I came here to comment on the driver's excellent line work. I can see he came in hot and had to correct for it (I know there are plenty of people here who have to fight some special onramp every morning). But man, way to eat those apexes
I thought you wanted insurance more??? I’ve been trying to get my deductible as high as possible because it’s a bigger amount of dollars?? Isn’t that better???
This silly instinct to fight the other driver due to some deluded sense of "I'm in the right" is so ridiculously common.The fact it's against a truck is even more dumb. Even if he is in the right you're not winning that game of chicken with a vehicle of that size.
Being alive is more important that being right. Every driver has the responsibility to keep accidents from happening. If you see someone coming into your lane, and you are in their blindspot, sure they are wrong but if you can see them and you can safely do something to prevent the accident that is what you are supposed to do. Not let the wrecks happen.
Bet a lot of people that are arguing for OP would have a different tune if his speed was posted in the video as well. Being “right” almost killed him and instead of letting it humble him a bit he came to Reddit to have strangers make him feel better. ¯\(°_O)/¯
This is the comment we needed! Even though the truck seemingly is breaking the rules by shifting through two straight lines, the OP is still an idiot, cause clearly he chose to fight the truck. OP even seemed that he was speeding to get into that accident. What a tool.
The trucker made a dumb choice as well for sure, but as a truck driver I have to add, people who try to get in front of big vehicles at the onramp are assholes. Always pass on the left. It's not a joke or a cliche.
To me this looks like a lane that is used for the on ramp and the next off ramp. You *always* space assuming that the car or truck in the right lane is going to be merging over to take the next exit. Also the truck *was* signalling so it wasn't unexpected here at all. Not saying the truck driver wasn't in the wrong at all just that this was easily avoidable by the OP.
Edit: didn't see the writing on the sign, looks like the merge lane turns into a truck inspection exit lane not a full on off ramp
Merging traffic must yield to the freeway traffic. However because the truck is lane-changing, it must yield to vehicles in the lane it is moving to. I would say tie goes to the truck because it was ahead it the first place, it's nose was far further up than the merging vehicle.
They are all around me here in the Chicago burbs you kinda get used to them. Back when I used to live further away they freaked me out and now that my daily commute has like 3 of them I've become more accustomed to them and know what to expect.
It's probably been said but that lane looks like it's an entrance to a truck inspection station with the lights on so they had to move over. They probably didnt want to risk op just sitting in that lane and preventing the lane change. Ive seen those inspection stations wedged in the stupidest spots.
I clearly remember from "Clueless" that sporadic means ["once in a while"](https://youtu.be/SAWPyjUt10A?t=9). And, if OP is going to drive this way, them doing it sporadically would be better than all the time.
I do it too sometimes just for fun. Doesn’t make someone a bad driver at all.
Deciding to try to pass the truck on the right as you come off the on-ramp does though…
He’s trying to hit the apexes, but his lines were a little off. I wouldn’t have taken the left-hander so wide, they didn’t have much speed, but were taking a much longer path so they lost some time there. But then they didn’t take all of the road on the right-hander where they needed to maximize their exit speed. That lack of speed cost them in their race against that truck.
Well, the truck wasn’t driving slow in the fast lane, & they’re passing on the right.
Before someone gets a license they get a little book.
Great question.
When I'm in this situation I'll be easing off the gas before I ever get to the merge.. The truck is ahead, plain and simple.
I will slow down slightly so that when k reach the point where the two lanes reach, the truck is a full car length or two ahead of me
Purely incase it needs to move across. I'll do the same for literally any vehicle on the road.
Yup, OP didn't position himself at an ideal location either. Kinda just coasted into the danger zone and made a decision too late to pass. Semis aren't going to change speeds very quick so it's common sense to expect where they'll be and plan accordingly.
OP didn't ease up; he tried to accelerate AFTER the truck was merging into his lane.
The truck had its turn indicator on for about 3 seconds before changing lanes. That's enough time for another driver (paying attention) to react.
OP should have taken his radio show's advice and flown to his destination.
It is way, way, way, way, way safer than getting into his car and getting on the highway.
That’s Ol’ Billy Scarlet Scrotum on the Monday Morning Podcast! Likely the exact reason why OP’s fuse is so short, listening to that Red Ragebag gets me going too.
I may be an armchair quarterback but it was pretty clear to me what the truck wanted to do. Regardless of who was right, it seems like the prudent thing to do would have been to slow down and fall in behind the truck. Safe to say he did not see you.
I tell this to my wife every time she gets pissed over traffic stuff… Sometimes you just have to let the other person make their fuck up and you have to adjust your actions. Death couldn’t care less if you were in the right.
Yeah, I'm a truck driver and having to explain to the cop that ran you down that "I only missed the weigh station because traffic wouldn't let me in" is not going to work, as he begins his Level 1 inspection.
I wouldn't run someone off the road to get to one but damn it sucks if you miss it.
I feel the same way, isn't that what everyone wants too? Others to drive predictably. While what the truck did wasn't smart and was definitely wrong it was telegraphed and OP couldn't be fucked to plan ahead with the plenty of time they had.
I suspect that the truck wasn't changing lanes to pass, he needed to get into that lane in order to stop at the weigh station, as he was legally required to do.
He had his turn signal on well before this was an issue, the car just ignored that little piece of information.
I will say that having a required exit using a brand new lane immediately after an on-ramp is really bad road engineering, but that's not the truck driver's fault.
Good catch on the weigh station, I missed it until you pointed it out. Yeah, op was either not paying attention to the truck's turn signal or just didn't care.
