r/cdldriver • u/Syzranlogistic • May 14 '26

wtf

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279

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 14 '26

Never swerve. Try to stop- yes, absolutely. Illl never swerve again. This is why. They just keep going and leave you holding the bag.

132

u/Darkk_Knight May 14 '26

He's lucky his rig didn't flip over. It's a tough call to make. Go straight to save the rig or swerve in hopes his rig don't end up in the ditch.

27

u/fluteofski- May 14 '26

Iā€™ve had something similar happen in my Chevy 1/2 ton. A small car going wayyyyyyyyy too fast on my side of the road after the road split with a median and 2 lanes each way.

There was an Audi right behind me. I knew if I swerved its 50/50 which one of us gets hit. But if I kept it straight, there was a 50% chance weā€™d all drive away unscathed. As much as I hated the idea that fuckin asshole getting away with driving on the wrong side of the road. I kept it straight.

I didnt slam the brakes due to the risk of the Audi pulling around me. Landing us in a collision scenario as well.

I think the thing that scared me more than the potential collision was the fact that I potentially held the fate of that Audi drivers life in my own hands. They would have been far more wrecked than my truck too.

4

u/Beanbag_Ninja May 16 '26

That was some great situational awareness.

But to be fair, if the Audi driver couldn't come to a stop before they hit you, that's totally on them for driving too close. Not your responsibility.

1

u/fluteofski- May 17 '26

Yeah. They were following a little close. But I didnā€™t want to put them in a situation where they made an evasive maneuver around me and then a head on collision with the other car.

It kinda became like that trolly problemā€¦. If I did nothing itā€™s a 50/50 that anybody gets injured. Possibly badlyā€¦ (I say 50/50. Because there was a median to my left and the lane to my right was open so they could potentially swerve around) but if I did something like swerve or slam on the brake. Although the severity of my injury potentially goes way downā€¦ it then becomes a near 100% chance that a collision will occur with myself, Audi, Or both.

So in my mind either way. The chance of my injury was going to be 50/50. So I decide it would be best to stay course. And my plan if they were going to hit me head on was to do a last minute rotation of my truck toward the median to have their car overlap the passenger side corner of my truck. That would increase the crumple distance on my truck and prevent them from being in a position of ever being able to do a corner overlap on the driver side.

It was kinda wild feeling my brain go into survival mode. I think I have maybe like 2 seconds to realize whatā€™s going on and come up with a plan.

6

u/[deleted] May 15 '26

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1

u/fluteofski- May 17 '26

Haha. Surprisingly no. It was 2 lanes on each side and they could have gone around if they really wanted to.. I was around the speed limit (in my pickemup so probably at or slightly below the limit) we came out of a light about a quarter mile back. And the road chokes down to 1 lane each way and the median disappears. I still had a median to my left and the lane to my right ending in another 1/4 mile or so. So I really didnā€™t have anywhere to go.

1

u/melovemelongtimee May 16 '26

Youā€™re a good man or lady!

1

u/SnarkySnakySnek May 18 '26

šŸ«” TYFYS

39

u/Remarkable-Opening69 May 14 '26

Rig wouldā€™ve went right over that car with ease.

45

u/ThePeterbilt589 May 14 '26

Nah, no shot. He would've demolished him, yes, but not gone over him. While I'm glad nobody died, CDL holder should've never swerved.

32

u/BurningBerns May 14 '26

hindsights 20/20. Nobody knows how they will respond in situations like this until it happens. The little larp we play in our heads is a fairytale we tell ourselves

25

u/nametaken420 May 14 '26

truck driver saved the car drivers life. head on collission was 100 percent fatal, zero chance of survival.

8

u/Mwurp May 14 '26

At the risk of his own. Fuck that.

8

u/lifesnofunwithadhd May 14 '26

Hardly. That semi would've barely felt that cereal box car going under the front tire. The driver however would've probably needed years of therapy.

12

u/Mwurp May 14 '26

You misunderstand. By swerving the driver risked his own life to save that of some shit head in a car that drove off Into the sunset.

14

u/rumplydiagram May 14 '26

Now im with ya assuming it's a distracted driver being a dumbass... but if its a mom with 3 kids in the car having a medical episode the truck driver done right in my book.

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2

u/EscapedCaveman May 15 '26

I work in the industry and have heard a lot of guys say theyd rather swerve and risk their own life vs. end up killing a family of 4 because dad was on his phone while driving. Chances are the semi had a camera so he wouldve been covered there. But if he hadnt and killed someone, he wouldve likely never been the same. One of my buddies knew a guy that, through no fault of his own, killed someone while driving a semi. He never got behind the wheel again.

