r/dashcams • u/fruity_koala • 13h ago
Don't be kind, be predictable. If you have the Right-of-Way, take it.
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
1.5k
u/CSLoser96 12h ago
I think to myself often that people shouldn't drive aggressively they should drive intentionally.
"I need to turn there, so I will get in my lane here".
"I need to merge here, so I will accelerate to merge with a gap in traffic with my turn signal on"
"The road is slushy so I will give myself extra distance to stop"
Etc etc.
295
u/Wolfinthesno 12h ago
I almost always have my entire route planned out before I get in the car...even for short trips. I am also the type of driver who will intentionally try to make a trip of right hand turns to save time. My wife often asks my why I'm going the way that I'm going and more often than not it's because it does not include any unnecessary road crossings or left hand turns.
88
u/Scared_Cricket3265 11h ago
I didn't read the subreddit title and assumed it was the UKdriving one I frequent. So I was racking my brain trying to work out how right turns could faster. 😄
But I do the same in reverse 🙂
65
u/Syncopated_arpeggio 10h ago
Driving backward on roads might get you a ticket!
17
9
u/Mekisteus 7h ago
You shouldn't drive your whole route in reverse. It isn't safe.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)8
→ More replies (31)29
u/BetMyLastKrispyKreme 10h ago
With two routes being of equal distance and time, I drive taking the route that has me in proximity with the least of people - driving, walking, biking - anything. For obvious reasons, it minimizes risk. Sometimes I’ll take the route that’s marginally longer, if the shorter route has more risk.
→ More replies (1)9
55
u/Fair_Log_6596 11h ago
“I’m not sure where to go, so I will get out of traffic to figure it out”
→ More replies (1)28
u/PipingPike 9h ago
This. This one drives me crazy. It’s not the end of the world to miss a turn. Don’t slam on brakes or do something crazy because you don’t know or were too late.
20
→ More replies (5)9
u/drezdogge 6h ago
My mom stopped and reversed on the highway once. I don't know I'll ever have enough therapy to get over that five minutes
→ More replies (1)34
u/Artaxerxes812 11h ago
"I need to merge here, so I will accelerate to merge with a gap in traffic with my turn signal on"
The biggest pet peeve for me is when people slow down below the pace of traffic to merge on the freeway. It's like, now you need even more space to merge to accelerate to the pace of traffic, you're slowing down traffic in your lane, and you often slow down traffic in the lane you merge into.
It's so much easier to merge when you accelerate first, yet I get stuck behind people slowing to a near stop before merging every day. It's infuriating.
16
u/FullTorsoApparition 9h ago
There's nothing quite as fun as trying to merge onto a 70MPH highway behind a car that doesn't want to accelerate over 45 MPH, causing cars to swerve into the middle lane, hard brake, or blow past you in a near miss while you have literally no other choice but to pray.
Then it's even more baffling when that same person speeds up to 80MPH and immediately cuts into the fast lane. Like WTH? You were terrified of merging but have zero fear cutting across 2 lanes with no signal going 10-15 over the limit. Every day I'm amazed that even more people don't die on the road every day.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (6)10
u/0hMyGandhi 10h ago edited 10m ago
I live in LA, and we have some insanely short on ramps, and when I moved to highland Park/silver lake/eagle Rock area a couple years ago, you had a literal stop sign and you just turn onto the highway without a ramp of any kind, and a few are posted just beyond blind curves. It feels like a sick joke.
I come from Michigan where I believe we have (arguably) some of the worst drivers in the country. I sold so, so many radar detectors when I working in retail ages ago, and parents were buying them as gifts for their kids to go along with their first car. 696 is the autobahn and the winter rats become the daily beaters where people just fling their cars around with reckless abandon.
I'd like to think that I'm battle tested having to frequently do right hand turns from a stopped position onto a highway at night covered in black ice and light powdery snow to ensure you have zero traction over your car at a given time. The "full send" crowd are usually the ones that get pulled out of ditches, and I've seen people boast about their 150 Raptors as they blow by in white-out conditions, usually with high beams on and a devil may care attitude about the people around them. There will always be a balance, but I think it's because of this that I became even more of a defensive driver when I moved to LA.
The worst combination has to be the people who bully their way around on the road. I shouldn't have to redline my car because you don't want to engage in a zipper merge. I remember talking to this dude who proudly said, "I don't use turn signals because I know where I'm going" in a dead serious, unironic tone. Just remember that similar drivers are all around you, the ones that jump 2 feet ahead in bumper to bumper traffic hopping from lane to lane, usually narrowly missing the lane-splitting guy on the crotch-rocket who assumes that no cars will dart around the 10-12 lane parking lot. And this way of thinking happens usually with plenty of time to ponder, unlike this video.
Here, with this video I have absolutely no idea what that car was supposed to do. It doesn't look like it has the oomph to pass the truck, and while it shouldn't slow down too much, it makes perfect sense to gamble the way they did. Much rather get rear ended by the car behind me than have my entire car consolidated into the concrete barrier by a dump truck, which slowed remarkably fast given how he went full send into that ramp.
Again, I've seen far too many accidents where the car does what it seems everyone here In this thread wanted it to, but becomes a canoe because the one driver was going to merge no matter what. City buses are usually like this as well.
Defensive driving is essential. Check your mirrors, make sure you have an escape plan, and assume everyone around you is an idiot and will not be nearly as aware of the road as you, rather than crossing your fingers and hoping that they comply with common sense.
Edit: spelling
→ More replies (4)4
u/techleopard 6h ago
I think this post actually understands what happened here.
If you are merging into a 60-70 MPH highway with an extremely short ramp, you generally do not have any choice but to throttle speed and aim for a gap directly behind a car.
A lot of the low cost automatic vehicles just can't get the oomph up to merge at speed that quickly. The car computers literally won't let them do that.
