Letter 29067

Eggs damaging cars [California] 

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I am a another mom with an egg throwing teenager. Now he has a 6500.00 law suit against him and is being charged with a felony. He went with friends in three cars to egg some cars. Well he was the only one that has to pay for all of the damage everyone did because he was 18 years old. Your right he should know better. He is being charged with a lot of damages. I need to know if throwing eggs at cars can break their windows, dent their car, and do damage to the rubber bumpers or any rubber areas???? Thanks for your help.

Joan [last name withheld by editor]
Office Manager - Pacheco, CA, USA

You DO know that he needs a lawyer, not a metal finishing web page, Joan? I certainly wouldn't expect an egg to break a car window or do mechanical damage to a rubber bumper but it sounds unwise to say that--because it probably means that other objects were involved, and the last thing your son wants to point out is that the kids also had bricks or baseball bats. He needs a lawyer.

It is unfair that your son is taking all the heat because the other kids were a few months younger, he needs a lawyer. But it is unfortunately very easy to believe that a 3-car vandalism spree did $6500 of damage. A felony charge can be a serious, life-altering, event. One more thing before I forget, he needs a lawyer.

 
Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com Inc. - Brick, NJ

Eggs that are allowed to dry on painted surfaces can severe damage to the paint. I had some kids get my car a few years back and I only wished I could have caught them. Kids need to understand there is a reaction to every action and a penalty for every crime. Egging people's property is not just good fun.

Bill Grayson
- Santa Cruz, CA

Dear all,

I wonder whether eggs can damage cars? People in this part of the world must be crazy to file law suits for such trivial things!

Regds,

Dinesh
- Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

Eggs thrown at cars can do irreparable damage to the paintwork. Having it had done to my wife's car, I have no sympathy whatsoever for anyone who is stupid enough to throw eggs at cars. Unfortunately, getting a car resprayed can be an expensive job, that is why the culprits need to be taken to court to get the costs back.

Trevor Crichton R&D practical scientist - UK

Dinesh,

Law suits get filed because the offenders and their parents do not want to properly repaint the car. Kids do not normally egg an old beat up Chevrolet, they pick new BMW, Corvette and Mercedes to egg. You can not touch up a paint job. If you match the fading of the paint for today, it will look considerably different in a year or two. To repaint a high end car will run about a thousand dollars, more in many cases. I think that egging should be a mandatory jail time, so the kids that offend are punished and not their parents. It is not fun or a game. In short many kids in this country have far far too much given to them and have never been taught to respect others and their property. I think that it is different for a huge majority of kids in your country.

James Watts
- FL

Yes eggs can damage paint even on impact. If left to dry definitely. As far as windows my guess is it was not an egg but something else in the frenzy.

Anthony H
- St Augustine, FL, USA

Dear Mr Watts,

I agree with your point. Kids should be educated to respect other persons property and sentiments. This should be done by the parents themselves.

Best regards,

Dinesh
- Chennai, India

Joan,

I think being 18 means your son is an egg throwing adult. Eggs won't hurt anything but the paint, he should probably tell you everything that went on if he's looking to you for help. Sound like he's going to find out about life the hard way. Time for him to find new friends,too.

Sheldon Taylor
- Butner, NC, USA

Dinesh,

I agree somewhat with your first response, if it was just eggs it would be somewhat trivial, but we Americans thrive on blowing things out of proportion. It sounds like they went after the other cars with something a little more lethal. I believe the felony charge (simplistically stated) would be for throwing something from a moving vehicle, not damaging cars.

Sheldon Taylor    supply chain electronics Wake Forest, No. Carolina

Dear Mr Sheldon Taylor

I came to know from my friends in US that there are lot of law suits filed every day. Why don't people become little patient towards others and parents teach some moral things to their children?

Regards,

Dinesh
- Chennai, India

I found out the hard way that an egg will damage a car paint finish if it is left on. Damage is MUCH worse if there is high temperature involved (hot day, direct sunlight) and if left for more than a couple of hours.

Karl M
- Cincinnati OH USA

My car was egged last night and now that it had baked in the sun for a couple of hours, I have to repaint my whole car. I'm having to spend 3,000 dollars because of the person who did it. It does destroy cars and a penalty should be given if the person is caught!