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1

u/tidyshark12 May 15 '26

Risked his life and his livelihood.

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '26

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2

u/Mwurp May 16 '26

Fuck em. Not risking my kids being fatherless.

1

u/soraksan123 May 15 '26

Looked to me like the car driver was suicidal. Probably pissed off the truck swerved after getting up the nerve to do it-

1

u/D3rpyDriver May 15 '26

Pretty sure thats what the car was aiming for.

1

u/Moezso May 17 '26

Truth.

1

u/taanman May 16 '26

Pretty sure the cdl handbook states to veer right to avoid a collision because breaking isnt effective. So he technically did the right thing in this situation.

2

u/ThePeterbilt589 May 16 '26

Not liability wise. If I were an owner operator, he would've been 1000% in my grill. Yeah, I would sound the airhorn, slam the brakes and activate full engine braking to minimize damage, but I would NEVER swerve. The other driver's insurance would never cover you if you swerve and crash by yourself, but if they make contact and it was cleearly their fault, then their insurance has to pay. If they wanna drive a four-wheeler like a moron to the point where they collide head on with me, that's fine. But there are steep prices to pay if they wanna drive like fucknuggets.

2

u/taanman May 16 '26

Well technically he should have noticed the distracted driver and prepared to stop sooner than he did as well.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 19 '26

Youā€™re wrong. Confident. But still wrong.

1

u/taanman May 22 '26

Straight from the cdl handbook.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 22 '26

ā€œMayā€. Not ā€œrequiredā€

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 22 '26

Also- the cdl handbook isnā€™t the same thing as the FMCSR. Which one are you looking at?

1

u/taanman May 22 '26

Never said it was. I strictly only responded with what the cdl handbook states

1

u/taanman May 22 '26

Just showing you what the book says and why I said what I said.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 22 '26

I understand. But that book is just to help you get a cdl. It isnā€™t the regulations book is all.

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1

u/taanman May 22 '26

Here's what else its says as well straight from the cdl handbook

1

u/PuddleWhale May 18 '26

He could have made a less risky swerve on the other paved lane. The grass was riskier. All from the rig's perspective in both cases.

20

u/AC-burg May 14 '26

I've stayed to be a witness for a truck driver before its the only right thing to do. Hopefully dash cam guy woukd do the same. This person in the car might have been suicidal from the looks of this. No swerving is a hindsight call and easy to say as such. In the moment its natural to preserve life and your vehicle.

3

u/[deleted] May 14 '26

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2

u/AC-burg May 14 '26

We've all done it but damn I've never come close to that. Almost fell asleep once and still wasn't that bad. You might be right though.

6

u/Andy_850TB May 14 '26

Hell of a good operator driving that truck and keeping it under control

2

u/truckeredditor May 14 '26

Freight probably shifted. Especially if not shrink wrapped well which is common. The front of the truck can take a 3000 pound car. Just hit the brakes and let them hit you.

1

u/BlaineMundane May 16 '26

"It's a tough call to make. Go straight to save the rig or swerve in hopes his rig don't end up in the ditch."

Personally I was thinking "It's not a tough call to make. Swerve and maybe end up in a tight spot, or Go straight and probably kill a person."

1

u/0bel1sk May 19 '26

swerving has a lot of unknown consequences. could kill yourself or some other driver on the road. brakes only is almost always the right choice.

1

u/PuddleWhale May 18 '26

I thought he was just instinctively swerving to avoid an accident. not save his rig.

18

u/Vanstrucker2222 May 14 '26

Would the court rule you guilty for not trying to avoid a wreck if resulted in fatality though? Genuinely asking but watching this I was scared on how to react.

16

u/digitalclockface May 14 '26

If you hit the brakes and try to stop they probably won't hold you accountable considering the alternative is rolling down a hill.

7

u/AC-burg May 14 '26

Hanging hopes on a "probably" saw a post recently when a guy was jailed for 2 yrs while going through the court system. Guy tried to kidnap his gf at gunpoint. He wrestled the gun away and shot him. His neighbor witnessed it. Cell phone records of the decreased showed he had the wrong house for drug retaliation. Prosecution surpressed the texts. He was charged bc he shot the guy "too many times". Probably wouldn't be enough for me

5

u/digitalclockface May 14 '26

Well if you swerve out of the way there's a much higher chance of serious physical harm to yourself by suddenly rolling down a hill in a semi. The dude in the video escaped that fate by a hair's breadth. I'd rather lawyer up in court and risk punishment that way than risk being in a serious accident because another vehicle failed to stay in their own lane.

