yard hundreds of times and could have been on autopilot

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