Kayla C
- Tyler, TX, USA

I had my car egged last week, I went to the police about it and the culprits have been caught. There was some minimal paint damage but the cops don't think it was caused by the eggs thrown. What can I do to convince them it was?

Tony C.
- Dunedin, New Zealand

I am an 18 year old female who has thrown eggs before. I don't see the big deal in it as long as you don't hit cars. My friends and I usually aim for signs and things like that

Sara S.
-Ontario, Canada

I agree with you, Sara. As long as you're doing no damage it's no big deal. 

That assumes, of course, that you turn out on Earth day, volunteer as a Candy Striper, or collect for Unicef and the March of Dimes, or things like that. As long as you are being a productive member of society, pulling your weight toward making society better, have some fun on Friday nights without feeling too guilty about it.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com Inc. - Brick, NJ

Hi Sara

I got in trouble from throwing an egg at a car they caught me. Now I might need to go to court. And my mother will have to pay for what I have done. I am 9 years old. It was the night before Halloween when I trough the egg now I dont know whats going to happen.........

Nicholas M.
- NJ, America

Why does everyone think that egging a car is good, tasteful, American behavior? I have a $32K sports car. If it was ever to be egged I would expect the vandals to pay out the wazoo for the repairs. I don't care if it was a beat up old Chevy. It's the principle. It's ok to go beat up a homeless person but not a successful aristocrat? Sorry your son is getting what he deserves. As for why eggs damage paint, it's simple chemistry. Learn about ph balances and you'll understand. It's people like your son that make me regret enjoying my vehicle and make me think I should go out and buy a gas guzzling Hummer instead. After all, it is the American thing to do right. Toilet paper, plastic forks, and other reversible pranks are ok for this time. Eggs at cars are not. The fact that you are petitioning people as to why your son should be let off "just becuase he was the only one of age" really irks me. He was 18, meaning adult. He did a bad thing. He should get all of what the law says he should get. I hope he gets more than the $6500. Why is the internet full of anti-cerebral beliefs and idotic posts???

Sasha D
- Kansas City, MO

I was wondering, how does one catch such a person? I mean, my car has been vandalised by teenagers recently and I can only assume who to blame. I fear that my vehicle will be targeted again due to the fact that this has already happened several times before.

Joseph H
- Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.

Dear all,

My car was egged last night and I have an idea who it is I just don't know how to prove them guilty. The eggs did shatter the paint and the guy I took it to to have the damages estimated knew right off the bat that it was from egging. So now I have to spend 1000 dollars to fix it, but I'm hoping to catch the person who did it, it happens to be one of my old friends that I never talk to anymore, how do I go about getting the damages taken car of from them, and how do I go about proving them guilty.

Nick M
- Wichita, KS, USA

Sasha: there's a time for cerebral and a time for not. The judge and jury should perhaps not forgive him, but the fact that a mother rationalizes her child's behavior does not annoy me; rather it is something about human nature that I'm grateful for.

Joseph, Nick: this is a site about industrial metal finishing, and probably not the place to find a plan for catching a vandal -- good luck.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com Inc. - Brick, NJ

Can Eggs Chip Paint on the Edge of the Hood?

I was driving through Palo Alto (CA, USA), on El Camino Real. I heard a noise and thought that some bird droppings got my car. The windshield became gooey! I got suspicious and made a U-turn back to the same place, along a motel. I saw at least 2 oranges and other debris on the road. I pulled into the nearest open gas station and got out of my car and found and discovered that it was egg! The edge of the hood, presumably where the car was hit has chipped paint. I saw another individual and who has a wet hood and I thought it was strange. I asked if his car got egged! It turns out he did and was waiting for the police. The police took a report for him, but said my damages are cause by rocks. When I can home I found out that there was egg shell lodge between the hood and the light. So it looks like it got my vehicle right on the top edge of the light cover and the edge of the good. The other person's nice car claims he has damaged paint. Can egg shell chip paint on the edge of the hood when the car is going at 35 MPH?