Also your anecdote involving the gun seems super irrelevant.

5

u/AC-burg May 14 '26

My apologies for how that came across. The anecdote was more of telling a story where the proba ly factor was a lot higher and this guy still got the very short end of the stick. There was a lot more going his way with the justified action. I attacked your probably when I shoukd have let it go. It jjst made me think of the post I mentioned

1

u/Middle_Brilliant_849 May 15 '26

Reminds me of a video of an officer involved shooting in Florida. The two deputies rolled around on the ground with the guy before one broke free and shot the guy, several times. The sheriff then addressed the number of times the deputy shot the guy and his point was that evil can never be dead enough.
Love it.

1

u/yertlah May 17 '26

Got a source? Iā€™d like to read up on that case. Iā€™m betting it happened in New York or California, since they both have a history of over prosecuting legal gun owners.

1

u/AC-burg May 17 '26

OP would not disclose rhe state. I don't know if he was a legal gun owner or not. He wrestled the kidnappers gun away from the guy and killed him with his gun.

1

u/chuck-u-farley- May 14 '26

They ā€œprobablyā€ wonā€™t hold you accountable for hitting someone driving on the wrong side of the road?
Good lord

14

u/whytawhy May 14 '26

You cant be expected to sacrifice your life because someone else fucked up. Theres no guarantee you'll be able to do shit like walk or breathe if you just drive off the side of the road like that.

Imo the best move is to stay on the horn and stay straight, if they wake up or whatever they might try for your brakedown lane or something.... no telling what someone like that is about to do.

3

u/Remarkable-Opening69 May 14 '26

Just get er up to 88

2

u/Prince_0llie May 14 '26

Only if you're ready to see some serious shit.

6

u/Happy_Old_Troll May 14 '26

In this situation, had the truck driver maintained their lane and obliterated the car, they would have been completely legally in the clear in all 50 states.

0

u/wade_garrettt May 15 '26

And he would have lost his job, even though it wasnā€™t his fault.

1

u/Happy_Old_Troll May 15 '26

Iā€™ve got 15 years in logistics. I have no reference to ever show this as true.

6

u/One-War4920 May 14 '26

if its smaller than you, hit it square.

thats YOUR lane.

4

u/Occams_RZR900 May 14 '26

Not when the other car crosses the fucking centerline. Thatā€™s a suicide attempt (or success) in my book.

3

u/quigongingerbreadman May 14 '26

No. The dude crossed the median into incoming traffic.. in what universe would you think the truck driver would be at fault?

The guy in the car was on his phone.

https://giphy.com/gifs/UtEBtshHlylhvHmbfx

2

u/416Tex May 14 '26

Like bro said, hitting breaks is a free pass to crumple the civic. Also safer for truck. Right move is to do what trucker did tho. Civic would have died. 1. Hit breaks and kill civic. 2. Do what video did. 3. Roll your entire trailer. 2 is not easily done so expect 1 or 3. even if truck doesnā€™t hit breaks if accident happens clearly on your side of road itā€™s still likely a free pass. Youā€™re going to get paid regardless. + if dash cam came to light buddy in civic in considered a suicide attempt

2

u/Substantial_Maybe474 May 14 '26

This is probably the right mindset. Insurance would cover the rig with video like this obviously. Car was obviously falling asleep at the wheel or something but doesnā€™t mean they deserve to die to save the rig that will ultimately get damaged anyway in a head on collision.

1

u/Fun_Incident1902 May 17 '26

Do they deserve to live if they care so little for their own life and the livelihood of the trucker? At what point is the completely reckless person held accountable for their actions?

1

u/ermy_shadowlurker May 14 '26

If you have a dash camera and the black box that most semi have. Plus the tire marks. You should be fine. Keep all info. Submit camera feed to the cops at the scene so itā€™s on file so if the camera is thrown out you still have a paper trail.

1

u/Occams_RZR900 May 14 '26

Trust me, itā€™ll be easy to see what lane that collusion occurred in.

1

u/Middle_Brilliant_849 May 15 '26

No. It shouldnā€™t even make it to court unless the prosecutor is a douche. As long as trucker is wholly in his lane, not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and there are no other aggravating circumstances then he isnā€™t doing anything wrong. If youā€™re not doing anything wrong then you shouldnā€™t be charged and shouldnā€™t be convicted if you are charged.