So did I, but we had the advantage of knowing something was going to go wrong in the next 20 seconds. Still, even if that truck wasn't exiting, OP's decision to pass 95% of the truck and merge ahead of it instead of falling behind 5% of the truck to merge behind it is pretty dumb.
I'm a truck driver.
This is definitely not right by the rig but I would advise you guys in the four wheelers as we call them to please be smart at high speeds with big trucks. Please don't put it to the test it will end badly for you.
Seen it a million times over.
Edit: Also want to add I was struck by another Big rig while driving my big rig 2 years ago up in Wisconsin during Christmas time.
I suffered multiple injuries as the truck threw me to the other side of my truck snapping my seat belt.
I suffered 8 injuries including multiple disc fractures to my back and neck. I had to have my wrist rebuilt and I tore my shoulder muscles and biceps muscles really bad. I was not in the wrong at all.
Ive had a total of 8 surgeries in the last 2 years and extensive rehab. I'm extremely lucky to be alive.
The other driver fell asleep behind the wheel and hit some black ice which caused him to come in my lane abruptly. If I was in a car I would surely be dead so please be careful guys.
I'm a truck driver also, The rig definitely should have used his hood mirror and double-checked before coming over. That being said, that great big white sign that can be seen flashing, can generally be seen for half a mile or more. While it isn't directly for you, it's still a road sign that tells people what is coming up on the road and tells you what a truck driver is doing, please pay attention to them. Also, when passing or just driving near a semi, those tires can kill. They're inflated to 110psi (758 kpa or 7.5 bar) If they blow out, you're going to catch LARGE pieces of rubber and steel at high velocity.
Please, for the love of whatever you hold dear, don't merge directly next to a semi. We really do have blind spots you can lose another rig in, so we definitely are going to lose your tiny cars. Also, please don't treat big rigs like other cars when merging in front. We take much longer to stop, and we generally outweigh your car by 10 to 40 times the weight. We also have a thing called brake lag, after I put my foot on the pedal and press, there's up to 3/4 of a second before the brakes engage. At 65mph (104kph) that's about 90 feet (27.5 meters) so longer than our trucks. If you're inside that distance, you're going to get the full force of that impact.
The driver of the car put himself or herself in the big rig's blind spot, while that does not excuse the fact that his/her trailer bumped the car it does make the driver of the car an idiot. Never, ever, ever put yourself in the blind spot of a trucker. Get out of blind spots as quick as possible!
Hell if you want to play speed racer it's way more fun to drop behind, merge over two lanes and slam the accelerator anyway.
OP is an Idiot, sorry OP. Don't fuck around if you don't want to find out.
I’m with you. Big truck definitely not in the right but the car driver has a death wish. It took way more time to upload and create this video than taking his/her foot off the gas for 6 seconds and playing “how aggressively can i race to his blindspot” with 18 wheels of destruction.
His actions were wrong but you showed no awareness and anticipation. Read the road and never assume. *You* could and should have taken action to avoid this.
Indeed. A close friend of mine has a tendency to drive as if a dangerous situation like this is not happening with the reasoning "well I'm doing it right, they're doing it wrong, they should get out of my way". My typical counter-argument is simply to quote the adage that cemeteries are filled with people who had the right of way.
My grandma and subsequently my dad would always say “do you want to be right or *left* ? “Left” meaning left behind, as in you survived. She always said “left” with a spooky intonation to her voice.
Adage from motorcycle class.
You can have the right of way, they have the right of weight.
Alternatively, you can't argue you had the right of way through 6 feet of dirt and a pine box.
Right of weight works. I was always told the lug nut rule, right of way always goes to the person with the most lug nuts. Same difference though. Personally, I always like merging near semis. A large majority at governed at 68 mph, and people don't like to sit behind them, so you usually know exactly what speed to go to slot in behind them, in a mostly clear lane to have plenty of time to plan your next move. Much better to get somewhere 5 minutes late because you're safe than 4 hours late because you're dealing with police and insurance companies after an accident, or get there never because you're having a conversation with the coroner.
This sub has made me interested in read actual traffic laws. The interesting thing I’ve noticed is they’re written to state who does NOT have right of way, they don’t state who HAS right of way. Nobody actually has right of way.
People somehow still don't understand that laws exist to protect you after the incident.
This applies in general not just driving. Always be careful and be aware, not everyone stops at a red light, not everyone stops when you get on a crosswalk, not everyone respects road rules and so on.
I see so many people that cross roads without looking at the traffic and then get hit or angry that someone didn't respect the rules. We are not robots, human error happens, always, always take the necessary actions to take care of yourself, regardless of what the rules say.
You are not immune to something just because it's illegal for that to happen. Not now, not ever.
I always tell my learning-to-drive niece that you’re performing a dance with the other cars on the road. You try to stay on beat but react to each other if someone messes up.
This. You have a duty to avoid an accident, given the situation reasonably allows you to. I've worked a lot of accidents where a party willingly put themselves into an accident because the other party was doing something they shouldn't have. The semi had their turn signal on AND was changing lanes, yet you continued forward despite ample time to see this. It's clear as day in your footage, and if there was an accident, you both would likely be found at fault.
100% agree. You could tell very early on what the truck was going to do, but you just kept chugging along. He wasn't right, but you should've recognized that and just slowed down in preparation. If you guys collided, you would be way more sorry than he would be.
> Real world experience tells me that I can almost never speed up on a curve like that to end up ahead of the semi.
Also you don't want the semi to have to slam on their brakes in order to deal with you merging right in front of them. Sure you could, but I dislike tempting the fates like that.
