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Needed somewhere to rant about this, just to get it off my chest. I'm in some deep doo-doo. I went on a little weekend vacation with my kids. I came up to street construction going on. A guy at the barricades was pulling them back and waving me in. He was well built, wearing a "flannel" (and no it obviously wasn't really flannel in this heat, but it looked like it) long sleeve shirt. Looked like a contractor to me. I drove in. Turns out, not a contractor, and he lead me to half-dry concrete. He then took off, but other people did see him leave but not get a plate number.

Looks like I'm likely on the hook for a long chunk of concrete replacement. Also cited for ignoring the construction signs. This is going to suck long-term. At least I got my vehicle sprayed off before that became an issue.

Yikes, that sucks to hear man, what a douche move on that guy's part to screw you over like that. How far did you get into the concrete before you were able to get out? What I don't get is why that guy did that, was he just hanging around the place hoping to prank someone that came by?

Hold on, you’ve got witnesses, yes?

I’m not gonna pretend to be aware of, let alone even passing familiar with the foibles of local laws and ordinances which might apply here. But surely if you’ve witnesses to confirm, and here I think would be the important part, that you did not leave your vehicle to open and close the barrier, and appeared to be following the instruction of A.N.Other, that has to count for something?

I mean, outside of doing something clearly illegal, if you’re flagged down by someone impersonating a copper, fireman, paramedic, and asked to do something not unreasonable, have you done anything wrong?


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Thinking in UK terms? It’s the difference between Negligence, and Gross Negligence.

The latter is much worse, but here it’s a high bar. Specifically, it would need to be decided that you’d acted not just recklessly, but without care of known likely consequences.

Silly example to demonstrate.

Let’s say that for reasons best known to myself, I decide to prise up a manhole cover. And in doing so, cause a building across the road to collapse.

Now, I had no real business in opening the manhole cover. But, who could’ve reasonably guessed doing so would collapse a building?

There, I’ve done some mischief, sure. But not Gross Negligence, because the impact could not have been predicted.

Definitely lawyer up for this one dude. Again, I’m not saying I’ve got the right of it at all here. Laws are weird things, and who knows what daftness lurks in the statutes. But I still think you’ve at least mitigation, if not active defence.

I'm so sorry man

Look on the bright side. No injuries, deaths or prison sentences. Stuff and cash can be replaced. Time and people, not so much.

With the price of Concrete these days, I might have to file for bankruptcy, which sucks for all involved. The construction company doesn't deserve to be at a loss, but I don't know if I can swing this.


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 Grimskul wrote:
Yikes, that sucks to hear man, what a douche move on that guy's part to screw you over like that. How far did you get into the concrete before you were able to get out? What I don't get is why that guy did that, was he just hanging around the place hoping to prank someone that came by?

The concrete was dry enough to walk on, no problems, I just put tire tracks in it, so I didn't notice.

I want to assume the other guy was someone tired of being inconvenienced, the road looked done, and he was taking matters into his own hands

Seriously. Talk to a suitable lawyer. Whilst I expect this is more a civil than a criminal issue? Your description of events suggests any negligence on your behalf is minimal.

Heck, your car insurance may even be on the hook for it.

Again, I don’t know your local laws and ordinances and that, so I make no promises. But I can tell this is genuinely upsetting and a burden on your mind. And us smelly hoomans are rarely good at thinking under such conditions. But, hopefully when you’ve settled down a bit, I may have some valid points here.

Yeah, going to have to agree with MDG here to at least explore what options you have legally speaking to see if you can at least not have to cover the cost 100%, since this isn't a $50 parking ticket that you can just handwave but something that significantly impacts your entire family's livelihood. If you're going to be on the hook for paying anyways, you may as well put money down first to see if there's a way mitigate some, if not most of the costs.

Hang in there buddy, I know we're rando people on the internet but if you still need to vent more we're here

 Grimskul wrote:
Yeah, going to have to agree with MDG here to at least explore what options you have legally speaking to see if you can at least not have to cover the cost 100%, since this isn't a $50 parking ticket that you can just handwave but something that significantly impacts your entire family's livelihood. If you're going to be on the hook for paying anyways, you may as well put money down first to see if there's a way mitigate some, if not most of the costs.

Hang in there buddy, I know we're rando people on the internet but if you still need to vent more we're here

Yup, time to lawyer up.