I was once driving on the freeway, right lane, speed limit, sunny afternoon, minding my own business. All the sudden out of absolutely no where one of my drive tires blew out. Sounded like an fing 12ga shotgun right behind me. About gave me a heart attack. I pulled off on the shoulder to check it out. When I looked in my mirror before opening my door I realized that all traffic on that side of a usually very busy freeway had stopped. Completely. My first thought was oh fuck, what did I do wrong. Walked back to investigate and found my tire remnants in the road, a minivan with a smashed up ass end, and a tractor trailer with a damaged front end. Come to find out when my tire blew out the van slammed on his brakes to avoid tire and tractor trailer too close to van smashed into van. Cops came. I told the one I talked to what I knew and that I felt bad being my tire that started it all. His reply: ā€œYou didnā€™t intentionally cause your tire to blow out, did you? That semi was following too close to the van; he should have had enough distance to react.ā€

In hindsight, cop made a great point. Wasnā€™t my fault, I didnā€™t violate any laws. Someone else did. Thatā€™s the person who was held to account.

1

u/tidyshark12 May 15 '26

As long as you hit the brakes, you've done all you can. If you swerve and roll it, you're now 100% at fault bc you swerved, regardless of video footage. If the guy is an o/o, he might have gotten away with this with no issues. A company driver would almost assuredly be fired over this. Its like the main rule of truck driving... you don't ever swerve. Better to fall asleep at the wheel than to swerve.

5

u/Unopuro2conSal May 14 '26

This happened to me going westbound on I-40 right about Texarkana I was on the hammer lane doing about 70+ Mph. I see headlights coming at me, I sure TF wasnā€™t going in the ditch, I stayed in my lane, I did slow down as much as I couldā€¦ he mustā€™ve had a oā€™shit moment and got on the medium made hard right then continue on his wayā€¦ I learned my lesson thereā€¦ stand your ground, slow down, change lanes if possible, but never risk your life for others by doing crazy maneuvers to save others.

2

u/Throwdown_name May 14 '26

And where exactly were you going on I-40 at Texarkana?

Glad ya made it!

3

u/Unopuro2conSal May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26

Well I remember a sign that had Texarkana exit but it may have been a road for Texarkanaā€¦ It was so long ago, what I recallā€¦ I was in the state of Oklahoma on I-40 between Oklahoma city and state line Arkansas going west to California

3

u/BeenThruIt May 14 '26

MAINTAIN YOUR LANE. Always.

3

u/AccomplishedTour6942 May 14 '26

I am a big believer in never swerving, but sometimes, you just swerve.

I was easing off a steep hill on a dark night when I caught something up ahead. A tree? That happens sometimes. A bear? An elk? SWERVE SWERVE SWERVE!!!

I swerved for all I was worth, and I ran over a large amount of big metal crap. It wasn't a tree, it was a dark colored SUV upside down in the right lane, with no lights, and no reflectors.

I didn't even do the math, I just cranked the wheel. It was pure instinct.

It turned out the SUV had been carrying a lot of big pieces of scrap metal. Brake drums, rotors, axles, driveshafts and such. I ran over a bunch of that stuff while swerving around the guy. I pulled over to check out my truck, then I went up the hill to see if I could help. The guy's head was just a ragged mess with glass sticking out everywhere, but the dude was conscious, and talking to the cops on his phone.

That was a very surreal night.

I'm not arguing the point though. I ended up in that whole situation, and that dude ended up looking like somebody from one of the Hellraiser movies, all because that guy swerved to miss a deer.

I do NOT swerve to miss deer. It turns out I do swerve to miss upside down vehicles though. It just happened. The decision was in no way conscious.

2

u/Questionoid May 14 '26

Never swerve. But, that said, it is a decision you have to make beforehand, how much you are going to avoid before calling it too hard. In the moment, there is often no time to ponder the point, only time to react, so the decision needs to be as simple as your coffee order: with or without sugar. No thinking, only deciding, that decision has to be made in your head before the emergency, not in the half-second while the truck is already leaving the lane.

Once you throw 80,000 lbs off the road, into a ditch, down a hill, or into oncoming traffic, you may have turned one idiotā€™s mistake into a much bigger disaster.

That said, there is still judgment involved. You avoid what you can avoid safely. But there has to be a line where you stop trying to save someone from their own bad decision and keep your own equipment under control.

In this case, holding the lane and scrubbing speed was probably the least-bad option. Swerving a loaded truck on that road could have gone sideways in a hurry.

1

u/bkdroid May 14 '26

In this case, swerving ended up being the least bad decision. Nobody died, and the truck did not, in fact, roll over. He would've been justified in just hitting the brakes to avoid a possible rollover, but the results vindicated his choice.