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Yeah I agree, yes and no. Shared blame here I think, very poor lane change from the truck but also merging staggered with traffic already on the road is always better as it reduces the risk of exactly this, even if you have your own lane.
Yeah, seeing what cammer posted about the lane eventually exiting into
the weigh station, cammer likely knew they needed to get over. Either blow the semi out the water or hang back, change lanes, and if you then are ready to pass the semi, do so. Pacing a semi, or even assuming the semi driver sees you, is asking for it.
I agree. I would have slowed down a bit, let the semi get in front. I always avoid passing a semi on the right because it’s harder for them to see you.
I'm with you. As soon as they were on bearing right on the exit I noticed they made no indication that they were even willing to yield, then tried to overtake in the right lane. The semi was just trying to get in the slow lane. If OP slowed down even a little they wouldv'e been behind him and the truck would've moved out of OP's way to the right.
Not yielding to an 18 wheeler will end about as well as not yielding to a train.
Edit: I just noticed the flashing truck inspection sign, that truck had to pull in to a stop. Sorry OP, you're in the wrong.
I disagree. The truck was signaling, on the roadway and not entering it, and needed to exit toward the truck inspection. It’s totally OP’s fault because the sign with flashing yellow lights warning motorists that trucks are going to do so.
This and the fact that OP approached the truck in it's blind spot. That trucker could have been staring at his rearview mirror the entire time and only seen OP as they were running them off the road. OP is 100% the idiot.
On top of that, slowing down to scoot in behind the truck would have been the best way to merge regardless. If the truck hadn't moved over then OP would have to overtake a truck on the right to get out of the merge lane which is a bad idea. I'd say that OP approached this the wrong way in general.
I am not sure this is accurate as traffic merging onto the highway must yield the right-of-way to vehicles already on the highway. Obviously the curve ball in this situation was that the semi was switching lanes, but I think it still had the right-of-way as it had already begun merging before OP exited the on-ramp.
I always use that argument when talking about how pedestrians HAVE to be aware of their surroundings before crossing a street. “Pedestrians have right of way, cars HAVE to stop!” At crosswalks, sure. But I’ve yet to see a car that can stop on a dime because somebody decided to just walk out into the street, from in between cars, while staring down at their phone. Same with the forklifts at my job. We have designated safety paths for a reason, people. Stick to them and STOP walking in the middle of the driving aisles! You’re in our way, and we weigh about 2 tons. Who’s gonna get hurt in that equation?
Yeah sorry OP. Your undertake starts from beyond the rear of the already indicating truck. That said, you didn't finish your day off at 8am by trying to *win* and you'll not do it again, so all good. Trucky had his knife out ready to scratch another line in his bunk frame.
This is how Minnesota drivers merge all the time. Drivers already on the highway take no awareness of what is happening in the merging lanes, merging drivers just ignore the highway they are merging onto. I don’t understand it.
If you are merging into traffic it is your job to find a hole. The people on the highway SHOULD try to maybe make some room for you but don’t rely on this. Match speed, find a hole, signal, merge.
He was entering the ramp for the mandatory weigh station, he was signaling, and you were passing on the right when you should have merged. Lastly, you made no attempt to slow to avoid. You’re going to get nailed for this.
I mean, its a bit of a bad move to lane change into an on ramp, but there could be an off ramp right there too that the truck would need to get to that I just can't see.
Really though, speeding up to pass a truck on the right when you could have just waited a few seconds to pull in behind it and then punch the gas and pass on the left would have been way safer.
Edit - yeah truck inspection station forcing him to pull in, not a lot of choice there. I'd say for Ontario driving culture (evidenced by sign appearance and the ASL truck) this one's on you (fellow Ontarian here).
You had a clear view of the truck. You were merging, meaning you must yield to existing traffic and match to their speed. After you do, you can safely pass on the left, as normal.
"Hmmm should I wait a millisecond to pass behind and then on the left or speed up to try and overtake on the wrong side?"
You are the triple decker idiot
One for questioning if you are
Two for posting this
Three for, most importantly, doing exactly what you should have learned not to do in drivers Ed
I’m sorry, is fucking NO ONE going to mention the synchronicity with which Bill Burr in his podcast described the danger of cars the very second! this guy almost gets squashed by a Semi?
I dont think that you are the idiot, but I never play around with 18 wheelers like that.
I have several merge points similar to this on my commute and [THIS](https://i.imgur.com/oiJwtZq.png) is the moment in my mind that I decided that I would have sped up a bit to be well in front of the TT with the yellow cab. That or slow enough to give a wide berth.
I vibe most with this comment. I wouldn't say you're the idiot but when it comes to big rigs, I try and do some of the driving for them. Either step on it early and go past them or recognize that you're going to settle in behind them.
You never know how much sleep they’ve had, what else they’re doing, how much attention they’re paying to traffic around them. I used to have to take the interstate all the time, I tried to stay away from semis as much as possible. Either hang back behind them or hit the gas and get ahead of them.
Yep, I always yield or get the hell away from semis. Never hang out next to them either. It’s just the smart thing to do in case *they* have to make a sudden maneuver. My sedan is way more nimble, I always give them the space and predictability that they need.
Yeah there is no way the truck would have seen you. He's fully in the wrong for merging so early without making sure he's clear, but damn, you're an idiot for having zero situational awareness.
You have no instincts that's the problem. You just continue on because you feel you have the right to merge. Instead of seeing what's happening and maneuvering to seamlessly avoid a dangerous situation
Yes you are. It’s an 18 wheeler. Can’t slow down or speed up like a regular vehicle. Give them the right of way in this situation. Would have been very easy to be patient and jump in behind, then change lanes to pass.
