My wife says I get grouchy when I’m studying or doing security. I have no idea why….
Today’s beef is with the open-bed truck companies that have “not responsible for broken windshield” stickers on the back of their trucks.
It’s bullshit.
Seriously. Grade A bullshit.
In the first place the state law is absolutely clear that drivers are responsible for anything that falls from their vehicles. Full stop.
In the second place you can’t unilaterally impose contracts. Full stop. That statement is as unenforceable as one saying “The driver of the following car must run forward and give driver of this truck $100 at next red light.”
(A broken windshield doesn’t directly benefit the trucking company but in both cases you’re out hard cash that you could have used elsewhere.)
In the final place you can’t impose restrictions on other’s use of public spaces. Full stop. There is an apparent exception when you reserve a picnic table or campsite but that restriction is actually imposed by the city etc., not the person who rented the space.
As a practical matter it is nearly impossible to prove that your broken windshield was caused by something that blew off of a particular truck. You might have seen it happen but can you prove it in a courtroom? So is there any real harm?
I think there – it reduces moral risk. If a driver is told that he’s going to be docked $1000 by his employer if something flies out of his truck and damages a car behind him then he’s going to take a lot more care to ensure the load is properly capped than if he thinks that he won’t face any consequences no matter how poorly he secured his load. This won’t change the behavior of a conscientious driver but not all drivers are conscientious.
What does this have to do with software? It comes back to the first three items. Things aren’t true just because you say they are. The law trumps your terms of service. The courts may say that your users weren’t actually bound by your terms of service if nothing of value was exchanged. (This is a particular concern with free sites.)
So how many corners are you cutting because you’re sure your TOS will protect you?