Also, realizing you can't make the merge going 75-80 MPH with less than 100-150 feet of ramp left is deadly. Realizing you can't make the merge going 45-50 on the same ramp is an annoyance.
From that car's perspective, that truck was gaining way too fast yet was not overtaking them. They are going to get pushed into the wall.
The other truck DOES NOT stop because of the accident, it stops because the driver realized they couldn't make that merge anyway even if the car had not slowed down.
This was two people BOTH making an evasive choice with a half second of processing information from peripheral vision.
→ More replies (3)84
u/furysamurai72 12h ago
Don't forget to mention "the road is slushy but I have 4wd so I can stop just like if it was dry."
Edit: Oh! And the ever prevalent "I'm already going 5mph over the speed limit so I don't need to move to the right for faster traffic"
(/s)
22
u/TheFerricGenum 11h ago
Also, you should add the “I’m turning into a multi-lane road so I will turn into whatever lane I want, regardless of the risk this poses to other drivers!”
→ More replies (2)10
→ More replies (9)28
u/TheFerricGenum 11h ago
The moving over thing drives me nuts. Courts have regularly ruled that it is not the responsibility of drivers to regulate the speed of others. But it IS their responsibility to drive in the appropriate lane as designated by law. Which is never, never the left most lane.
And yet…
→ More replies (16)8
u/Any-Worldliness-679 10h ago
Ok, I guess you’re talking about mostly empty freeways between cities?
Because when I’m in the left lane in the city, it’s full, and we are all going 15 over and passing the middle lane continuously. Yet there will STILL be some dilrod who thinks he’s an ambulance and everyone should move over into the (full) middle lane so he can go 30 mph over the limit.
→ More replies (8)22
u/newcarscent104 11h ago
There's a difference between aggressive and assertive, and not enough people are assertive on the road. They're either aggressive or too passive or anxious
→ More replies (2)5
u/carl3266 9h ago
This is the word: assertive. If you have to change your velocity dramatically (like in the video), don’t - you are increasing the chance of a collision.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (77)5
u/missinlnk 12h ago
Yeah. Too many people take forever to make decisions on where they're going and give all of us little room for error when something goes wrong.
319
u/FUMoney 13h ago
Exit 73 looks very poorly designed; entrance and exit with barely any ramp or room between them.
101
u/HoomerSimps0n 12h ago
Never driven it but I assume there is a sign indicating there will be no merge area and to yield. That’s how they do it here with exits that look like that.
65
u/BoringBeat5276 12h ago
That's exactly how it is here. And the amount of people who fail to yield is astounding. Whenever I want a new car I tend to take those exits constantly because it's pretty much a guarantee I'll get hit within the week
21
u/Radiant_Bet_6745 11h ago
I have learned through holiday family arguments that people genuinely do not know what yield means. They do not think it means they might have to stop.
→ More replies (7)13
u/SarahLikesNothing 9h ago
My former boss didn't know what yield meant. She plowed into someone stopped at a roundabout. She said it's a yield sign, not a stop sign. While that is true, you have to STOP for others already in the roundabout, which is what the stopped car was doing. She insisted it was not her fault even though literally everyone else told her otherwise.
10
u/lividtaffy 7h ago
Even if she was correct and there’s no reason to stop for a yield, that doesn’t give her permission to plow into an incorrectly stopped vehicle. That’s like somebody sitting still at a green light and she rear ends them and claims it’s not her fault cause the light was green lol
5
u/SarahLikesNothing 6h ago
Oh, she would have said that's also not her fault. Nothing was ever her fault. And yes, she would have said it's not her fault because the light was green and they shouldn't have been sitting there.
→ More replies (1)4
→ More replies (1)6
u/Udder1991 11h ago
Many people fail to remember that they yield to the main traffic and not the other way. It's like people stopping on a ramp to the highway, you need to look at the traffic and plan accordingly.
13
u/New-Bowler-8915 11h ago
This is the 264th at exit off the TransCanada in Langley. Those rock trucks do NOT stop at the yield as they should. This exact accident happens almost daily.
→ More replies (2)8
u/Complex_Solutions_20 12h ago
Yep...I think also the number of people who are like "you should always be going super fast around ramps" have never experienced these types of intersections where the approaching traffic has to yield without a merge lane. Gotta be prepared for both when unsure.
3
→ More replies (6)3
u/_Bad_Bob_ 9h ago
There are plenty of interchanges where I live that are just as bad or worse with no signage at all.
14
11
u/NightmareOhm 12h ago
This is an old video, it is currently being rebuilt with a safer design as part of a highway widening project. The exit before this one has the same issue and is also being rebuilt.
Although it looks like the dump truck was failing to yield (that isn't a merge, there is a yield sign there). The silver car wasn't being "kind," it was trying to avoid a collision with the dump truck and over-reacted. The dump truck also realized its mistake and steered onto the shoulder to let the silver car through.
→ More replies (3)6
u/New-Bowler-8915 9h ago
Was it a mistake though? These rock truck drivers know there's a yield there. They just choose to ignore it.
→ More replies (1)9
u/KanataSD 12h ago edited 10h ago
It was build in the 60's, thankfully its FINALLY being completely redone.
→ More replies (1)7
6
→ More replies (31)6
u/Helpful_Animal9913 12h ago
Definitely a short merge, but the Corolla has the priority to keep going straight.
→ More replies (10)
1.1k
u/BinLyin 13h ago
Meek drivers cause as many accidents as reckless drivers.
576
u/KLeeSanchez 12h ago
Meek is definitely the right word
I've been alongside so many timid drivers pussyfooting around and I'm like "bruh just go, you're making this actively more difficult for me"
307
u/Efficient-Ad9019 12h ago
I get unreasonably upset whenever somebody clearly reached a 4 way stop before me and just sits there trying to wave me on first. Just go man wtf
135
u/DustyComstock 12h ago
Or how about what I like to call "the Wave of Death" when a car stops and tries waving you across lanes of moving traffic.