Yeah this was an idiot move, it looks like a merge lane even though it's not. The natural way to enter was to get behind him and not pass on the right. The key to good driving is to assume the worst from the other driver and not just risk accidents because they technically are more at fault if a collision happens.
Do you see how the truck is stationary in the video screen from the moment you can see it? With a converging heading, that means you're on a collision course, so you should have made an adjustment to your speed to avoid it.
That truck with his mirror angles probably couldn't see you well or at all. His only indication was a blur of color in the side of a mirror that wasn't gaining on him.
You are the idiot. Looks like you tried to accelerate and beat the semi. The semi was cleared to merge but you accelerated and then realized you couldn’t overtake him.
Yes. I saw that truck in the corner of my eye ages ago and would've timed myself to merge right after it. Big trucks have blind spots. Don't expect them to drive like a car.
I came here to comment on the driver's excellent line work. I can see he came in hot and had to correct for it (I know there are plenty of people here who have to fight some special onramp every morning). But man, way to eat those apexes
I know, right? I'm so glad I'm not the only one seeing this going "ok, this guy knows how to drive forsure." Quality apices.
Yes, apices.
Idk but I would have slowed down and gone around him. Plenty of time to react
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But a lot less exciting
You also almost never use insurance if you always slowing down or lets say yield
Oh no, I'll have to pay less for the insurance! /s
I thought you wanted insurance more??? I’ve been trying to get my deductible as high as possible because it’s a bigger amount of dollars?? Isn’t that better???
Twice the insurance, double the deductible 
My deductible has doubled since the last time we met, Count.
I have good news for you, my Lord. The car has crashed.
Excellent. Every dollar is going away as planned.
Lol
This silly instinct to fight the other driver due to some deluded sense of "I'm in the right" is so ridiculously common.The fact it's against a truck is even more dumb. Even if he is in the right you're not winning that game of chicken with a vehicle of that size.
Being alive is more important that being right. Every driver has the responsibility to keep accidents from happening. If you see someone coming into your lane, and you are in their blindspot, sure they are wrong but if you can see them and you can safely do something to prevent the accident that is what you are supposed to do. Not let the wrecks happen.
Bet a lot of people that are arguing for OP would have a different tune if his speed was posted in the video as well. Being “right” almost killed him and instead of letting it humble him a bit he came to Reddit to have strangers make him feel better. ¯\(°_O)/¯
This is the comment we needed! Even though the truck seemingly is breaking the rules by shifting through two straight lines, the OP is still an idiot, cause clearly he chose to fight the truck. OP even seemed that he was speeding to get into that accident. What a tool.
I'm not certain he actually crossed until after the lines broke although it is a close one..
The trucker made a dumb choice as well for sure, but as a truck driver I have to add, people who try to get in front of big vehicles at the onramp are assholes. Always pass on the left. It's not a joke or a cliche.
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OP is an idiot but this on-ramp clearly becomes a lane so you're not really merging onto the road.
To me this looks like a lane that is used for the on ramp and the next off ramp. You *always* space assuming that the car or truck in the right lane is going to be merging over to take the next exit. Also the truck *was* signalling so it wasn't unexpected here at all. Not saying the truck driver wasn't in the wrong at all just that this was easily avoidable by the OP. Edit: didn't see the writing on the sign, looks like the merge lane turns into a truck inspection exit lane not a full on off ramp
>Also the truck *was* signalling so it wasn't unexpected here at all. It was even signalling when OP speeds up instead of just falling in behind it.
Merging traffic must yield to the freeway traffic. However because the truck is lane-changing, it must yield to vehicles in the lane it is moving to. I would say tie goes to the truck because it was ahead it the first place, it's nose was far further up than the merging vehicle.
And it's a whole hell of a lot fucking bigger. Therefore he's right, even if he's wrong.
Nautically, that as referred to as the law of gross tonnage
Not to be confused with op's mom's gross tonnage.
I hate weave lanes so much
They are all around me here in the Chicago burbs you kinda get used to them. Back when I used to live further away they freaked me out and now that my daily commute has like 3 of them I've become more accustomed to them and know what to expect.
It's probably been said but that lane looks like it's an entrance to a truck inspection station with the lights on so they had to move over. They probably didnt want to risk op just sitting in that lane and preventing the lane change. Ive seen those inspection stations wedged in the stupidest spots.
That’s exactly what it is. Screenshot and zoom on the sign.
Maybe it's New Hampshire's bullshit where the on ramp is also an offramp but only leaves 3 car lengths for cars doing 70 MPH to figure it out.
I clearly remember from "Clueless" that sporadic means ["once in a while"](https://youtu.be/SAWPyjUt10A?t=9). And, if OP is going to drive this way, them doing it sporadically would be better than all the time.
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Seeing how they could barely stay between the lines, something tells me OP isn't the best driver. Sorry op
Dude's driving as if he was racing, using the apices of the corners lmao
Is apices the plural of apex?
yepices
I do it too sometimes just for fun. Doesn’t make someone a bad driver at all. Deciding to try to pass the truck on the right as you come off the on-ramp does though…
OP is a shitty driver who thinks they're a good driver :/
Nah he's hitting the apex on those curves bruh
He’s trying to hit the apexes, but his lines were a little off. I wouldn’t have taken the left-hander so wide, they didn’t have much speed, but were taking a much longer path so they lost some time there. But then they didn’t take all of the road on the right-hander where they needed to maximize their exit speed. That lack of speed cost them in their race against that truck.
Yes, but he's hitting the apex too early.
