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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — It is one of those frustrations for drivers, when a rock hits and chips your windshield.
With all of the construction going on in Eagle Mountain, with new homes and the Facebook data center, heavy dump trucks are always driving along the roads and residents have complained, saying they keep getting rock chips from unsecured loads of gravel.
“These guys are going from sunup to sundown, and sometimes seven days a week,” said trooper Jeff Toney, with the Utah Highway Patrol.
Toney works to enforce commercial truck regulations. And with two gravel pits nearby, state Route 73 is a busy place. In just a few minutes with Toney, he easily found a truck that was hauling gravel illegally.
“She is up above her side rails and knows she can’t be without the tarp on, and the tarp is broken,” he said.
Toney said the majority of trucks do follow regulation and cover their load if the gravel is visible.
“Just like this guy here: He's got his side dump and he's got it covered up, and he’s good to go,” he pointed out.
But if you are following a truck and can see the gravel, Toney says it is best to keep a distance.
“We know it happens out there. I mean, for the most part these truckers, they do pretty good about keeping their load secure. But we know they lose loads, get too much load on, go too fast getting out of the yard from load to load. So ... if you do see it, let us know,” he said.
Troopers say if you do get a rock chip, get the information from the truck so you can file a claim.
