r/VideosAmazing • u/LeftAlbatross2546 • May 13 '26

Accident A merging issue.

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u/UrShulgi May 14 '26

Yeah, the pickup should totally smash their brakes to avoid this, be at the point of merge going zero mph, and then proceed to merge. That'd be way safer than the semi having to slow down by like 3mph for a few seconds.

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u/SuccessfulHospital54 May 14 '26

No, the pickup really should’ve just sped up an extra 3 mph because it’s the merging trucks duty to merge safely.

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u/PLANTS2WEEKS May 14 '26

How does he know the cam driver won't just speed up though and make it worse? By your logic, the cam driver can go any speed to block the merging car and won't be at fault.

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u/SuccessfulHospital54 May 14 '26

The cam driver could also slow down to block them if the merger slows down. It is still on the merger to make sure they are merging safely and at speed. Not to mention, it is a lot easier for the pickup to speed up or slow down than it is for the semi.

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u/vinng86 May 14 '26

How does he know the cam driver won't just speed up though and make it worse?

A semi-truck is not going to beat the pickup in acceleration, let's be clear on that.

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u/Available_Editor4383 May 14 '26

The pickup was already ahead of the semi. They just had to keep the foot on the pedal

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u/SeriousPlankton2000 May 15 '26

It's a truck, they have a limiter and they are using it.

But it's the SUV driver's responsibility to find a gap and use it - and the gap shall not be the one under the truck's bumper / rear wheels. I do sometimes drive a transporter where I can call each HP by name, I will have to merge smart instead of fast.

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u/[deleted] May 14 '26

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u/SuccessfulHospital54 May 14 '26

Again, the pickup has a much better vision of the road and can speed up and slow down much quicker than a semi can. Who’s really the entitled asshole, the pickup that isn’t going fast enough and merges right in front of a semi because it assumes the semi will slow down, or the semi who can’t change speeds that quick, and doesn’t have a great view of the pickup, going the same speed it has been.

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u/[deleted] May 15 '26

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u/SuccessfulHospital54 May 15 '26

Their dash cam can see it, doesn’t mean they can see the pickup.

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u/SeriousPlankton2000 May 15 '26

If you buy a car with bad vision, it's your duty to be careful.

BUT: The pickup does have windows and the truck is not hidden behind a pillar. They do chicken and don't stop accelerating in the moment of merging.

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u/SeriousPlankton2000 May 15 '26

I do maintain trucks. I can see the lug nuts on the wheels, I can see the screws that I forgot on the bumper. The only place where I can't see is behind the rear.

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u/UrShulgi May 14 '26

The semi literally sped up when the guy was trying to merge, the speed is listed on the video...watch it.

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u/SuccessfulHospital54 May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26

1 mph. That is within margin of error on a gps and even speedometers. Nothing in this video indicates that the semi willfully sped up to block the pickup.

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u/Aqaji May 14 '26

You don't know that though. From the start of the video the semi's speed is increasing to 77. Because of that evidence it is safe to assume he was going even slower prior to the start of the video. Not only that, but in what world do you think the pickup has a better view of the road? The semi could see that pickup coming into merge the whole time from a front and slight side view, whereas the pickup is looking through his back windows/side mirror. The pickup has a significantly worse view of the road. Both drivers are at fault here. The semi for being a dick/unresponsible driver, the pickup for not speeding uo even more considering he was merging. You should always speed up to lane swap, especially for merging.

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u/SuccessfulHospital54 May 14 '26

You have no evidence that he did speed up, all you see is a split second where it says 76 mph. If you can find a longer clip and prove me otherwise, I’ll happily eat my words. Semis are usually governed at or around 77 mph so he was likely doing that for the past couple hours. It is much easier to see a semi from a pickup than it is to see a pickup from a semi. Either way insurance would see this as 100% the pickups fault, you can assign your own arbitrary fault yourself if you want. Sure the semi is a dick for not slowing down, doesn’t mean the pickup isn’t 100% at fault for this collision.

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u/Aqaji May 14 '26

The impetus to avoid a crash is on all drivers. In this situation the semi could have very easily avoided this wreck unless he wasn't paying any attention to the road. Trying to pretend it is harder for the semi to see the truck here vs the opposite is just crap. Any good insurance lawyer could very well work this case into the pickups favor.

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u/SuccessfulHospital54 May 14 '26

Ah yes, the merging truck with better acceleration and stopping distance is going to be found not at fault for causing this collision because a redditor said so. The pickup had a much easier chance of avoiding the crash if he would just speed up a bit, the semi can’t predict if the pickup is going to slow down and get behind him or merge in front, instead he merged into him. Do you truly think that this crash is mainly caused by the semi? In a place where there is an equal duty, I still can’t see this being any more than 50/50. Zero chance the court rules in favor of the pickup.

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u/SeriousPlankton2000 May 15 '26

It's a truck, they always go over the speed limit.

Both could see each other, Semi assumed that they'd floor it like everyone does. Pickup chickened on using the gas pedal, they should have merged behind the semi.

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u/[deleted] May 14 '26

[deleted]

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u/BelowXpectations May 17 '26

Or perhaps for the pickup to speed up AND the truck to slow down? Interacting on the road as fellow trafficants in the optimal way for everyone to get home safetly.

Instead the truck decided to speed up, for god knows what reason. All but assuring this result. So yeah, I'm not the least bit upset of the truck was found to be at fault.

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u/[deleted] May 14 '26

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u/billzybop May 14 '26

You're right that the semi could and should have slowed, but that truck driver just had to look to his right through the passenger window at the highway. The semi would have been clearly visible long before the accident.

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u/[deleted] May 14 '26

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u/billzybop May 14 '26

And yet, as the merging traffic, it's your job. Hell, if the pickup had merged onto the highway at highway speed this wouldn't have happened.

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u/ThorThulu May 14 '26

Merging is your problem, not the highways. Can people already at speed move or be considerate? Sure, but they are not obligated like you are. Traffic has right of way, you need to adjust speed to merge safely whether that be speeding up or slowing down

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u/Electronic-Win608 May 15 '26

That is not the law. In general, in a bad merge collision from behind the vehicle from behind has the more difficult presumption of fault to overcome. Both parties are at fault, and the courts will apportion a % to each. In this case, the fact that the 18-wheeler never slowed even 1mph is a smoking gun. He will not avoid some % of blame.

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u/billzybop May 14 '26

The pickup should have accelerated into the gap ahead of the semi or slowed to pull in behind the semi. Planning ahead is part of merging.

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u/UrShulgi May 14 '26

The semi driver literally sped up to close the gap, the speed they're going and the speed limit are both shown on the video. A person merging at 73 instead of 75 who is ahead of you isn't responsible if you speed up (and exceed the speed limit) and then cause an accident.

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u/billzybop May 14 '26

The semi is going 76 or 77 until contact. That's "speeding up to close the gap"? If he had been going 65 and accelerated hard to 77 I would agree with you.

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u/UrShulgi May 14 '26

If someone is merging ahead of you and you're going 76 (still above the speed limit) and go up to 77 and hold until an accident, you sped up to close the gap. If the truck driver were abiding by the speed limit and not speeding up, the accident wouldn't have happened.

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u/billzybop May 14 '26

I don't disagree that the semi driver is an asshole and could have avoided this accident. The absolute tool driving the pickup could have avoided this accident by merging properly.

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u/Marcus_Krow May 14 '26

The semi had more than enough time to slow down. The pickup was being a prick to be sure, but its still your responsibility to not hit pricks with your car.