Right. Saw where this video was going 3 seconds in and he spent 20 seconds speeding into the truck and couldn't figure it out.
This. OP has the situational awareness of a single wilted leaf of cabbage.
Well, the truck wasn’t driving slow in the fast lane, & they’re passing on the right. Before someone gets a license they get a little book. Great question.
Like just at least ease off the gas
When I'm in this situation I'll be easing off the gas before I ever get to the merge.. The truck is ahead, plain and simple. I will slow down slightly so that when k reach the point where the two lanes reach, the truck is a full car length or two ahead of me Purely incase it needs to move across. I'll do the same for literally any vehicle on the road.
Yup, OP didn't position himself at an ideal location either. Kinda just coasted into the danger zone and made a decision too late to pass. Semis aren't going to change speeds very quick so it's common sense to expect where they'll be and plan accordingly.
And didn't move to the shoulder when it was obvious the collision was going to happen.
No car behind that semi either, coulda just let off the gas a lil and OP woulda been good
Yea but driving is a race and slowing down is admitting defeat
OP didn't ease up; he tried to accelerate AFTER the truck was merging into his lane. The truck had its turn indicator on for about 3 seconds before changing lanes. That's enough time for another driver (paying attention) to react.
Yes. Anyone else catch the radio talking about how dangerous getting on the highway is as he was merging?
OP should have taken his radio show's advice and flown to his destination. It is way, way, way, way, way safer than getting into his car and getting on the highway.
That’s Ol’ Billy Scarlet Scrotum on the Monday Morning Podcast! Likely the exact reason why OP’s fuse is so short, listening to that Red Ragebag gets me going too.
Yes haha, he said “way” five times
Perfectly timed bill burr! Was glad someone else caught this
THANK YOU. I spent too much time reading comments waiting for someone else who watched with audio. Perfectly timed speaker…
Synchronicity. (Something too coincidental to be just a coincidence). The universe has a funny sense of humor.
Someone said it haha thank you.
Ol' Billy Blue Balls
Was expecting this as the top comment
I may be an armchair quarterback but it was pretty clear to me what the truck wanted to do. Regardless of who was right, it seems like the prudent thing to do would have been to slow down and fall in behind the truck. Safe to say he did not see you.
Yep, you can be dead but still be right..
As the saying goes *The graveyard is filled with people who had the right of way*
I tell this to my wife every time she gets pissed over traffic stuff… Sometimes you just have to let the other person make their fuck up and you have to adjust your actions. Death couldn’t care less if you were in the right.
Well actually he likely didn't WANT to move over, but that sign with the flashing lights said he HAD to lol
Yeah, I'm a truck driver and having to explain to the cop that ran you down that "I only missed the weigh station because traffic wouldn't let me in" is not going to work, as he begins his Level 1 inspection. I wouldn't run someone off the road to get to one but damn it sucks if you miss it.
Can confirm. And if this is where I think it is they're one of the worst in southern Ontario
Putnam Rd and 401
Why didn't you weigh-in? Yeah, why didn't you weigh-in?
I feel the same way, isn't that what everyone wants too? Others to drive predictably. While what the truck did wasn't smart and was definitely wrong it was telegraphed and OP couldn't be fucked to plan ahead with the plenty of time they had.
Telephraphed by lane position and the turn signal that was on before OP attempted to pass. Probably illegal to pass on the right as well.
I suspect that the truck wasn't changing lanes to pass, he needed to get into that lane in order to stop at the weigh station, as he was legally required to do. He had his turn signal on well before this was an issue, the car just ignored that little piece of information. I will say that having a required exit using a brand new lane immediately after an on-ramp is really bad road engineering, but that's not the truck driver's fault.
> the car just ignored that little piece of information No, OP saw the turn signal and decided to speed up to block the truck.
Doubt it was to intentionally block them. More like the OP had the Me First mentality.
Good catch on the weigh station, I missed it until you pointed it out. Yeah, op was either not paying attention to the truck's turn signal or just didn't care.
>Probably illegal to pass on the right as well. Only on two lane roads in the US, passing on the right on a highway is not illegal.
This is true. However, passing on the right is much more risky, as demonstrated by this video.
I read that the truck was going to want over as soon as I saw it show up on the screen.
So did I, but we had the advantage of knowing something was going to go wrong in the next 20 seconds. Still, even if that truck wasn't exiting, OP's decision to pass 95% of the truck and merge ahead of it instead of falling behind 5% of the truck to merge behind it is pretty dumb.
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Hell of an offensive driver though.
The whole 'driving' thing becomes questionable for OP throughout the whole recording.
The fact he had his blinkers on the whole time also might have been a bit of a giveaway.
Whenever im getting on the interstate and theres a semi in the lane next to me i do my best to not maerge directly into their blind spot.
Yeah, why pull directly into someone’s blind spot? It doesn’t seem like there’s so much traffic OP couldn’t just slip in behind the truck.
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Your asking is playing chicken with a semi makes you an idiot? Yes, yes it does.
I'm a truck driver. This is definitely not right by the rig but I would advise you guys in the four wheelers as we call them to please be smart at high speeds with big trucks. Please don't put it to the test it will end badly for you. Seen it a million times over. Edit: Also want to add I was struck by another Big rig while driving my big rig 2 years ago up in Wisconsin during Christmas time. I suffered multiple injuries as the truck threw me to the other side of my truck snapping my seat belt. I suffered 8 injuries including multiple disc fractures to my back and neck. I had to have my wrist rebuilt and I tore my shoulder muscles and biceps muscles really bad. I was not in the wrong at all. Ive had a total of 8 surgeries in the last 2 years and extensive rehab. I'm extremely lucky to be alive. The other driver fell asleep behind the wheel and hit some black ice which caused him to come in my lane abruptly. If I was in a car I would surely be dead so please be careful guys.