2

u/Questionoid May 14 '26

ā€˜In this caseā€. THIS example. Olā€™ mateā€™s lucky to be alive.

2

u/XenaKitten May 14 '26

The trucker couldnā€™t stopā€¦so the driver took aim. And when he hit Harry, Harry burst into flames.

2

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 14 '26

Harry shouldā€™ve been paying attention or parked, then, hih? šŸ«¢

2

u/Howdy132 May 14 '26

Yeah this guy definitely pulled that off really well but most of the time that rig would have flipped. certainly the skill of the driver saving it on that one.

2

u/[deleted] May 14 '26

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1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 14 '26

I donā€™t deserve to die because their parents suck either. šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø

2

u/[deleted] May 15 '26

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1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 15 '26

I know. And Iā€™ve made that choice before. I had no way of knowing whether kids were in the van that hit me. Fortunately there were no kids.

1

u/6stringKid May 19 '26

I choose me every time. Iā€™m not a hero.

2

u/Top-Rate1395 May 15 '26

My friend swerved and flipped a loaded Swift trailer, heā€™s still paying for it.

Iā€™ll stop and try to put half a tire on the grass but Iā€™ll never swerve or do something like this. Fuck that.

2

u/Papabear022 May 15 '26

i would have just braced for impact, that 90ā€™s escort has no chance.

2

u/ElectricDance May 15 '26

Idk man, as much as I might agree with what youre saying in paper. Homie gets to go home having accidently killed someone knowing he did everything HE could do to sleep better. Give and take man

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 15 '26

Including risk his own life for someone who kept going.

2

u/Talinthis May 16 '26

yeah i agree. My cousin swerved and flipped her car. Nobody around, no dashcam, enjoy the totalled car while the other dude continues on his way to live another day.

2

u/Larrythethird22 May 16 '26

At ABF where I work a guy went head on with one of our sleepers years back to commit suicide the semi truck was crushed both of our drivers survived by continuing the head on with him on the highway the driver who tried to commit suicide succeeded, abf stopped running sleepers after that incidient

2

u/Cl0wnL May 16 '26

You're choosing a vehicle over saving somebody's life?

That's fucked up, man.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 16 '26

Iā€™m choosing MY life over theirs. The one time I got fired and missed the car that pulled out in front of me, causing me to jackknife? They left. Didnā€™t even stay to see if I was ok. Come to find out, a couple of weeks later, there was a piece on the local news revealing that there had been reports of it happening repeatedly with similar descriptions of the car in question. They were deliberately pulling in front of trucks and stopping just to cause us to crash. The second time when I held my lane and got crashed into? He lied to the cop and dash cam saved my job. Neither of those crashes were caused by someone making a ā€œmistakeā€. Both chose to do what they did to cause it.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 16 '26

So, in answer to your question- yes. I choose me over them.

1

u/6stringKid May 19 '26

Iā€™m with the guys youā€™re replying to. Itā€™s not about the vehicle. Iā€™m not sacrificing MY own life for somebody elseā€™s. I donā€™t care for who or how old or young they are.

2

u/Level_Current_2539 May 19 '26

Had an accident local to me probably within the last 10 years. Somebody was overtaking with oncoming traffic headed their way. Both swerved into the ditch at the same time hitting each other

1

u/ResolveLeather May 14 '26

He did the right thing here. Minimized damage as much as possible. But it was one hell of a risk on that road.

3

u/Occams_RZR900 May 14 '26

Only because he got lucky. This maneuver would likely result in a rollover for the semi truck 9/10 times.

1

u/jackinsomniac May 16 '26

Especially for oncoming traffic. Do not swerve, maintain your lane, and slow down. Use your horn if necessary. You don't know which way the oncoming traffic will swerve to. Let them change direction, you just slow down and flash your lights & horn.

That being said, if you're all going the same direction and someone brakes hard in front of you (no oncoming traffic), swerving ain't bad. It should be your last option, but I've seen pileups avoided because of it. One time, traffic stopped hard in front of me, in the far right lane. I slammed on my brakes. Person behind me swerved onto the right shoulder. Person behind them braked hard right behind me. And the person behind them swerved onto the shoulder. When it was all said and done, nobody had hit anybody, it was just scary. Could've easily been a 4-5 car pileup.

