A man who drove his pickup truck into a pole in the parking lot of a New Hampshire Walmart has sued the retail giant for damages, claiming the placement of the pole is conducive to car crashes.
The man says that, after dropping off a passenger at the front door of the Walmart, he then “drove into a free-standing pole,” causing $2,918 in damage to his 1997 Chevy S10.
From the Portsmouth Herald:
He alleges a store employee told him there were six accidents involving the same pole within five months and that Walmart “failed to reconfigure their parking area” after purchasing the property from a previous owner.
A second store employee told him the lot is “not a normal configured lot,” he also claims.
If what he says about the other accidents is true, does he have a point? Or is he just a bad driver looking for someone to foot the bill for his truck repairs?
Driver hits pole in parking lot, claims Walmart should pay [Seacoastonline.com]
More From Consumerist
-
Top Posts Of The Week And Open Thread
-
Man Sues Strip Club Over Mysterious $50,000 Credit Card Bill
-
Pole Vaulter: Delta Airlines Robbed Me Of My Title By Losing My Poles
-
Pizza Hut Driver Claims He Was Demoted For Using Fiberglass Tent Pole To Fight Off Attackers
-
Fooling Your Kids Into Thinking You Caught A Fish Can Get You Arrested In Austria
Not exactly the same situation, but not long after getting my drivers license I defended a ticket on the same thinking after rear-ending someone.
I was coming over a hill, and very close to the bottom of a hill was a stoplight. It’s a busy intersection, so cars would pile up. As such, and because there was no sign that a stoplight was coming, even though I was not exceeding the posted speed limit, I was unable to stop timely. They tried to ticket me for exceeding a safe speed (notwithstanding I was not exceeding the posted limit), and, with my parents’ help (I was only 16), I fought the ticket in court and won.
Not only did I get the ticket thrown out, but now the hill has been flattened somewhat and there is a sign ahead of the hill that indicates a light is coming and whether it is red.
It’s just karma.
He’s one of those idiots that thinks it’s fine to drop a passenger off at the front of the store, thereby blocking a fire lane, blocking normal traffic, and just being a nuisance. I hate you people that do that.
So obviously, the light pole was just channelling my rage and jumped at him.
Seriously, you hate people that drop people off?
Are you the crazy batshitinsane old woman who yelled at my husband for dropping me off at the curb in front of Hallmark the very same day I was released from the hospital after receiving a c-section and hysterectomy within an hour of each other and being barely able to walk (to the point that I nearly fell and had to ask someone to help me out of the store), but still insistent on picking out a Mother’s Day card for my mother since it was her first as a grandmother? Are you seriously that much of a jerk?
God, I’m sorry, I have a lot of rage to spare as a human too but you are honestly pathetic.
why cant people take responsibility for themselves anymore? Why is it always someone elses fault that you are stupid?
A. His 1997 chevy probably isn’t worth $2,918 total.
B. They sell glasses at Walmart, someone should have told him.
C. Walmart employees work in retail, not infrastructure engineering. Just because one says the lot is “not a normal configured lot” doesn’t mean anything except that there’s a reason said employee isn’t an english professor.
Freeloader
“he then “drove into a free-standing pole,” totaling his 1997 Chevy S10.”
Fixed
Want to bet he’s one of those people who drive all over the lot, not according to the markers or lanes?
Employee comments are about as meaningful as your Aunt Ester (who has never seen the parking lot).
Get a traffic engineer to make the comment and you got something.
I fail to understand this. Unless the pole was MOVING and jumped in front of his truck, he clearly was not looking where he was going when he hit it. I mean, unless he was qualifying for the Indy 500 in that parking lot, there’s no excuse–and particularly not for the level of damage that quote implies.
I got my bumper scraped in the parking lot at work when I worked at McD’s. Got the guy’s insurance information and all, no big deal — but I don’t park there anymore. From the drive through window (now that I had reason to look), I had a good observation post to see that people almost never made that turn without clipping that spot (usually empty, many cars don’t have the turning radius to get into that spot either). It seriously should not be marked as a parking spot.
So I understand the concept? But I’d have to see the pole. TFA says there was damage to license plate bracket, which seems to say to me he smacked right into, didn’t clip it or whatever. Front center of his truck into that pole.
The fact that you f’n people are debating this is what is wrong with America today.
I have never once drove into a pole in a parking lot that was not walking towards me.
The fact that you idiot Consumerist tards are seriously trying to pin a case of horrible driving and obvious personal fault on a retailer just goes to prove how ridiculous you are.
Sigh. Three pages of comments. And you didn’t read any of them.
Uh, actually I read the majority of the comments. There is a minority that actually have sense about a situation like this. Obviously, others do not. Those were who I was talking to. I can only guess where you fall in.
Once you get past a few dozen or so replies about the relevance of the cost of repairs on that vehicle, and then others debating how it might have a case, you should see my point.
Hey! Light poles jump out in front of drivers all the time.
this man was an accident waiting to happen,he must have been talking on his cell phone. the light poles are painted yellow for visibility .He was not paying attention to his driving and wants Walmart to pay for his negligence
Maybe if the pole had been moving at the time, I’d side with the guy. Otherwise, he’s a complete moron
If he would have traded it in on “cash for klunkers” he could have gotten more than what he will get from wal-mart!
Somewhere around here in my head I hear the terms “Epic fail” coming to mind.