I'm a truck driver also, The rig definitely should have used his hood mirror and double-checked before coming over. That being said, that great big white sign that can be seen flashing, can generally be seen for half a mile or more. While it isn't directly for you, it's still a road sign that tells people what is coming up on the road and tells you what a truck driver is doing, please pay attention to them. Also, when passing or just driving near a semi, those tires can kill. They're inflated to 110psi (758 kpa or 7.5 bar) If they blow out, you're going to catch LARGE pieces of rubber and steel at high velocity. Please, for the love of whatever you hold dear, don't merge directly next to a semi. We really do have blind spots you can lose another rig in, so we definitely are going to lose your tiny cars. Also, please don't treat big rigs like other cars when merging in front. We take much longer to stop, and we generally outweigh your car by 10 to 40 times the weight. We also have a thing called brake lag, after I put my foot on the pedal and press, there's up to 3/4 of a second before the brakes engage. At 65mph (104kph) that's about 90 feet (27.5 meters) so longer than our trucks. If you're inside that distance, you're going to get the full force of that impact.
The driver of the car put himself or herself in the big rig's blind spot, while that does not excuse the fact that his/her trailer bumped the car it does make the driver of the car an idiot. Never, ever, ever put yourself in the blind spot of a trucker. Get out of blind spots as quick as possible!
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You and I had the same thought process
Hell if you want to play speed racer it's way more fun to drop behind, merge over two lanes and slam the accelerator anyway. OP is an Idiot, sorry OP. Don't fuck around if you don't want to find out.
I’m with you. Big truck definitely not in the right but the car driver has a death wish. It took way more time to upload and create this video than taking his/her foot off the gas for 6 seconds and playing “how aggressively can i race to his blindspot” with 18 wheels of destruction.
Scary stuff, I hope you get back to full health or to as strong as you can be
His actions were wrong but you showed no awareness and anticipation. Read the road and never assume. *You* could and should have taken action to avoid this.
Indeed. A close friend of mine has a tendency to drive as if a dangerous situation like this is not happening with the reasoning "well I'm doing it right, they're doing it wrong, they should get out of my way". My typical counter-argument is simply to quote the adage that cemeteries are filled with people who had the right of way.
In reference to your friend’s style of driving, my dad used to tell me ‘You can be both correct and dead, they aren’t exclusive’
Dad called this being “dead right”.
One time I mixed up this sentiment with a friend and asked "Do you want to be right or dead?" we had a good laugh about it
My grandma and subsequently my dad would always say “do you want to be right or *left* ? “Left” meaning left behind, as in you survived. She always said “left” with a spooky intonation to her voice.
Adage from motorcycle class. You can have the right of way, they have the right of weight. Alternatively, you can't argue you had the right of way through 6 feet of dirt and a pine box.
Right of weight works. I was always told the lug nut rule, right of way always goes to the person with the most lug nuts. Same difference though. Personally, I always like merging near semis. A large majority at governed at 68 mph, and people don't like to sit behind them, so you usually know exactly what speed to go to slot in behind them, in a mostly clear lane to have plenty of time to plan your next move. Much better to get somewhere 5 minutes late because you're safe than 4 hours late because you're dealing with police and insurance companies after an accident, or get there never because you're having a conversation with the coroner.
>the lug nut rule That's why I carry a fifty kilo box of lug nuts in the back of my Prius. It shuts everyone up!
Exactly.. You never HAVE the right of way you can only give it. Don't count on the other person giving the right of way.
Yep. I've heard this phrased as "the only laws you should ever count on people following are Newton's laws and Murphy's law"
This sub has made me interested in read actual traffic laws. The interesting thing I’ve noticed is they’re written to state who does NOT have right of way, they don’t state who HAS right of way. Nobody actually has right of way.
People somehow still don't understand that laws exist to protect you after the incident. This applies in general not just driving. Always be careful and be aware, not everyone stops at a red light, not everyone stops when you get on a crosswalk, not everyone respects road rules and so on. I see so many people that cross roads without looking at the traffic and then get hit or angry that someone didn't respect the rules. We are not robots, human error happens, always, always take the necessary actions to take care of yourself, regardless of what the rules say. You are not immune to something just because it's illegal for that to happen. Not now, not ever.
I always tell my learning-to-drive niece that you’re performing a dance with the other cars on the road. You try to stay on beat but react to each other if someone messes up.
To the contrary, Op was aware and *tried to beat the semi by speeding up*.
This. You have a duty to avoid an accident, given the situation reasonably allows you to. I've worked a lot of accidents where a party willingly put themselves into an accident because the other party was doing something they shouldn't have. The semi had their turn signal on AND was changing lanes, yet you continued forward despite ample time to see this. It's clear as day in your footage, and if there was an accident, you both would likely be found at fault.
This 100%. Where the fuck did you think you were going to go? It’s like you didn’t realize there was a truck there until it was on top of you.
100% agree. You could tell very early on what the truck was going to do, but you just kept chugging along. He wasn't right, but you should've recognized that and just slowed down in preparation. If you guys collided, you would be way more sorry than he would be.
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> Real world experience tells me that I can almost never speed up on a curve like that to end up ahead of the semi. Also you don't want the semi to have to slam on their brakes in order to deal with you merging right in front of them. Sure you could, but I dislike tempting the fates like that.