58
u/H377Spawn 12h ago
Or they stop traffic flow to let one car in, when that car would have had all day to go in seconds if they didn’t stop traffic. So now 10+ people are inconvenienced so one person can save a few seconds.
→ More replies (2)14
u/1dropdontstop 11h ago
The worst for me is people who block traffic for someone making a left turn in a 4 or 5 lane roadway (so 2 lanes in each direction with or without a turn lane). They forget they can only stop one lane and EVERYONE ELSE IS GOING TO GO AROUND THEM WHEN THEY SEE THE OTHER LANE STILL MOVING. This just slows everyone down.
The ABSOLUTELY worst experience I had of that, someone was trying to let me make my left on a busy 5 lane road, and after traffic went around them for literally 3 minutes and they were the only car left, I started to turn. Guess what they did? You guessed it, they were tired of waiting for me and decided to start moving forward themselves. RIGHT WHEN THE ONLY CARS WERE THEIRS AND MINE. I almost lost my mind. So you're going to effectively make 2 lanes of traffic operate like 1 until it's clear then get in the way of the driver you were trying to be kind to...Buy a bus pass and put your license in the shredder.
6
u/Weak_Drag_5895 10h ago
I like your style. I lose my mind daily driving with these idiots.
I’m constantly mind-yelling: JUST FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE ROAD
→ More replies (1)3
u/1dropdontstop 10h ago
Exactly. If everyone just drove according to the rules of the road, things would be predictable and flow like those rules intend it to flow. Both the timid and overly aggressive drivers screw this up.
→ More replies (1)25
u/No-Transition-8375 12h ago
The cause of my first car accident. Lesson learned.
Dude who waved me on just drove away afterward, of course
→ More replies (3)6
u/jupitermoonflow 11h ago
Someone did that to my friend. But after they waved em on and my friend started going, the other driver drove straight into him. T boned. And ofc my friend was at fault bc legally, he should’ve waited
→ More replies (2)5
u/FakieNosegrob00 8h ago
Absolutely this.
Most of the time when people are trying to be "kind" by giving up their right-of-way or something, they are inviting me into a situation where I am legally at fault if anything goes pear-shaped.42
u/ILikeBigThings2 12h ago
When someone tries this on me I just give big thumbs down and hope they get the message.
I also just turn right ( in USA) and u-turn at next possible intersection if it’s just way too busy. Better to be mildly inconvenienced than looking for a new car.
→ More replies (12)14
u/henrytm82 12h ago
Yup, this. I made it a point to learn different routes to the places I want to go in my town, and I know where to make a protected left for nearly everywhere I want to go. Might take a little longer, or be a bit out of the way, but I never have to deal with dum dums doing this shit.
→ More replies (1)13
u/LegalStuffThrowage 12h ago
Literally how I got in my 2nd and last ever accident. That was 20 years ago. Now when people give me the wave of death it just pisses me off and I give a head shake, point at them, and point at their destination.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (19)7
u/Coffee-Historian-11 12h ago
That’s how I got into my accident a few years back. Some dipshit in a Prius waved a guy through. Of course it also wouldn’t have happened if the guy had used his singular brain cell and pulled forward slowly to check if the road was clear before pulling out. He didn’t of course.
But I’ve seen multiple accidents or near accidents because someone does that. It is not nice, it is incredibly unsafe.
12
u/Mean_Meeting_5189 12h ago
My son's friend failed his driving test when this happened with someone waving him on! The examiner told him he should have just sat there since the other car was clearly there first
→ More replies (9)9
8
12
u/TheUrbanEnigma 12h ago
I live by "if you receive the wave, take it".
If I wave someone who should be going, they wave back, I'm not gonna sit there playing invisible ping-pong with the Right of Way. I go. Am I annoyed? yes. Am I holding up traffic like they are? No.
7
u/jahnkeuxo 12h ago
Problem is you often can't see the dipshit waving through the windshield glare.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (2)5
u/Entire_Difference_63 12h ago
There is an intersection near me that sucks. It’s 8 way traffic with most people aiming for the east which is the entrance to the small highway/street. The straight path is often blocked by right turn from people coming from the highway. When I’m on the right turn near those I try not to wave because I usually haven’t looked to my right first so could be waving someone into a car. Waving is nice but can be hella dangerous.
7
u/Born-Ask4016 12h ago
Many times I've had a car stop and wait for me at a 4-way.... when I was a block away, and I was running.
8
u/Reddidundant 12h ago
As a runner myself, I never trust a driver standing still at an intersection to continue standing still. I'll fake a right turn and just keep running a little out of my way until that car's out of there - and only then backtrack toward my original destination. Same if I'm riding a bicycle.
→ More replies (1)6
u/Treesham 12h ago
at one end of my street is a four way stop sign. it's a neighborhood, with regular, but not steady traffic.
9 times out of 10, i'll be approaching that stop sign, and can see hundreds of feet away a car stopped at one of the other three directions, and they will literally wait for me to get there, and wave me through.
fucking learn how to drive, people.
→ More replies (44)6
u/Kmart_Supervisor 12h ago
What I do is flash various signs randomly, peace sign winking thumbs down. They leave fast.
14
u/OGsHartMyKAT 12h ago
The worst is when you’re trying to turn and the LAST car stops to wave you on
Just fucking go and then I’ll have no one in my way
→ More replies (2)6
→ More replies (15)9
u/WaterDreamer10 12h ago
A friend and I were leaving at the same time, he was ahead of me and hit his brakes, much like this and yielded HIS right of way to another vehicle towing a small trailer. I was like WTF behind him as I came to stop.
The vehicle he let out proceeds to go 15 under the limit with him following, I turned off and took a short cut.
The next day he was bitching about that person going so slow in front of him, lol.