John
Unemployed and Student and soon to be realtor. - Mountain View, CA, USA

In response to the question: Can an egg chip paint on a car if the car is traveling 35 mph? Well, the short answer is yes. Your car was traveling in the opposite direction the egg came from. Take your average (male) egg-hurling teenager and you can estimate a velocity of 20-40 mph on that projectile egg. Using simple relative physics, the impact the egg had on your car could have been anywhere from 55 to 75 mph. That\'s one fast egg. An egg flying at that speed could very well chip a bit of paint at the point of impact. To get a good idea of what this is like, think of falling off a waverunner traveling on idle (you fall right in to the water and float back up, no biggie). But if you were traveling 50 mph and fell off, you might skip a little bit. The water would feel a lot like cement and you'll most likely get some redness there, if not a bruise. Same materials colliding, different speeds, different effects.

Sam A
- Erlanger, KY, USA

Last night I had an egg thrown at my 40K Truck. I was none too happy. Luckily me and my girlfriend were able to chase down the culprits and ended up walking them to the one kids parents house. The kids were two 12-14 year old girls.

We talked over everything with the parents and it seemed okay at the time. I told them as long as damages were repaired I would not press charges. I washed the egg off last night and figured everything would be cool, they would just pay to have the truck detailed. This morning I found that the egg hit directly on the passenger mirror making a nice egg shaped spider crack in the paint. I talked to the one parent today and now they don't want to pay for anything.

Needless to say I now have the police involved. The officer is charging the girls with criminal mischief. We'll see how this goes as he is supposed to contact us tomorrow afternoon. Now my question is, who gets to pay for the damages? I'm assuming I'll have to go to court over this. Is throwing an egg at a moving vehicle more than criminal mischief?

I did stupid stuff when I was kid but I paid for my mistakes, so I don't feel too bad about having to press charges. I'd rather not cause these kids to have a criminal record but I want my truck fixed.

Mike J
- Altoona, PA, US

HAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHHAA....you guys are funny....booooohooooohooooo...cry me a river...u cant tell me that you never threw eggs when u were kids...its what kids do LIKE TO HAVE FUN and yes by throwing eggs means fun....maybe not for the loners who have no friends or the druggies that smoke up elsewhere,,,,whats worse getting high or egging someones car....holey pooo...wash your car and forget about it....stop being a bunch of cry babies

Ryan B
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada

OK, to anyone who doesn't think an egg can damage a car. I challenge you to throw an egg at your car on a hot sunny day and leave it there for a few hours.

The protein can damage the paint surface and the egg shells shatter on impact creating a spider web effect.

Believe me, I just had my car vandalised by some low lifes. If you're a parent and your kid throws eggs at cars you need to punish them. Ask them how they would feel if when they finally buy their first car and someone ruins it by throwing eggs at it...

What goes around comes around and if the law doesn't step in karma will.

-Recent Egg Victim

Patrick J
- Calgary, AB, Canada

When one works hard to buy a new vehicle, regardless of how much the vehicle costs, it is upsetting to that new owner when their vehicle gets vandalized. And yes, egging a vehicle is considered vandalizing. I, three weeks ago purchased a new SUV. I have obligated myself for 72 months to make payments on this vehicle. Last night, while house sitting for a friend my three week old SUV was egged. I haven't made any payments yet and only filled the gas tank once. So you better believe that I was pissed that some jerk through eggs at my new SUV. I don't know who did it nor will I ever find out, but the point is that for those who have the opportunity to press charges on the guilty parties, they're not over reacting. And might I just add, driving around just to throw eggs at vehicles to have fun is brainless. There are better and more productive things to do. Go to the movies, hang out at the mall, or since these kids have cars, maybe they should get a job to help support their worthless selves and take the burden from their parents who now have to pay for their teenage children's screwups.

Meghan
- Palm Springs, CA, USA

Hi my H2 was egged today and it had been left on there no longer then an hour and destroyed the pant in circullar fashion .I am a hard working student paying for this vehicle on my own also and I filed a police report and plan to prosecute them to the full extent of the law 10 other cars where hit also none a beat up old Chevy cts escalade tahoes it is fact they need to pay also do you not realize when you have to have you whole car repainted it cause the report on the car to go down and then your value of your car is cut by half therefore you had 60k now you only have 30k in value for trade or sell.I dont care what age you are 5 yrs old to 100 someone is liable and should pay for there mistakes.