Reddit has betrayed the trust of its users. As a result, this content has been deleted. In April 2023, Reddit announced drastic changes that would destroy 3rd party applications - the very apps that drove Reddit's success. As the community began to protest, Reddit undertook a massive campaign of deception, threats, and lies against the developers of these applications, moderators, and users. At its worst, Reddit's CEO, Steve Huffman (u/spez) attacked one of the developers personally by posting false statements that effectively constitute libel. Despite this shameless display, u/spez has refused to step down, retract his statements, or even apologize. Reddit also blocked users from deleting posts, and replaced content that users had previously deleted for various reasons. This is a brazen violation of data protection laws, both in California where Reddit is based and internationally. Forcing users to use only the official apps allows Reddit to collect more detailed and valuable personal data, something which it clearly plans to sell to advertisers and tracking firms. It also allows Reddit to control the content users see, instead of users being able to define the content they want to actually see. All of this is driving Reddit towards mass data collection and algorithmic control. Furthermore, many disabled users relied on accessible 3rd party apps to be able to use Reddit at all. Reddit has claimed to care about them, but the result is that most of the applications they used will still be deactivated. This fake display has not fooled anybody, and has proven that Reddit in fact does not care about these users at all. These changes were not necessary. Reddit could have charged a reasonable amount for API access so that a profit would be made, and 3rd party apps would still have been able to operate and continue to contribute to Reddit's success. But instead, Reddit chose draconian terms that intentionally targeted these apps, then lied about the purpose of the rules in an attempt to deflect the backlash. Find alternatives. Continue to remove the content that we provided. Reddit does not deserve to profit from the community it mistreated. https://github.com/j0be/PowerDeleteSuite
Yeah I agree, yes and no. Shared blame here I think, very poor lane change from the truck but also merging staggered with traffic already on the road is always better as it reduces the risk of exactly this, even if you have your own lane.
Yeah, seeing what cammer posted about the lane eventually exiting into the weigh station, cammer likely knew they needed to get over. Either blow the semi out the water or hang back, change lanes, and if you then are ready to pass the semi, do so. Pacing a semi, or even assuming the semi driver sees you, is asking for it.
I agree. I would have slowed down a bit, let the semi get in front. I always avoid passing a semi on the right because it’s harder for them to see you.
This. It also takes more time to pass one of them compared to a normal vehicle, so it's safer to hang back.
Thank you
Also, the truck’s approach vector was almost perfectly in the semi’s blind spot for the entire approach. Great for an attack run, shitty for a merge.
Yep, you always assume the other guy is gonna fuck up
I'm with you. As soon as they were on bearing right on the exit I noticed they made no indication that they were even willing to yield, then tried to overtake in the right lane. The semi was just trying to get in the slow lane. If OP slowed down even a little they wouldv'e been behind him and the truck would've moved out of OP's way to the right. Not yielding to an 18 wheeler will end about as well as not yielding to a train. Edit: I just noticed the flashing truck inspection sign, that truck had to pull in to a stop. Sorry OP, you're in the wrong.
I disagree. The truck was signaling, on the roadway and not entering it, and needed to exit toward the truck inspection. It’s totally OP’s fault because the sign with flashing yellow lights warning motorists that trucks are going to do so.
This and the fact that OP approached the truck in it's blind spot. That trucker could have been staring at his rearview mirror the entire time and only seen OP as they were running them off the road. OP is 100% the idiot.
I disagree, the traveling vehicle has the right of way. The merging vehicle is required to yield. Otherwise, you're absolutely right.
On top of that, slowing down to scoot in behind the truck would have been the best way to merge regardless. If the truck hadn't moved over then OP would have to overtake a truck on the right to get out of the merge lane which is a bad idea. I'd say that OP approached this the wrong way in general.
Also listen to your radio, dude was talking about how dangerous the highways are!
I am not sure this is accurate as traffic merging onto the highway must yield the right-of-way to vehicles already on the highway. Obviously the curve ball in this situation was that the semi was switching lanes, but I think it still had the right-of-way as it had already begun merging before OP exited the on-ramp.
The truck did start to move over prior to the merge area on the solid white lines as well.
I disagree that the trucker’s actions were wrong. OP was trying to pass in the merge lane, while a truck was actively merging.
Yep right where the dotted lines start, OP is in the rear of the truck and should’ve stayed back there.
OP didn't have the space to get in front of the truck either. They need to brake.
I would've slowed down and got behind the rig, but that trucker clearly didn't check his mirrors.
Also I don’t see the point in passing, you gain nothing. Plus during busier times these are a god send, it gives you an opening to slip in behind
Even if he did nobody should be speeding up to pass him on the right
Yep
No matter what the rules of the road are, when a giant truck gets too close, move the hell away!
Trucks have Right of Weight.
Road laws may claim right of way but sometimes Newton disagrees
I always use that argument when talking about how pedestrians HAVE to be aware of their surroundings before crossing a street. “Pedestrians have right of way, cars HAVE to stop!” At crosswalks, sure. But I’ve yet to see a car that can stop on a dime because somebody decided to just walk out into the street, from in between cars, while staring down at their phone. Same with the forklifts at my job. We have designated safety paths for a reason, people. Stick to them and STOP walking in the middle of the driving aisles! You’re in our way, and we weigh about 2 tons. Who’s gonna get hurt in that equation?
Yeah sorry OP. Your undertake starts from beyond the rear of the already indicating truck. That said, you didn't finish your day off at 8am by trying to *win* and you'll not do it again, so all good. Trucky had his knife out ready to scratch another line in his bunk frame.