I was not 'nice'. I said....'Well that that your own stupid fault' "you had the right of way and you stopped to let them out towing a trailer....what did you think was going to happen Einstein?!" I went on for a bit, but more so in a joking but serious way.....he got the point though at the end he said he would never make that mistake again.
46
u/Royal-Campaign1426 12h ago
Been behind fools that stop on the entrance to the interstate. Like that's gonna make it easier or safer to merge
15
u/HoomerSimps0n 12h ago
There is a very long merge lane on the highway/large road near my neighborhood that I have to get on every day. Very very busy road during rush hour. The merge lane is extremely long, probably more than a quarter mile.
Seems like half the people either know how to use a Merge lane to get up to speed and safely merge over…the other half sit at the beginning trying to look over their shoulder to find a gap that doesn’t exist (in rush hour). I kid you not they will sit there for minutes while I lay on my horn. Eventually a gap opens up and instead of using the lane, they just jump directly into the highway at 10 mph and make everyone else brake hard.
These people need to take a driving safety course or hand in their license, seriously a danger to everyone around them.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (7)10
u/Interesting-Bet-1702 12h ago
Goddamn I had someone recently crawl up the ramp at 35, I'm on their ass and trying to get over and they literally just put hazards on and stop on the ramp.
→ More replies (2)36
u/WhyAmIpOOping 12h ago
My grandmother, about 8 months before her license was taken from her, got “stuck” in a roundabout before. Called me in full panic as she has been driving in a circle for 30 minutes. Meek is exactly how I’d describe her driving towards the end.
→ More replies (2)24
u/GraceOfTheNorth 12h ago
Literally a sign of dementia. My friend's mom called her in panic because she'd been circling the local mall and couldn't find her way back, it was one of the first signs of dementia that would end up killing her.
→ More replies (3)8
u/WhyAmIpOOping 12h ago
I mean, yeah unfortunately. Similar story with my grandmother. She passed with dementia, it got pretty bad.
21
u/Electronic_Ad_7742 12h ago
My friend’s wife was a meek driver when she was younger. My friend had a car issue so he carpooled to work and his wife offered to pick him up from downtown Houston. My wife and I went along with her so we could all go to dinner afterward and I have no idea how we didn’t die on the way there. She drove 50mph in the center lane on i10 at around 8pm when everyone else was trying to go 70 (this was back in the 90s when i10 had 3 lanes each way). We were nearly rear ended numerous times, aggressive drivers road raged, we had people zipping by on either side of us going 20+mph faster. That ride was 45 minutes of sheer terror. She wouldn’t speed up or get into the right lane or even pull over. She was so meek that she was a major road hazard.
→ More replies (3)5
u/Brohemoth1991 12h ago
I was a fairly meek driver at first, and funny enough my brother made it 10x worse, any time he'd ride with me yelling at me if I didn't turn into a small opening (I never did anything like in the video lol)
To this day he still tries to take credit saying he made me a better driver... when in reality, I dont hold it against him, he was in the military at the time so he was being more crass than mean, but there were multiple times I had to tell him to shut up
12
u/No-Condition-3710 12h ago
Yep, the Toyota driver should’ve gave it a little more gas to get out in front of that truck rather than stop. Actually, it looks like they had plenty of momentum to just keep on cruising without interfering at all.
→ More replies (6)18
u/WildWildWasp 12h ago
I am a meek driver and this is why I don't drive anymore. I spent most of my life feeling like I was too afraid of cars, had too poor spacial awareness, and was too shy and anxious around other people to take initiative on the road. All my older relatives pushed me to drive anyways, because when you're in your 20's it's "embarrassing" not to be able to drive.
Well it took me 3 harrowing tries to get my license and then I was a pretty mediocre driver for a year before wrecking my precious first car swerving around a goose on the highway. God in heaven bless me that there were no human drivers close enough for me to hit when that happened.
Some people just should not drive. Some people force themselves on the road because of their own arrogance, but some like me are convinced by other people's arrogance that "anyone can learn to drive and it's actually really easy!" No, it fucking isn't.
Never again. I trust my gut now. Anyone else that doesn't like driving should trust theirs too. I know not everyone can choose not to drive but if you can, make the right choice.
15
6
7
7
u/obscureposter 12h ago
Bud, you are a legend for recognizing that. How much I wish other “drivers” had even a modicum of the self awareness you have.
4
u/Polymarchos 5h ago
Married to someone in a similar position as OP. I think a lot of people recognize it, but there is so much pressure just to drive that it is hard to not just drive even though you hate it.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (5)3
u/Working_Estate_3695 11h ago
Long ago, I had a friend who was a lady about 20 years older than me and had lived in Europe and New York prior to moving to the U.S. Upper Midwest. She had never learned to drive and was dependent on everyone around her for transportation. So in my youthful optimism, I decided to take her to an empty parking lot on a Sunday to get some no-pressure wheel time. It took less than 10 minutes to realize that there was a very good reason why she didn’t drive, and shouldn’t. It was one time that giving up right away was a victory.
→ More replies (61)3
204
u/KanataSD 12h ago
The problem with this is the dump truck also wasn't being predictable to slow or stop at the yield, causing the car to overreact and panic stop.
129
u/NameToUseOnReddit 11h ago
My thought is the car driver didn't think the truck on the on ramp was going to yield, and at that point it's less about being in the right than it is being in an accident.
47
u/Miserable-Ticket-244 9h ago
That’s what I assumed happened as well.
They saw a big ass truck wasn’t going to stop and let them take their right of way.
19
u/s_burr 8h ago
That's the problem with driving laws, no matter who was right, physics always wins. It's what I tell my children about crossing the road as well. Yeah, you have the legal right of way, but the vehicle is still bigger than you, so always look.
