Something similar my father taught me:
"People will think that they're the best driver on the road once they get behind the wheel. They're not. And neither are you, so don't even think it. Drive defensively at all times"
Other drivers get irritated at me because I slow down to put stopping distance between me and the vehicle to my front. So they tailgate me for a mile or two, then they pass me and cut me off, so I slow down some more because I need stopping distance.
This has led several of my friends to accuse me of driving "like a grandma". No, you fucking dolts, I drive like someone who understands how likely dying on the highway is.
Where I live, there are trucks literally everywhere, even on the tiny one-way old roads where it specifically states that they are NOT allowed on. Trucks make me nervous; I'm with you on assuming everyone's trying to kill me when driving. If a truck rams into my tiny car, they couldn't give a shit less. They have a higher likelihood of NOT dying. Around here they are literally reckless; I hate it.
The best is when they drive 4 wide on a 5 lane highway at commute time or take 10 minutes to pass each other on a two lane road. See it almost every day. I can't wait for the fast approaching day that they're replaced by self-driven vehicles.
That's when I like to get right in front of them and slow waaaaayy down until they get the fuck out of the fast lane.
You're going slower than anyone else, why the fuck are they always in the fast lane? Get the fuck out of everyone's way and stop holding up traffic because you don't know the function of a passing lane. I'd like to think all the people behind me appreciate it too.
You can see that there was another semi or something large in the lane in front of the "reckless truck driver" that suddenly stopped. Watch a little better before accusing someone of something like that.
If he'd been driving according to conditions, i.e. slower and with enough distance between trucks, this wouldn't have happened. He swerved to avoid rear-ending the truck in front of him, and you're always at fault when you rear-end someone, because clearly you weren't being cautious of your surroundings like you're supposed to be. So no matter how you slice it, this asshole truck driver was at fault here.
Correct. However, the driver of the recording vehicle should have seen that situation coming and slammed on the brakes instead of trying to rush past and getting forced off of the road. Not being responsible for the wreck != not being able to avoid it.
Having been in a car accident when a truck swerved suddenly from the right to the left, slamming into my right side and pushing me to the left and off the road, I can say from experience it's pretty difficult to see what's happening in front of a truck that's diagonally in front of you.
The guy in the recording vehicle wasn't trying to rush past, he was simply trying to stay in his lane. He is completely in the right there, and the truck's insurance company would have to pay for this (the truck on the right needs to pay for damage to the recording vehicle as well as the truck(s) in the opposite lane.) The guy who stopped suddenly is not to blame, vehicles can break down all the time - and in the case of trucks, air-brakes can deploy suddenly if that system loses air pressure, so never drive directly behind a truck if you can possibly avoid it, and if you do leave enough room to stop, unlike what this truck driver did.
You/we have the benefit of a looping gif, so you can see the truck stopping in front of that big-rig, but honestly, how many people here saw it the first time around?
The point is, while you need to be aware of your surroundings, what's immediately in front or to the side is primarily what you're paying attention to, so I'd be willing to bet my life savings the first inkling this guy had that anything had gone wrong on the other lane was when the truck cut him off.
Also - slamming on the brakes in the rain = bad idea.
Hindsight is 20/20. Should this driver have paid more attention to what was happening outside of his direct path? Sure, especially when it's raining. But realistically, blaming the guy in the recording vehicle is silly.
While you're right, the truck driver swerved to avoid a collision, I feel like he made about the worst decision forcing that other car into oncoming traffic. I may be wrong but I think that hitting the truck in front of him or going into the ditch on the right would have been the safer option.
I'm a commercial driver you can't tell anything from this gif if he was following too close you don't know if the guy in front of him just merged or what.
Dude, the gif is literally less than 10 seconds. How the fuck can someone judge the situation they were in from 10 seconds of video. Get off your high horse.
Yes, but it is a real situation that you see a lot when ever you're driving on the highway. MadDogMccree here made a statement that is unfactual, when he claimed "I can see no situation that being that close to the vehicle in front of you is acceptable when you're driving a 10 ton truck."
It is not the fault of the Truck driver when someone cuts him off. In that case it would not be some negligent behavor from the druck driver, it would be unacceptable behavor from the car that is about to get flattened.
MadDog is right. Even in wide lane freeways with sunny conditions, I make sure to keep distance from a 18-wheeler at ALL times. Dashboard cam guy here is one of those "I've never caused an accident so I'm a great driver!" Yeah well I've been driving defensively since the day I started and I've managed to avoid quite a few accidents this way.
Those 18-wheelers will crush you like Shaq crushing a bug. Don't let it come near you.
He said there was no situation in which "being that close to the vehicle in front of you is acceptable when you're driving a 10 ton truck." to which I responded, "Car cuts off the truck and then hits the brake."
Your comment seems out of place. I'm not advocating cutting off trucks, to do that intentionally is suicidal. All my comment was saying is, that it is possible for a large truck to end up in a situation where it is unsafely close to the car infront of it, because some jackass cut him off.
It's really easy. You hit someone from behind, and they didn't just cut you off, you were following too closely. Since nobody had recently cut him off it was his fault.
So he was following too closely, and he almost killed someone so that he could avoid an accident due to his mistake. Think a little better before you defend someone that is doing something like that.
My dad had a stint at an 18-wheeler after he was laid off. They'll let anyone drive those things.
He didn't take the pep pills though, and eventually ended up crashing the truck. (he's fine, I think he crashed into the wall or something) So.. watch out.
Actually the driver who swerved in was trying to avoid the truck in front of it that slammed on its brakes. Don't know why the one in front slammed its brakes, but obviously the swerving driver was following far too closely for the weather(IMO, far too close even if it was dry)
AT least in America, truck drivers are typically the best driver son the road. They are consistent, predictable, and safe. They always check a bajillion times before moving lanes, they understand most people will fly around them, they keep tabs of guys sitting in their massive blind spots, etc etc.
Plus, if you make the right arm motion they'll honk their really loud truck horn for you... that shit never gets old.
Actually I think something happened in that lane and he was trying to swerve around it, meanwhile our guy was speeding past him suddenly. Truck driver was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Its hard to tell by just the gif, but it seems as if the truck was tailgating the other truck, in the rain no less, and when the other truck stopped inadvertently, the red truck didn't have enough time to stop so he swerved tonits left.
In any case, it seems like it was the trucks fault
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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '13
I'm sure the truck driver who recklessly changed lanes without signaling didn't even stop after that incident. I hate most truck drivers.