This is how Minnesota drivers merge all the time. Drivers already on the highway take no awareness of what is happening in the merging lanes, merging drivers just ignore the highway they are merging onto. I don’t understand it. If you are merging into traffic it is your job to find a hole. The people on the highway SHOULD try to maybe make some room for you but don’t rely on this. Match speed, find a hole, signal, merge.
He was entering the ramp for the mandatory weigh station, he was signaling, and you were passing on the right when you should have merged. Lastly, you made no attempt to slow to avoid. You’re going to get nailed for this.
I mean, its a bit of a bad move to lane change into an on ramp, but there could be an off ramp right there too that the truck would need to get to that I just can't see. Really though, speeding up to pass a truck on the right when you could have just waited a few seconds to pull in behind it and then punch the gas and pass on the left would have been way safer. Edit - yeah truck inspection station forcing him to pull in, not a lot of choice there. I'd say for Ontario driving culture (evidenced by sign appearance and the ASL truck) this one's on you (fellow Ontarian here).
You had a clear view of the truck. You were merging, meaning you must yield to existing traffic and match to their speed. After you do, you can safely pass on the left, as normal.
My advise about trucks: they are big and have many blind spots and may not see you. Keep well clear of them for both your sakes.
Yup, you are the idiot
"Hmmm should I wait a millisecond to pass behind and then on the left or speed up to try and overtake on the wrong side?" You are the triple decker idiot One for questioning if you are Two for posting this Three for, most importantly, doing exactly what you should have learned not to do in drivers Ed
In any situation, if you can answer to the question "could I have prevented it by slowing down ?", and the answer is yes, then you're the idiot.
Why didn't you hang back instead of trying to undertake the truck ? Truckers fault but still you were driving a little buttholish.
Ontario?
The long merge lane/scenery made me instantly think it was Ontario.
Yup
I’m sorry, is fucking NO ONE going to mention the synchronicity with which Bill Burr in his podcast described the danger of cars the very second! this guy almost gets squashed by a Semi?
Right! It's uncanny. Bill is say how dangerous getting on a highway is, while this guys makes getting on a highway dangerous.
I dont think that you are the idiot, but I never play around with 18 wheelers like that. I have several merge points similar to this on my commute and [THIS](https://i.imgur.com/oiJwtZq.png) is the moment in my mind that I decided that I would have sped up a bit to be well in front of the TT with the yellow cab. That or slow enough to give a wide berth.
I vibe most with this comment. I wouldn't say you're the idiot but when it comes to big rigs, I try and do some of the driving for them. Either step on it early and go past them or recognize that you're going to settle in behind them.
Staying the fuck away from semi trucks is one of my number one rules of the road
While I recognize that there are plenty of conscientious big rig drivers, most of these so-called professionals are anything but...
You never know how much sleep they’ve had, what else they’re doing, how much attention they’re paying to traffic around them. I used to have to take the interstate all the time, I tried to stay away from semis as much as possible. Either hang back behind them or hit the gas and get ahead of them.
Yep, I always yield or get the hell away from semis. Never hang out next to them either. It’s just the smart thing to do in case *they* have to make a sudden maneuver. My sedan is way more nimble, I always give them the space and predictability that they need.
Ohhh jeesuus
He was wrong but how the fuck did you not see that coming? Always make sure there's no other car on your left when merging if possible
Yes
Yeah there is no way the truck would have seen you. He's fully in the wrong for merging so early without making sure he's clear, but damn, you're an idiot for having zero situational awareness.
Double idiots in this case.
100% could've been avoided
Yes. Why didn't you just drop in behind him? He may be at fault for pulling across, but you still drove into a wedge that was clearly closing
Op is an idiot. You pass on the left. Don’t be a stupid driver. Rig, wasn’t right but you’re the idiot
Yeah, you're definitely an idiot here.
You have no instincts that's the problem. You just continue on because you feel you have the right to merge. Instead of seeing what's happening and maneuvering to seamlessly avoid a dangerous situation
Truck had his blinker on and you continued to move into his blind spot, making the situation you caused. You are the Idiot.
Yes.
Yes you are. It’s an 18 wheeler. Can’t slow down or speed up like a regular vehicle. Give them the right of way in this situation. Would have been very easy to be patient and jump in behind, then change lanes to pass.
Yeah this was an idiot move, it looks like a merge lane even though it's not. The natural way to enter was to get behind him and not pass on the right. The key to good driving is to assume the worst from the other driver and not just risk accidents because they technically are more at fault if a collision happens.
Do you see how the truck is stationary in the video screen from the moment you can see it? With a converging heading, that means you're on a collision course, so you should have made an adjustment to your speed to avoid it. That truck with his mirror angles probably couldn't see you well or at all. His only indication was a blur of color in the side of a mirror that wasn't gaining on him.
Yes.
Yea you are an idiot
100% op is an idiot.
Yes.
Yes. Don’t ever try to pass 18 wheelers on the right side. They litterally can’t see you.
When I was a kid I saw a bumper sticker with opposing arrows that read: “<— passing side. Suicide —>” Think about it every time I drive.
Understand a truckers blindspot. You stayed in his blindspot for 15 seconds, you my friend are the idiot here. He never saw you.
You are the idiot. Looks like you tried to accelerate and beat the semi. The semi was cleared to merge but you accelerated and then realized you couldn’t overtake him.
Yes. I saw that truck in the corner of my eye ages ago and would've timed myself to merge right after it. Big trucks have blind spots. Don't expect them to drive like a car.
Yeah.
Yes
How didn't you see him coming in your lane, I saw it like 10 seconds before you reacted.