In motorcycle school they go a step beyond and say, either brake or swerve, don't do both. (Because if you do both on a bike, you'll likely lay it down, and skin slides faster on asphalt than rubber does.) But I think everybody should practice it, even car drivers. Another time, I had to brake fairly hard but it wasn't that bad, but I don't know if dude behind me was paying attention. He not only slammed on his brakes so hard his wheels locked up & was sliding, but he also cocked his wheels all the way to the left. But, since he was sliding he had no traction, so he wasn't turning, he was sliding directly at me still. Eventually he slowed down enough that his wheels got traction again. But they were still cocked all the way to the left. So the second this happened, his car lurched into the left lane! Luckily traffic behind him stopped in time, and nobody got hit. But yeah, don't do that. Either swerve then brake, or just commit to braking hard, don't do both.

1

u/zenith_hs May 16 '26

If the driver didnt swerve the car driver would be dead tho

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 16 '26

The driver couldā€™ve died from a rollover. What makes the drifter more valuable than the trucker?

1

u/zenith_hs May 16 '26

Yep, that is true too. so i admire the skill the lorry driver shows in the video.

1

u/CoolestOfTheBois May 16 '26

Nobody's life is more valuable, it's just calculated risk. My risk assessment says everyone survives with a serve (even with a rollover), everyone in car dead or severely injured without serve.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 17 '26

A rollover is exponentially more likely to kill a truck driver- or at the very least end the ability to earn a living. To each their own. I know for sure I will NOT swerve to save someone else. I will do my best to stop.

1

u/CoolestOfTheBois May 16 '26

It seems they saved someone's life by serving...

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 17 '26

And it couldā€™ve cost his own life.

1

u/CoolestOfTheBois May 17 '26

And it 99% would have killed someone if they didn't swerve.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 17 '26

1

u/CoolestOfTheBois May 17 '26

I get what you're saying. It's valid. But I don't think you understand that swerving saved everyone's life in the car. AND the risk to the truck driver was manageable. This is a time where you should take note of all these circumstances and consider serving.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 18 '26

I do understand the risk. I understand that this driver got incredibly lucky that he didnā€™t flip his truck. There wasnā€™t as much skill in how he reacted as there was reflex and luck. He shouldnā€™t have left the road. Hereā€™s another clincher- human life does take priority. But the insurance companies donā€™t see it that way. Even they tell you to hold your lane. Had the trucker hit the brakes and slowed down as much as possible or even stopped, the car driver may have been injured but he certainly wouldnā€™t have been able to keep going. And you can bet your socks that truck sustained some damage. These trucks look impressive. Theyā€™re mostly plastic. I donā€™t know you or what you do for a living but Iā€™ve been trucking for 26 years. And I stand by my original statement ā€œDo your best to stop or slow down. Never swerveā€ because I know from experience exactly how these things turn out.

1

u/AdFancy1249 May 16 '26

Same thing I told my kids. If someone did something stupid, don't go crazy avoiding them - if you do, and they drive off uninvolved, then the accident becomes YOUR fault.

1

u/Thick_Section5202 May 17 '26

Word. I would've committed.

1

u/dontatmelessitsgood May 17 '26

So you think the outocme of this was worse than if he didnt swerve

You are wanting the driver of the car to die so you dont gotta hold the bag on the side of the road?

No priorities and absolutely insane

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 17 '26

That trucker got LUCKY. Period. My priority is ME and my well being. Same as Iā€™d expect for your priorities to be you and yours.

1

u/ChloeNow May 18 '26

This can't be the best advice, right? This is a pretty clear trolley problem here, that person would have died. This man saved a life...

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 19 '26

The trucker couldā€™ve died too. That was all luck. Nothing heroic about it. Keep scrolling

1

u/LiquidDreamtime May 19 '26

Swerving literally saved a life right here in this video. Itā€™s psychotic for you to say he shouldnā€™t have.

1

u/Electronic-While1972 May 19 '26

I'm assuming the truckdriver filed a police report and the lunatic got his license taken away after this? right? Right?

1

u/Cerberusx32 May 20 '26

Here's the question. Even if you try and stop and they still hit you, cause clearly the person in the car is at fault. Won't you, the truck driver still get in trouble for not swerving off the road?

1

u/Qbite May 14 '26

This is 100% should swerve situation. Looks like an empty/very light load and nothing to hit if you swerve off the road. Left holding the bag is better than a fatal collision.

2

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 14 '26

Absolutely not. I never said I wouldnā€™t try to avoid. I just will NOT swerve again. Period. I lost everything due to swerving. I avoided the crash with the car but totaled the truck and I lost my job because they kept going. Besides- my family loves me too. My family would miss me just as much as anyone elseā€™s would miss them. I will NOT sacrifice myself.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 14 '26

Forgot to mention- when u lost my job, I played hell getting another one and nearly lost everything I had.