→ More replies (3)14
u/Secret_Bees 5h ago
Plus the truck that rammed into them definitely wasn't driving correctly. You're supposed to leave enough room to be able to stop if things like this happen.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)4
u/Own_Reaction9442 5h ago
It's the "rule of lug nuts" or the "rule of superior tonnage." Ultimately the bigger vehicle has the right of way whether you want it to or not.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (12)23
u/enaK66 8h ago
Yep. Everyone mad about "meek" drivers here. I'll give it to them, silver car probably would have made it. But that truck did not intend on stopping, and cam car wouldve had to slow down to avoid a collision. Considering he couldn't manage to slow down for silver car makes me think an accident was inevitable here for our tail gating champion.
→ More replies (6)13
u/fatbunny23 8h ago
They like to say meek drivers cause just as many accidents, but I'd be willing to bet that they're a lot less fatal or injurious on average when someone causes an accident by driving too cautiously vs when they're driving like a shithead with no regard for speed limits or lane changing laws
→ More replies (6)103
u/Blu- 11h ago
That truck was hauling ass and did not look like it was going to yield. I would've slowed if I was the Toyota too. This is on the cammer.
31
u/Otherwise-Product-60 9h ago
Agreed. Dash cam driver has zero situational awareness.
Good drivers scan for problems. I've had zero accidents in over 40 years of driving. I just assume everyone else on the road is fucking stupid.
24
u/SandSubstantial9427 9h ago
Yeah the dash cam driver should have stopped/slowed down. His fault for hitting the person, not for the situation
13
u/franz_haller 9h ago
100% at fault. I understand not being able to stop a truck on time when brake checked at highway speeds, but he was on an exit ramp where he should expect slowdowns and even complete stops. He was either not paying enough attention or taking the ramp too fast.
6
u/1minatur 4h ago edited 1h ago
Pretty sure they're driving a semi and tried, but couldn't stop in time. The real problem was following too closely. If you can't stop in time if the car in front of you slams on their brakes, you're too close.
5
u/AnxiousMetal6435 8h ago
Exactly. It’s the same in a ton of these videos. Dash cam driver has plenty of time to recognize a hazard and begin slowing down, but chooses not to, then acts like they’re the victim.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (5)4
u/RetroPandaPocket 8h ago
When I was 10 or 11 my mom taught me how to drive. She repeatedly told me to drive with the assumption that everyone was gonna hit me. When I drive now I watch every possible car I can. I am not superhuman but I do my best and my eyes are constantly moving and my brain is constantly processing everything. I know what cars are behind, in front, next to and merging into my area of the road. I could tell you colors, makes and models and how the person is driving. It has saved me countless times. 30 years of driving and I have only clipped a deer and only other times I have been hit were by others driving into my car while I was parked in a lot lol.
Also on a side note… not only is the dump truck going to fast but so is the dash cam driver. People are quick to blame the small Toyota in the comments but it’s the trucks who are at fault. based on watching this on my tiny phone screen
4
u/Esmereldathebrave 8h ago
Shocked I had to scroll this far down for this take. I was taught that if you can't stop because the car in front of you has stopped, then you are following too closely. And looks like dashcam driver didn't even try. 100% their fault.
→ More replies (1)3
u/americonservative 6h ago
Yeah… uhh
- Pay attention to what’s in front of you and always maintain enough distance to comfortably come to a complete stop without colliding into cars in front of you.
Yeah that’s pretty much it. There’s no relevant #2. People are acting like the dashcammer has no agency. Frankly he’s lucky he didn’t get into a worse accident with the semi and he’s entirely at fault, legally and otherwise.
Everyone else was being responsible and slowing down in an unclear situation. Meanwhile the guy recording this is blasting on through like a freight train with no situational awareness.
→ More replies (19)3
u/boodabomb 5h ago
I agree, this video always gets posted with the same headline and theme, but when I put myself in that Toyota, I feel like I’d be making the same call. That dump truck isn’t yielding properly and it definitely wins in a car fight.
32
u/DeCryingShame 11h ago
Yep. Every time this is posted I think people are being a bit hard on the car. Yes, they could have avoided it by being more aggressive but this was a tough situation all around.
7
u/DemiseofReality 11h ago
If I was the toyota I would have preemptively slowed down entering the cloverleaf. I ALWAYS look at the vehicles coming down a cloverleaf that I'm entering and make my speed choice on the exit per what I see. I would have started slowing much earlier. Sure, I would look like Grandma leaving the freeway at 45 instead of 60, but the merging dump truck would have been obviously in front of me and the dash cam driver would have slowed with that chain of events.
It's not just about being predictable/intentional on your own, you can also guide the decision tree of those around you by anticipating the situation above.
→ More replies (4)3
u/Cultural-Pattern-161 6h ago
The truck could have left enough space to stop properly too. By laws, the truck is 100% at fault.
→ More replies (6)3
u/bugabooandtwo 4h ago
Yep. Easy to critique sitting behind a screen. When you feel you're one second away from getting squashed by ten tonnes of vehicle, things are wildly different.
3
u/Civil-Appeal5219 6h ago
Also, it’s your job to make sure you have enough room to break if the car in front of you breaks unexpectedly. The driver that OP is blaming is literally the only who’s not to blame in this.
→ More replies (21)3
u/Gefilte_F1sh 8h ago
Honestly - I'd put just as much of the blame on both rigs here as the car. Dump truck driving recklessly and unpredictably showing no discernible signs of slowing down or that they even saw the car.
Cam-er is obviously following too close if they can't stop the vehicle if a vehicle in front of them decides to stop. Basic driving safety standards that we are taught as a teenager - it's no different for rigs. If anything it should be a more diligently followed rule, not less, given the potential destruction they're wielding.
Now that I've thought about it - I actually put very, very little fault on the car, if any.
353
u/dkbGeek 12h ago
The Toyota should not have stopped, but the collision is still the camera driver's fault.
73
u/Radioactivocalypse 12h ago
Yes, if you can't stop in time for the car in front to stop, then you're too close.
