TULSA, Okla. — Imagine driving down the street and hearing a loud bang then seeing your windshield spider out. One Tulsa County man had that experience when driving by a golf course recently.
“Straight off that tee block, it’s like a gunshot,” said Brian Grace.
Grace’s wife posted what happened in a popular Facebook group, which led to a debate in the comments about who takes responsibility when things like this happen.
2 News spoke with the family and found out what you can do if you find yourself in a similar situation.
“The initial shock of it. It was more like the glass, the glass shattering in my face and everywhere else, that was probably the worst of it,” said Grace.
After the impact of the incident, Grace had to pay for his own car repairs even though experts told 2 News all responsibility falls on the golfer.
“We just paid out of pocket and fixed it and are done with it. It’s just an expense for us. Just a very expensive golf ball,” Grace said.
2 News reached out to several Tulsa County golf courses to get their policies on accidents caused by golfers.
All of the courses said their policies blamed the golfer.
But without knowing who the golfer was who hit his truck, Grace found that the responsibility fell back on him.
“The golf course tells you; their response was that’s an inherent risk we take when we drive by a golf course. I’m not understanding why we’re taking the risk. I didn’t ask to play golf,” said Grace.
2 News talked with Jason Johnston with the Oklahoma Insurance Department, about their recommendations for drivers to get themselves out of the bunker.
Johnston agreed that the golfer is to blame and recommended that you try and find the golfer quickly. If you can’t find the golfer, the payments will fall back on you.
“You didn’t see who did it. Then you would have to use your own carrier on your auto and have them repair that vehicle,” said Johnston.
While he said that’s not the ideal situation, he wants drivers to reach out to their insurance to see if the deductible is less than the cost to replace the windshield.
If it is, he recommends paying through insurance; if not, he said out-of-pocket is the better option.
For drivers scared of their rates rising after contacting their insurance, Johnston said even though the money will be paid through your account, the rates shouldn’t go up.
“It’s a not at fault accident for them. So what that basically means is they didn’t do anything wrong,” Johnston said.
This is still blaming the golfer, even without the golfer’s insurance paying for it.
Johnston also recommends asking the course if they have a good will policy – meaning while they don’t assume responsibility, they may help cover some repair cost.
The Grace family wants golf courses to add more safety measures, especially when tees are near the road.
“I would hate to hear that a golf ball caused a fatal wreck,” Sabrina Grace said.
One of the golf courses 2 News spoke with said to call the golf shop immediately and let them know your car was hit by a ball. This can help them narrow down what group the golfer may be in and help you get the money for repairs.
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