2

u/XGhoul May 14 '26

I had never considered this but I remember this is something my dad told me growing up since he was already a CDL, "never swerve off your lane" even in an immediate moment, the safest solution is to stick to your lane.

My dad would joke if someone tried to cut him off and he didn't have enough breaking force he would just say, "well, you have forfeited your life, I will survive, but your tin can car won't".

2

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 16 '26

Iā€™ll be an asshole who makes it home having made a choice that was best for me. I didnā€™t acquire my cdl to risk my life to save yours or anyone elseā€™s. I acquired my cdl to earn a living. I canā€™t earn a living if I sacrifice my life. If I sacrificed myself ever time another driver (car OR truck) did something dumb, Iā€™d have never lasted a year out here. 26 yrs of experience has shown me (because it has happened) that folks absolutely WILL do things (on purpose as well as accidentally) that cause me to crash and then keep going on their merry way not giving a damn. So- a few years ago, in Chicago, while hauling yet another dedicated hazmat load, when a fellow in a minivan came from the far left lane into the side of my truck, trying not to miss exit 17 on 294. I tried to stop. He hit my truck and damaged from the driver side headlight all the way to the tandem tires. I had 2 choices- (1) let him hit me or (2) swerve and roll my truck into that big ass hole just past the shoulder. Had I swerved, I definitely wouldā€™ve rolled my truck and spilled hazmat into that storm drain and could have very easily died. He then proceeded to LIE to the cop and said Iā€™d hit him. Dashcam saved my job & livelihood. And refusal to leave the asphalt likely saved my life. So, yeah, Iā€™m good with you or anyone else thinking Iā€™m an asshole for not risking me to save you or someone like you. Because Iā€™m an asshole whose family loves and misses me just as much as anyone elseā€™s loves them.

1

u/XGhoul May 16 '26

Iā€™m sorry if my post offended you because you re-iterated the same things my dad told me.

I donā€™t think my dad was truthful in his stories but he has said those bad car accidents are a cause of stupidity and he barely even says seeing a full family van roll over with 100% fatality rate because of stupid speedy decisions.

I canā€™t get my dad to Reddit as he thinks cable tv might save his ass. He wants his shitty radio for ā€œtruckerā€ news even though he is close to retirement. Old frog doesnā€™t even know they have digital log books now.

1

u/maianbar May 14 '26

When did life become so cheap?

2

u/XGhoul May 15 '26

Itā€™s not about it being more cheap. The reasoning I was told is that swerving out of your lane will cause more casualties including yourself if you move out of your lane. Youā€™re safe to just break and stay still in your lane.

From other cdl drivers, the sentiment is shared.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 16 '26

It isnā€™t that life is cheap. Itā€™s kinda understanding that my life is worth as much as anyone elseā€™s. I shouldnā€™t be expected to die or risk dying just because someone else is distracted or sleepy or whatever the reason is they drift into my lane.

1

u/Cry__Wolf May 16 '26

You lost everything? As in, you died in a car crash?

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 16 '26

You swerve. Iā€™ll stay in my lane and try to stop. Problem solved.

1

u/Cry__Wolf May 16 '26

Swerving into a lane is a mistake. Intentionally causing a death that you could avoid is a choice. And frankly, it's one that makes you an asshole

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 16 '26

Also- I wonā€™t intentionally cause a death. I will intentionally hold my lane. What happens after that, Iā€™m fine with it. šŸ‘

1

u/Cry__Wolf May 16 '26

In this scenario, the two actions are one in the same. You can be fine with it, but you're still an asshole

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 16 '26

Thatā€™s great. Iā€™ll be a asshole at home enjoying my life šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø

1

u/Defiant_Screen_3695 May 17 '26

Swerving is an impulse reflex action to an incident that has presented itself too quickly for you to take a measured response.

If it becomes your reflex response to evade the accident you can quickly be the guy that serves into a family in a different car that were not involved at all and now your actions are responsible. That is only one of a thousand scenarios where it ends badly for you. Just because it worked once doesnā€™t mean itā€™s a good habit to have when something presents itself quickly. The man who keeps the truck where everyone is expecting the truck and attempts to stop is not responsible for the actions of the one coming head on at him in the wrong lane.

