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I haven’t been to a third grade classroom in a long time. </p>
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I was not a chemistry major. I was a chemical engineering major and I probably took more physics courses than most of the posters here.</p>
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Yes, I know what a foul ball is…I don’t understand your point.</p>
<p>I guess I don’t understand your emphasis on a yard high fence being tall enough unless it was meant to keep little children inside.
The balls are certainly going to go outside a 3 foot fence, and from what I have heard of little league games, the fence will need to be higher to keep the parents out.</p>
<p>Now while I think all ball fields should have signs posted as do the lots around my school warning that there is a ball field in area- I think that is sufficient warning- but I don’t know what recourse you would have if there weren’t signs and you were parking close to the field.</p>
<p>However, this incident just happened yesterday to classmates of my D, and in this case, if my daughter was injured, I would try and get the money from the bus company, because driving underneath a bridge which is clearly marked as being very low, is not an accident IMO- but knuckleheadedness and should have been easily prevented.
[Video</a> On Demand | KING5.com | News for Seattle, Washington](<a href=“http://www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=236674]Video”>http://www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=236674)</p>
<p>^ No, the concern is when a player runs up to a fence and leans over to catch a ball, the momentum and height of the kid could cause him/her to flip over the fence. </p>
<p>I see a three foot fence as being a problem if we’re talking 6’ high school students. Little Leaguers are more like 4.5’ - 5.5’, so a 3’ fence is likely to contain the fielder. Keep in mind when a player is running toward an obstacle, the lower (heavier) part of the player’s body will have more momentum than a players upper body, head and arms…the lower part of the body is contained by the fence…you probably want the fence to come to about chest height or higher for outfield fences and waist high for baseline/infield fences. Baseball has tons of rules…do the rulebooks specify fence heights?</p>
<p>If you have too high of a baseline/infield fence, it would encumber players from reaching foul balls…</p>
<p>I think I’m going to bow out now, this is a lot more superfluous information than the original intention of this thread.</p>
<p>UCBCEG - yes, the issue is ball players flipping over the fence and landing on their heads. Doubleplay raised the issue with regard to high school players falling over short foul line fences (which I haven’t seen; all the high school ball fields around here are either circled by 12’ high fences, or have wide foul areas) and I related that to my experience years ago in Little League. You’re right about the size of the players, but you underestimate the nature of the problem. An outfielder chasing a long fly ball will be reaching up, and often jumping up to catch the ball. I’ve seen them flip over the top of the fence and land on their heads - it’s scary. Little League tournament rules do require fences between 4 and 6 feet, but I don’t think that’s mandatory for regular play. (Little League has a plethora of safety rules. I don’t agree with all of them, although I agree with the principle.) </p>
<p>And while this has strayed somewhat from the OP, I do think that we’re still sort of on-topic. My point is that everyone has responsibility and accountability for things that are under their control, and should be accountable for loss, injury or damage which occurs to others because of bad judgment or carelessness on their part. And that includes ballfield designers, coaches, and school administrators who don’t think through the predictable consequences of their decisions and actions.</p>
<p>Son has been told by the athletic director that a decision has been made that the school district WILL cover the cost of the windshield repair. While this was NOT a “big deal” to us, we are pleased with the outome.</p>
<p>Some factors that may have affected the decision:</p>
<p>There are currently NO “park at your own risk” signs at the field or in the parking lot. Apparently at one time signs were there. They were removed at some point and never replaced. (Perhaps they were removed during some maintenance and simply were forgotten. Even the office staff at the high school told my son there were such signs. Only when he asked them specifically where they were as he had not been able to find them, did they realize they were not there.)</p>
<p>An e-mail did go out to the faculty early in the spring about the “park at your own risk” policy, but no such e-mail went out to the students. Faculty park in the same lot but in a section removed from the ballfield so they are at much less risk. </p>
<p>Finally, my son handled this matter reasonably and politely, never expressing either entitlement or frustration. However, he did persist in addressing the issues and pursuing the matter. At no point did we his parents get involved, other than in responding to his updates. He handled getting the estimates, etc.</p>
<p>Re
At no time did we even ask our son the name of the batter, as we did not feel that was pertinent. The kid was participating in a school activity at the direction of a school employee, and we assume he was trying his best. </p>
<p>In our opinion the batter was no more at fault than our son. This was an accident and my main reaction is we are all very fortunate the only damage was to some glass, rather than to a person’s head.</p>
<p>May all our (and your) accidents be such small potatoes!</p>
<p>Happy ending all around IMO. This is a well-funded district (considered tops in the state) which can well absorb this “hit.” (pun fully intended 
)</p>
<p>Our school it’s $50 to be entered into a draw for a parking space–with a 50/50 chance you might get one, and you might not. What a waste of $50.</p>
<p>An equitable outcome.</p>
<p>And tis right your son should not have tried to identify the batter.</p>
<p>It was the pitcher’s fault for serving up a meatball.</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>Excellent! Perfect example of how to handle something like this. Kudos to your son and to you.</p>
<p>Exactly; perfect solution. Now; as a continuum, if they put the signs back us, and it happens again to a student’s car in the future, I would say that the school would be in the moral right to say; “Sorry, you knew better”. But for this situation, your son and the school did everything PERFECTLY.</p>
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<p>Which is why companies just choose to pay damages and not make the changes. Of course, you have to be careful–Ford used this approach to decide not to move the gas tank of the Pinto (which had a nasty habit of exploding when the car was hit from behind) to a move safe place. Customers and juries were not amused to hear evidence that Ford compared the estimated damages from car accidents vs. the actual cost per car of moving the gas tank (not that much per car, but when you sell millions of cars, it can add up) and decided not to fix the problem.</p>
<p>Well done, jyber209 (and jyber209son!) A textbook example of how to correctly handle this kind of a situation.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing the outcome. I think it is pleasing all around. It was worth asking about and it was fair to ask. The school also was trying to look at it fairly. Nobody made demands. And yes, the identity of the batter was irrelevant and nobody was blaming him. I also commend your son for handling the matter with aplomb and I do believe that the manner in which he dealt with it was beneficial to the eventual outcome. Sometimes things are not black and white and those who handle themselves well, may be treated well. It seems like the school sent out letters to faculty and now may wish to do that with students, as well as erect signs. So, awareness was raised. I am glad nobody was hurt. I know your family did not think it was a big deal but it has been a hassle and it was worth seeking an equitable solution if possible. I know if the school had not paid, you would have dealt with it as well. All’s well that ends well!</p>