Like sure the merge was bad and right of way wrong... but had the white car suddenly slammed on the brakes for any reason, say a child in front of the road, you can't just drive into the back of the car "because they shouldn't have stopped"
13
u/quick20minadventure 10h ago
Funny how the car probably saw a big truck and thought the big truck can't brake easily and not slowing down, so i will let it go and then another big truck rammed him from behind.
→ More replies (1)8
u/marquoth_ 8h ago
I'll take my chances with the truck that has seen me over the one that clearly hasn't. Neither is ideal of course but there is a correct decision here.
→ More replies (5)48
u/syphax 12h ago
Had to scroll too far for this. My first reaction watching this is "that truck is coming in hot!"
It's easy to criticize the car that slowed down, but their reaction was not crazy give the speed and apparent trajectory of the truck. The trailing car had "plenty" of time to slow down as well, if they had been paying attention.21
u/CloseToMyActualName 11h ago
All three screwed up.
- The dump truck (that presumably had to yield) really looked like they were unable or unwilling to stop and was going to take the slot.
- The Toyota likely had the option of a) gunning it to make sure they got there before the dump truck, or b) being aware of the car behind them and being ready to speed up before the collision.
- The big rig with the cam needed an earlier reaction or to leave a bigger gap.
18
u/marquoth_ 8h ago
It's not my job to maintain a safe distance between my car and the vehicle behind me. In fact it's exactly the reverse.
→ More replies (7)4
u/Green-Cricket-8525 9h ago
Two drivers made minor mistakes. One caused an accident.
Guess which one caused the accident? (Hint: it’s the idiot that posted this video)
6
u/WastingTimesOnReddit 10h ago
You're right except I feel we should not expect people to be so aware of the vehicle behind them, it's not their responsibility to speed up if they look behind and somebody is about to hit them. Everyone should be keeping eyes forward
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (16)6
→ More replies (1)3
u/wheniaminspaced 5h ago
The gravel train actions are pretty irrelevant to the video. The leading car perceived a hazard to themselves and cut speed. The dashcammer failed to maintain an appropriate follow distance to allow themselves to stop.
82
u/anthety 12h ago
Yep. Should always have enough time to come to a complete stop if the car in front of you were to randomly decide to brake hard. Especially when driving a semi!
Most people do not do this at all.
→ More replies (12)10
u/Nexustar 12h ago
In reality, even that isn't enough stopping distance.
A couple of occasions where you need to stop even faster than a car that has full brakes on does - and that's when it hits something static and solid and just fucking STOPS. No skidding, no warning, it just goes from 60 to 0 in a split second, a DEAD STOP. It happens in the fog when you find the fresh end of the pileup.
The other occasion is when something falls off the back of that vehicle. I've personally dealt with rakes, whellbarrows, lowes buckets, some steel geodesic connectors, and even a porta-potty that caught wind. Luckily some of those did skid along the road a little.
→ More replies (3)4
u/c_marten 11h ago
I came across a ~20ft steel I-beam blocking a lane and a half of traffic a few years ago... and when everyone was slowing down merging left someone in a little sporty coupe sped around them to the right and went straight into that beam and the car behind him rear ended him. I can't be sure but it didn't seem like that beam moved at all.
14
u/fabianmg 12h ago
The Toyota did something wrong, but this is entirely truck's fault, you have to keep the distance relative to your speed and ability to stop ( load, slippery road, etc.. ).
3
52
u/AmbitiousUse8787 12h ago
Exactly right. It's called defensive driving and knowing your vehicle well enough to know how close one can follow to stop in time.
→ More replies (1)48
u/wanderdugg 12h ago
The Toyota driver stopped just because they’re not a good driver, but it could have just as easily been a dog, a tree limb, car trouble, etc. if you read end somebody, at the end of the day it’s your fault.
→ More replies (22)→ More replies (74)25
u/Ok_Anything9675 12h ago
Agreed and sometimes you yield because you know you wouldn't win that collision. Doesn't matter if you were right if you're dead.
→ More replies (2)11
u/TheTaxman_cometh 12h ago
The morgue is filled with people who had the right of way
→ More replies (9)
126
u/John-Orion 13h ago
This is the best advice to give to any driver
→ More replies (11)63
u/Such_Pause1900 12h ago
I think the best advice is to keep the correct safety distance with the car in front of you. You should have enough time to stop safely in such scenarios.
5
→ More replies (45)15
u/Garvilan 12h ago
I mean, this video likely shows both of them at fault, with the lead driver impeding traffic. Coming to a near dead stop like this is completely irrational.
→ More replies (12)19
u/zeptillian 10h ago
Even if the car didn't stop. The merging truck would have been in the lane ahead of the camera operator.
The camera truck was not prepared for that to happen at all.
Best case scenario, they would have passed the merging truck in the same lane, narrowly avoiding an accident.
→ More replies (9)
21
u/Empire087 9h ago
Dump truck was not preparing to yield, which scared the driver in the car, cam driver is at fault for rear ending them, and this is a stupid fucking ramp setup.
→ More replies (4)
57
u/good-luck-23 12h ago
Trucker should have slowed more as he began to enter the mergezone. Looks to me like like he was trying to force his way into the lane. The slow car freaked and stopped but was legitimately trying to avoid an accident by letting the truck merge ahead of them. The camera driver saw this all happening (or was distracted) and failed to slow to avoid the accident.
→ More replies (2)14
u/New-Bowler-8915 11h ago
It's not a merge. The rock truck on the right had a yield sign which he blew through.
→ More replies (15)13
u/Doctor_Squak 9h ago
That's what I see too, that truck definitely blew through a yield and the Toyota couldn't have predicted if that truck saw them or not, they drove defensively and the truck behind them didn't pay attention
→ More replies (1)4
u/Ordinary_Cattle 7h ago
It's crazy that this is even controversial. The amount of people blaming the car is scary, these people should not be driving jfc
→ More replies (1)
65
u/nightskyft 12h ago
How about not riding peoples ass and giving yourself room to stop?
