Have you ever noticed that trucks carrying rocks or gravel usually do not have license plates on the back? This means that if a rock flies out of the back of one of these trucks and damages your vehicle, it can be almost impossible to track down the owners to make them pay for a new windshield or other parts.  

On average, around 14 million windshields are replaced each year and having to replace a windshield can cost many hundreds -- if not thousands -- of dollars. If you drive long enough, it is almost guaranteed you will have your windshield cracked at some point. It has happened to some longtime drivers more than once.  

Because I've noticed that trucks spewing rocks often don't have licenses plates on the back, I called some experts to learn more. The sales manager at Wade Sand and Gravel forwarded me a relevant law, Alabama Code 810-5-1-.204, which says that any truck on which a rear plate would be bent, damaged, dirty, or blocked by equipment can have its license plates on the front. (Whether they actually put licenses plates on the front is a separate question.)

So, the next time you are driving near a truck carrying rocks, my advice is try to stay far back (that's safer anyway) or get in another lane, so if a rock does fly out, your car is less likely to get hit, because based on state law, it's hard to track down the culprits if it does.