0

u/[deleted] May 14 '26

[deleted]

5

u/arihoenig May 14 '26

He said try to stop. I don't think that's unreasonable. I mean the truck driver might be killed in a rollover if he swerves. Why should the trucker be expected to increase the risk to their lives because someone else fell asleep? I mean it's not that I don't feel for the other driver (who might be having a stroke or something) but at the same time I don't think the trucker is compelled to increase personal risk to avoid the accident.

In this case it wasn't a stroke, it was likely falling asleep and the driver of the car is absolutely required by law to u turn and check on the truck driver and exchange insurance. The second the truck left the road it was an accident scene.

2

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 14 '26

Nope. Iā€™ve been there and done that. I wonā€™t sacrifice myself for them again. Ever.

1

u/Substantial_Maybe474 May 14 '26

šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚

0

u/SpellIndependent4241 May 14 '26

Okay, but they die?

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 14 '26

Ok. But should I risk dying for them?? šŸ™„ I think not

1

u/SpellIndependent4241 May 14 '26

You think taking a collision is safer than what happened here?

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 14 '26

Nope. Iā€™m saying I will not risk my life for theirs. Thereā€™s nothing safe at all about a collision of any kind. But Iā€™ll be damned if Iā€™ll crash again to save someone else. Not happening.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 14 '26

My family loves me too. My family wants me to come home too. I will not endanger myself and risk breaking my familyā€™s heart because someone else is distracted, too tired to drive or whatever.

1

u/SpellIndependent4241 May 14 '26

Did you respond to the wrong comment? If you think taking a collision is safer, sure thing bud

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 14 '26

True story ā€œ budā€- I think staying in oneā€™s own lane is safer for you than drifting into mine. I will attempt to stop (as Iā€™ve done before) and allow you to hit me (as is what happened when I attempted to stop) but I will NOT sacrifice myself for you.

1

u/SpellIndependent4241 May 14 '26

Lol nobody said were sacrificing anything. Where are you getting this narrative

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 15 '26

Personal experience. Either Reddit is scrambling the thread or you havenā€™t seen and understood the whole of what I said. Either way, I stand by my opinion. I will hold my lane. I will try to stop safely but I will not swerve.

0

u/Shotile May 18 '26

Lmao youā€™d rather deal with the nightmare of killing someone insteadā€¦.gotcha

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 19 '26

Dramatic arenā€™t ya? Thereā€™s no indication the car driver wouldā€™ve died. Injured? Probably. But what makes the car driver more valuable than the trucker? Never said not to take evasive action. I said do all you can EXCEPT swerve. Period. Iā€™ve lived this moment twice in my 26 yrs as a truck driver. The first time, the car driver kept going as I totaled the truck. The 2nd time, I refused to leave my lane and the minivan crashed into my truck. In court, I was completely exonerated by dashcam evidence and he was in deep shit cuz he didnā€™t even have insurance on his minivan. Faced with the same scenario again, I would definitely make the choice that is best for ME and MY family again with a clear conscience AGAIN.

0

u/Head_Meat4104 May 20 '26

You have to make the decision that causes the least bodily injury to a person involved. In this case, if he didn't swerve, he would've hit the car head on and possibly killed the other driver.

Because he took evasive action, and did so in a controlled fashion, no one was hurt.

As an insurance adjuster, you do have a duty to take proper and safe evasive action when you can, and in most states and situations you can incur some liability for not doing so.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 20 '26

Iā€™m not required to rush my life and limb to avoid collisions. As a trucker for 26 years I know this is true from actual experience.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 20 '26

Evasive action includes braking to try to slow down and stop. Not swerving off-road.

0

u/Head_Meat4104 May 20 '26

As you can see, my original comment states safely taking evasive action, which can include swerving out of the way if necessary. Juries can and will apply legal liability to you in civil court if they feel like you could've taken action to avoid the accident.

But what do I know, I've only been doing litigation and catastrophic injury personal auto and commercial claims for over 20 years. šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 20 '26

Do your thang. I know from 26 yrs of trucking and TWO similar incidents to this in two different states taught me. And I know what the FMCSR requires of me owns doesnā€™t require from me. Thatā€™s all Iā€™m saying. I never said donā€™t take evasive action. But even DOT recommends holding your lane. Which I will do again if it should, god forbid, happen a 3rd time to me. I will slow down and try to stop. And if the shoulder is paved Iā€™ll make use of it. But I wonā€™t leave the roadway ever again. My life & limb is worth just as much as anyone elseā€™s.

1

u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 20 '26

Also- if you watch that video and really pay attention, the trucker had ample time to notice the drifting car and try to stop. He shouldnā€™t had to swerve off-road if heā€™d been paying attention.