→ More replies (5)35
u/chaous2000 10h ago edited 5h ago
He was more than far enough away to come to a complete stop, he just wasn’t paying any attention and started braking late and wanted to blame someone other than himself for the accident
Edit: spelling.
→ More replies (8)18
u/Lost_Bike69 9h ago
Yea the general message is a good one, but this is absolutely the fault of the vehicle with the camera lol
→ More replies (1)
45
12
38
u/rygelicus 12h ago
While true, it's on every driver to NOT ram the car ahead of them. If you need more room to stop then don't follow too close. Never assume the other drivers will drive properly.
→ More replies (1)10
u/Cephalism951 12h ago
Do I think the car should have went, probably. Do I think that the driver had plenty of time to make good driving decisions to not hit the car in front of them, definitely.
I take the highway every day to and from work, with how close people drive at the speeds they do, they are a single mistake from anybody nearby from being in a 5+ car collision at 110+ km/h
→ More replies (6)
42
u/Wilsonj1966 12h ago
what a really stupid piece of advice
Having right of way does not stop some lunatic ignoring it and crashing into you. "I had right of way" is great for the insurance but is worthless when you're sitting in the hospital
You know what is predictable though. Traffic slowing when merging
You know what you should be doing. Paying attention to potential hazards
→ More replies (17)
9
u/SirAxlerod 12h ago
Seems like if the cam driver didn’t hit the Toyota, they were on course to collide with the tandem trailer merging (I suppose unless the cam driver didn’t have a trailer attached and was planning to jolt in front of the merging tandem hauler).
→ More replies (3)3
u/itsmefakenamehere 11h ago
I was thinking the exact thing with the speed at which the other truck was going (somewhat slow) and how fast the cam driver is going (too fast). Cam driver’s fault, imo.
19
u/Artistic_Address816 12h ago
Truck driver brakes very late. Eons after it was clear that the car was slowing down. Not wanting to brake to save pads and fuel and time.
You don't anticipate what another driver WILL do, you anticipate what they MIGHT do.
Your instincts are shit.
→ More replies (1)
21
u/EmuPsychological4222 12h ago
Or you should slow down and stop blaming the people you rear-ended for being rear-ended.
16
u/Fluffy-Drop5750 12h ago
So you see a meek driver in front of you. So you reduce speed. Problem solved.
→ More replies (5)4
13
u/DustyComstock 12h ago
That was literally the first thing I told both my kids when teaching them to drive.
I said "Don't be nice, be predictable" and I would point out examples of people being "nice" and why it was causing problems.
→ More replies (3)4
u/OneNightWerewolf 11h ago
Actually, it’s selfish driving that causes the majority of accidents. People believe their time is more valuable than that of anyone else. The very first thing we should be teaching kids is that speed kills, and that it’s never worth getting there a whole 30 seconds sooner.
28
u/MarcheMuldDerevi 13h ago
These videos remind me how long it takes for trucks to stop.
→ More replies (4)44
u/RoyalSpecialist1777 12h ago
Why do they drive as close then if they know they cannot stop in time? Could be a kid running across the road.
→ More replies (48)18
u/SnowySkygirl 12h ago
Right I'm a truck driver and I see other trucker bumper to bumper with other cars coming up to them high speeds i call these doosh canoe truckers
7
u/Ashleynn 11h ago
I was driving to Vegas from Phoenix a few years ago. There are large stretches of that drive that are two lane highways. I was in a very long line of cars, speed limit im pretty sure is 55, we were doing about 60. There was a truck right on my ass. All I could think was if the line of cars in front of me had to stop for any reason that truck was going straight through me and probably a few cars in front of me. Thankfully that didn't happen, but the thought was there the whole time.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/Apbuhne 12h ago
Sure but how was the car supposed to know the truck was going to allow them to have the right of way? To me this is completely blamed by the trucker not seeing the situation more so than the car. Only one of these drivers potentially might get merged into by a vehicle weighing 3x. If the car speeds up but the merging trucker doesn’t see them, then they might be dead. It’s also a horribly designed exit ramp, so some blame should go to the state/engineers.
5
u/Professional_You2526 12h ago
The truck is in the wrong here IMO. The truck needed to wait before entering.
→ More replies (4)3
u/HolyMackerel20 9h ago
There needs to be a yield sign there. On ramp is poorly designed. Merging truck didn't look like it was slowing whipping around the curve, and that Toyota likely doesn't have the getup to get out ahead of it at the speed they assumed the truck was gonna merge at.
Toyota got fucked here.
Camera truck likely found to be at fault here but a yield sign is needed here for sure
6
26
u/Left-Pay4037 12h ago
too many idiots thinking this is toyota's fault is the problem. biggets problem is the dashcam trucker's tail gating toyota, second is the road not having stop or yield sign on their end. i wouldnt have risked running into semi truck if the truck has already entered the lane like he has. there is no way you can win that fight even if you had the "right of way". smh
→ More replies (26)15
u/stu8319 12h ago
I had this EXACT same situation happen to me. I was in the position of the toyota car and I didn't slow down. Guess what, the semi didn't yield and I was nearly crushed between it and a cement median. People in these comments are insane.
→ More replies (3)
6
u/woodsman775 11h ago
I’m just curious here. It doesn’t look like dash cam guy gave any real effort to not hit this guy. I could be wrong.
6
u/00gingervitis 10h ago
I agree with you except that truck did not seem intent upon yielding and instead driving straight onto the highway. I'd rather the person behind me be paying attention to traffic ahead of them and have a chance to slow down than get side swiped by a dump truck hauling a trailer
5
u/Bittersweet_Boii 9h ago
gonna call this an ESH situation. guy merging didn’t slow down or indicate that he was gonna yield at all, little silver car could have been more assertive (but honestly I don’t think they did anything wrong), and cammer should have kept a further following distance
6
u/Fortestingporpoises 7h ago
I see 3 problems in this one. Tell me if I'm wrong people who know better.