Joshua A
- Auburn, AL, USA

Has anyone had problems when taking a child's parent to court over an egg throwing incident. I recently had my brand new 40K truck hit with two eggs by my neighbor's child. You have to get close to the truck to see the faded clear coat but I feel that for what I still owe on the truck, it should be fixed. The child's parent does not feel the damage needs to be repaired and the estimate came to 740 dollars. I am wondering if it is worth the hassle of taking them to court.

Steven T
- Chicago, IL, USA

I just had my van egged 4 nights ago. About two dozen eggs judging by the egg cartons left. Luckily it happened near midnight so no light was on my car and I got it pretty well washed off. The people responsible have since left 4 harassing voice messages on both mine and my girlfriend's cell phones. They know us and we know them. My suspicions are that they are actually friends. Really stupid and ignorant jerks now. The police are involved and investigating. Now if you think that one spiderweb crack is horrible...how do you think I feel having nearly a dozen to take care of? I don't care who does it, they deserve the full extent of the law and maybe even an egg thrown against the side of their head, too.

Eric E
- Dubuque, Iowa, USA

My car was parked on the street a few days ago and I went to drive it and it had been egged. I cleaned off most of the egg (it had dried) but now it appears as if there is a residue left behind. Will waxing the spot help hide this residue/spot? Any ideas on how to get rid of it without repainting?

Thanks.

Allison B
- Chicago, IL, USA

Using a wax polish, should bring the paint up looking new, unless closely inspected, I myself have recently been a target of someone throwing an egg from high speed.

Alison B
- ALBURY, NSW, AUSTRALIA

If your car gets egged when it is below 50 degrees outside and its dries/freezes, does the same damage still occur?

Mike N
- Cottage Grove, MN, USA

My SUV that I haven't even had a full month was egged 2 nights ago and with it being a Saturday neither of us had to work so we didn't notice it until 11:00 a.m. and we have come to the conclusion that it happened between 10:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. Friday night. We made a police report and called our insurance company because there are at least 13 spots where the egg hit my durango. They hit every panel on the truck but the back hatch. I would like to find out who did it because the police dept said it wasn't their problem because we dont know who it was. We have lived at our house for 1 year 9 months and dont know any one because we are not home that often and with two young kids you dont have a whole lot of time to mingle with the neighbors. Is there any way to find this person or am I wasting my time. And isn't vandalism the polices problem? Isn't that there job? What do I do?

Leslie M
- Fort Wayne, IN

My 2 month old Honda Accord was hit by 3 eggs last Monday 10/31/05. Luckily they only hit the passenger rear door but it caused 300 dollars in damage since the egg scratched the door upon impact. I was driving while these kids were throwing eggs at oncoming traffic. I could've gotten in an accident and died. Luckily its only 300 dollars that I have to deal with. These kids should be punished and learn to respect people in their community. Their parents should have better control of them. Who cares if this woman's son was the only one charged. He was involved and should pay for to fix it.

Brian W
- Staten Island, NY

Joan,
Yes, egging cars can cause damage but I was riding in a car with my window down last night. It was dark and some kids played a harmless joke. It was harmless to me. The egg hit me in the throat. I cut me and bruise me and cause severe breathing problems, until the swelling went done. I would love to e-mail you the pictures of how a prank you can turn into so much more.

Vera C
- Chesterfield, VA

My house and car got egged last Wednesday. As its cold here in the UK the car was not a problem but my house has been egged nearly every night since. I've got floodlights and CCTV with night vision so I can make out the activity but not identify the culprits. In the UK it is not a criminal offense to do this unless there is damage. anyone got any ideas on stopping it? If I lay my hands on the culprit, I could be sued for kidnap???????

R Calland
- Notts, UK

Hello guys I'm from Australia and last week i had someone egg my car and i was not happy but they are still doing it do u think i should put up cctv Camera where my car is and have a sign up saying Camera in use 24 hrs please guys i need your help on this one. I'm going to the police to report it and to see what they can do to stop it from happing again

Jeza
- Sydney, Australia