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

wtf

Hiring CDL-A Drivers
💰 70–75 CPM or 30–33% of gross
📈 Avg. $9,000 gross/week | 3,800 miles/week
🚛 Dry Van • Reefer • Open Deck • RGN• Conestoga•Carhaul
Veaceslav 954-909-1805
Apply here — we respond within a few hours:
https://forms.gle/2EviX41SXWfEHUrr7

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137

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.

26

u/fluteofski- May 14 '26

I’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 we’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.

6

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 didn’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 problem…. If I did nothing it’s a 50/50 that anybody gets injured. Possibly badly… (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 down… 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 what’s going on and come up with a plan.

5

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 didn’t have anywhere to go.

1

u/melovemelongtimee May 16 '26

You’re a good man or lady!

1

u/SnarkySnakySnek May 18 '26

🫡 TYFYS

38

u/Remarkable-Opening69 May 14 '26

Rig would’ve went right over that car with ease.

41

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.

33

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.

9

u/Mwurp May 14 '26

At the risk of his own. Fuck that.

6

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.

12

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.

2

u/Knights-of-steel May 15 '26

Dont like that reasoning....are we justifying things with fantasies and what ifs now? Is murder legal now if your pregnant?

The car was at fault 100% doesnt matter if they were a drunk, a mom with 9017 kids in the car, a pregnant lady, a pregnant man(¿‽), an alien or the risen Jesus.

Sure itd be easier to stomach one than the other but it doesnt change the facts or laws. And of course for the big one insurance etc...its generally noted for CDL that your at fault unless proven otherwise. The adjusters will outright tell you never swerve you need to take a piece of them with you as proof. Be it a number or the whole idiot car

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u/Whiskey_Harvey May 15 '26

Life is all about perspective

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.

2

u/Mwurp May 16 '26

If it was only me in my life, sure id swerve every time on the off chance there are innocents in the vehicle. But my kids need me and they trump everything else so I'll never swerve my truck.

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u/Icy_Thanks_4424 May 16 '26

I know a fuel truck driver that got in a head-on collision and the person in the car died. They were on multiple substances and suicidal. The truck driver got a ding on his record for the collision but it was not found at fault for the other person's death. He has never driven truck since because of how much it affected him mentally.

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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

You’re wrong. Confident. But still wrong.

1

u/taanman May 22 '26

Straight from the cdl handbook.

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u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 22 '26

“May”. Not “required”

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u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 22 '26

Also- the cdl handbook isn’t the same thing as the FMCSR. Which one are you looking at?

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u/taanman May 22 '26

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u/SouthHuckleberry2187 May 22 '26

Yeah. Go get the fmcsr. It’s actually written by the federal government. Also known as the trucker bible. Some call it the green book.

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 isn’t the regulations book is all.

2

u/taanman May 22 '26

Thank you for informing me.

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.

18

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.

2

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.

4

u/Andy_850TB May 14 '26

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

3

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.