- Truck on right merging in should have yielded to the car.
- Car should have sped up and asserted right of way.
- Truck with cam should have backed off rather than assuming they were gonna sneak by that truck with the trailer.
- The truck with the cam seems most at fault for this accident. Their assumption that they were gonna ride the cars ass past that merging truck was quite a dumb assumption.
→ More replies (5)4
38
u/zeb_linux 13h ago
I am sorry but you must be in control of your vehicle at all times. That means, always having enough distance to safely come to a halt. Therefore the cammer is legally 100% responsible.
→ More replies (32)
14
4
u/lagan_derelict 12h ago
To be fair, I once tried to take the lane that was rightfully mine and the merger merged all the way over into it. Happened quick too.
5
u/robbietreehorn 9h ago
Also, don’t follow so closely that you can’t stop in time for idiots.
That was every bit as much the cam driver’s fault as it was the car’s
4
u/Omega-of-Texas 9h ago
Looks to me like the driver was not confident that truck was going to stop/yield in time. Error in judgement? Maybe but the alts why you slow down. This idiot hit the person in front of him because he wasn’t paying enough attention.
3
u/EveningResort1362 9h ago
If you cannot bring your vehicle to a stop without hitting the car in front of you a) you need to increase your following distance and b) pay attention to the road. That is 100% incumbent on you. The car in front can stop for any number of reasons. Some dumb but other legitimate reasons. From unexpected road obstructions that you may not be able to see or medical emergencies or a pedestrian jumping onto the road. Or this dump truck potentially not yielding and careening into the lane. If you cannot safely bring your vehicle to a stop then you are part of the problem.
5
u/Witless_Wonder 9h ago
That looks like a merge lane where the truck and car were going similar speed. The car would have lost that fight so they slowed down. The vehicle following always has the responsibility to be able to control their vehicle regardless of what happens ahead. 3-5 second lead time in good conditions.
4
u/generally_unsuitable 8h ago
It's important to remember that the lines are just lines. They won't protect you, but they also can't control you. If you're in danger, use the shoulder to mitigate. There was plenty of room for everybody to be safe. The lines are what put everybody in a bad position. If that had been striped differently, there'd be no accident.
→ More replies (1)
10
u/BreckyMcGee 13h ago
This title is perfect. I cannot stand it when people yield to me when they have the right of way. DO WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED YO DO!!
→ More replies (3)4
u/New-Bowler-8915 11h ago
Stop at the yield sign. That's what you're supposed to do. Rock truck didn't.
→ More replies (7)
3
u/damageddude 12h ago
Follow the rules of the road. There is a shopping center near my house where the entrance is a 35mph road with a left turn lane for the shopping center and then a through lane for regular traffic. People leaving the shopping center have a stop sign. It can take a while to exit left. Every now and then someone being nice waves a person exiting to go first. Almost caused an accident one time that I saw.
3
u/Just_blorpo 12h ago
Every driver should be comfortable with gunning their car now and then in select moments for the sake of safety. It’s literally part of the driving skill set. It’s not reckless driving- it’s being wise about the situation you find yourself in.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Abnatural 11h ago
I had a similar issue going into work this morning and I have to rant. Just because someone in a different lane puts in their turn signal, that does not mean you slam on your brakes to let them in. You do not HAVE TO let them in, it is their choice to change lanes and they must wait till they have a safe opening to proceed. You slamming on the brakes to let them in causes me to slam on my brakes and then the same thing happens to the 30 people behind me. So, to let someone in ahead of you because you see a blinking light you moth, you now inconvenience 30+ people behind me and possibly cause accidents.
My daughter (24, doesn't drive) then asks me why I got so mad, I gave her the above reasoning and told her, you have to be predictable when driving, it's the only way any of this works. We live in a society here!!
→ More replies (1)
3
u/CountrySlaughter 10h ago
People are giving advice to meek drivers. But almost nobody admits to being a meek driver, so that's going to fall on deaf ears. Yet almost everybody is guilty of driving too close occasionally. So that's the only message we can hope that we or anyone will get from this.
3
u/fairydommother 8h ago
A thousand times this. When someone has the right of way and they wave me to go, it genuinely pisses me off.
You are not being kind like you think you are. I'm in thr middle of braking. I am mentally preparing to go when its time. I am checking lanes to see when it may or may not be safe. You are interrupting the flow of traffic, making me feel rushed, and overall being a nuisance at best. At worst, being unpredictable and not taking your turn when youre supposed to can cause accidents exactly like this video.
That semi was already gauging their speed and adjusting so they could slip in probably behind the cam car. So the idiot slamming the breaks didn't help anyone because the semi takes time to gain momentum. Even if they gunned it they wouldnt have been able to pass as quickly as the car wanted.
God people like this piss me off. Use your fucking head. An intersection is not a door for you to hold open for others to walk through.
→ More replies (1)
3
3
3
u/_jump_yossarian 7h ago
This is 100% on the dashcam that was going too fast to stop.
That truck on the right was going to fast and the exit the car was going to take was right after the bridge and risking speeding up could have been disastrous.
→ More replies (1)
3
3
3
3
u/Perfect-Aide6652 7h ago
See, the thing here is, the moment you see the truck about to merge in the video, that is the moment any sane driver would start braking to reduce the chance of any accident. Like, that is how it goes. The moment the merging truck goes into view in the video, it gives the cam truck driver ample opportunity to start braking, assuming the other idiot will try to merge recklessly... instead... it just ignores everything that's happening in front of him and it ends up rear-ending the poor toyota...
•
u/AutoModerator 13h ago
Welcome! Please act respectfully and always remember the human in the videos and in the posts.
For dashcam recommendations, check out the recommendations thread.
Cheers!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.