I'm not[b] a lawyer, but I've done debt counseling and unsecured debt is quite difficult to collect. There's usually an opening ask, and then negotiation, and also payment plans. But get a lawyer so you at least know if it's feasible to make them pound sand. For example, there is a point where debt is effectively uncollectible, but it varies by state and circumstance. A lawyer would know that.

Wow, that’s incredibly frustrating—and I’m really sorry you got hit with all that, especially when you were just trying to enjoy some time with your kids. It sounds like you did what a lot of folks would’ve done in the moment: trusted what looked like a legitimate signal from someone who seemed to belong there. I mean, flannel in construction zones is practically its own uniform. Also what kind of scumbag moves construction barriers around and puts other people in these kinds of pickles.

The part that stings most is how it wasn’t even your fault—and now you’re dealing with citations, concrete costs, and the ripple effect it’s likely to have. That kind of stress doesn’t just hit your wallet; it weighs heavy on everything. You shouldn’t have to feel like you’re fighting the system for something you didn’t willingly choose. A mistake is a mistake and I hope whomever was writing the citation understood that.

Silver lining, though—props for getting your vehicle cleaned off before that turned into another headache. That kind of quick thinking might’ve saved you even more pain later. Also, as someone posted earlier at least no one was hurt or killed. I second what other people are saying. Get a lawyer if possible and do whatever you can to defend yourself.

Have you considered that perhaps this was an elaborate scheme masterminded by your kids and that while everyone was distracted by the concrete incident they absconded with the pirate's treasure?

When the heat is off you may discover a plethora of gold doubloons awaits you.

Hope you get it worked out favorably.

Also, I’m a strong advocate of dash-cam for all drivers.

What is the world coming too?

If there was negligence anywhere, it was in leaving fresh cement unattended? Pretty sure any such outfit should also have insurance against construction site tampering. Putting all responsibility on any people who randomly stumble in seems ridiculous.

You might be prone to being always on guard against the worst possible outcome for yourself (I know I am) but from outside the situation seems like it should not be particularly impactful on your life.

 cuda1179 wrote:
With the price of Concrete these days, I might have to file for bankruptcy, which sucks for all involved. The construction company doesn't deserve to be at a loss, but I don't know if I can swing this.

Have you talked to your car insurance? Seems like something they could cover.

 nels1031 wrote:

 cuda1179 wrote:
With the price of Concrete these days, I might have to file for bankruptcy, which sucks for all involved. The construction company doesn't deserve to be at a loss, but I don't know if I can swing this.

Have you talked to your car insurance? Seems like something they could cover.

With the cost of cement ( removal AND repour) it would exceed my coverage quite a bit, even if they do pay.

Maybe I'm not quite following, but if the cement was located such you could drive over it, and dry enough you only left marks, then why is the bill to replace it more than a few hundred bucks?

If you'd managed to compromise foundations or something I get it, but from how I read it you're on the hook for covering up some tracks on a bit of roadway.


Also how much does your insurance cover? Over here it's like $1,500,000 minimum.

Definitely lawyer up on this one. I know it’s further expense for uncertain gain. But even a quick consultation.

I can’t imagine this is terribly rare. And the construction company may well be having you on with regard to the repair cost.

It sounds like you got cited, so that means a ticket? That's criminal, although probably with a reasonable fine. What you are going to want to do is contact a lawyer to see about fighting the ticket. In many states, admitting to breaking a law that exists to prevent the damage caused can be grounds to find you liable.

A lawyer can help you, but there's a chance you can fight the ticket, which means then it's harder to sue you for the damages. Once you are sued, your car insurance kicks in to provide counsel as well generally, so let that lawyer do the work for you.

Herzlos wrote:
Maybe I'm not quite following, but if the cement was located such you could drive over it, and dry enough you only left marks, then why is the bill to replace it more than a few hundred bucks?

If you'd managed to compromise foundations or something I get it, but from how I read it you're on the hook for covering up some tracks on a bit of roadway.


Also how much does your insurance cover? Over here it's like $1,500,000 minimum.

There is a difference between "yes, this is technically safe", and "this meets state code". It's like a kid that created $50,000 in damages for writing in wet cement on a sidewalk (yes, it was full sentences.)


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Googled some numbers and used Google street view to get a somewhat accurate distance on what I messed up. Looks like the cost of road construction is $1.16million per lane, per mile. I messed up just over 500 feet. So, perhaps up to $130,000 in damages. If insurance pays, I can do this. If they don't it's going to hurt.