Video that demonstrates results of not swerving to avoid a stopped car in lane

[Lin]

Hence, since the supposed purpose of traffic enforcement is safety, the police should have a safer way to do this.  The officer must have been behind the car at some point to get his attention and pull him over.  That would have been the time to get on the speaker and tell him to procede to the next exit, turnout, or whatever.  To say that a shoulder pullover is safe if everyone does what they should is irrelevant.  People don't always do what they should.  The truck driver was obviously inattentive, but it looks like he hit the car as if he were following it.  He merely failed to notice it had stopped.  Lots of rear-end collisions happen just that way.

My complaint would be the the traffic enforcement is again a revenue tool and proceeding to a safe place is considered a waste of time and therefore cash.  It is not the officers fault.  It is the fault of a policy that places revenue above safety.  I agree with Jeremy that in such a situation it is the officers job to protect the citizen.  I would guess that if that was what was required, the officer would find a safe place to pull over.

[BG6]

I'm betting that the driver was half asleep or distracted.

The impact is almost centered on the back of the car -- the truck was FOLLOWING IT as it moved over.

That's why the truck keeps going straight and doesn't brake until after the impact.

As far as the trooper saying anything, there is a strong possibility that the driver was not only still alive, but not even in critical condition, because the impact was right on the strongest support structure of the car (rear end), in the direction that the car was pointed, and much of the impact shock would be absorbed by the seat and mounts.

[Bob & Tracey]

This is why many states have a move over law, this happens to be Florida's;

(b)  When an authorized emergency vehicle making use of any visual signals is parked or a wrecker displaying amber rotating or flashing lights is performing a recovery or loading on the roadside, the driver of every other vehicle, as soon as it is safe:

1.  Shall vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle or wrecker when driving on an interstate highway or other highway with two or more lanes traveling in the direction of the emergency vehicle or wrecker, except when otherwise directed by a law enforcement officer. If such movement cannot be safely accomplished, the driver shall reduce speed as provided in subparagraph 2.

2.  Shall slow to a speed that is 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit when the posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour or greater; or travel at 5 miles per hour when the posted speed limit is 20 miles per hour or less, when driving on a two-lane road, except when otherwise directed by a law enforcement officer.


However this won't help if someone is asleep at the wheel.

[kyle4501]

. . . in such a situation it is the officers job to protect the citizen.  I would guess that if that was what was required, the officer would find a safe place to pull over.

The car drove past an exit to stop on the side of the road!

Looked like as safe a place as you could want to have available to you & yet the car drove past it! 
How much do you expect a cop to be able to do? Seems to me to be an unrealistic expectation developed in order to justify blaming anyone, other than ones self, for the poor choices one made.

If people obeyed the posted traffic control devices, there wouldn't be any revenue to be collected. 
Since they aren't following the existing traffic controll devices, what is the magic that would make them follow the one requiring a safe place to pull over?

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him think! 

[Lin]

Kyle,

You're right.  I did not notice that the car passed up the exit to pull onto the shoulder.

[Timnvt]

One of the commentors on the u-tube site supposedly read a news article about this acident and posted the following,

"The reason for the truck being so far over was that another car had pulled out in front of him and slammed on the brakes (why, I have no idea). The truck swerved right to avoid that driver and ended up hitting the driver that got pulled over (who was too far over the line to begin with)."

If you look you can see after the truck passes by the cop and cleans out the stopping vehicle, there is a car on the left side of the truck that the truck is passing. Quite possibly the one who created the unsafe situation was one only one to be unaffected.

It's a sorry situation (for the truck driver in this instance) when you have nowhere to go. 

[Kevin Warnock]

With regard to the YouTube comment cited above: "The reason for the truck being so far over was that another car had pulled out in front of him and slammed on the brakes (why, I have no idea). The truck swerved right to avoid that driver and ended up hitting the driver that got pulled over (who was too far over the line to begin with)."

Does this suggest that when driving a bus, we should try to prepare to not swerve when there is a sudden obstruction in our lane? That's the reason I posted the video in the first place, is to get some discussion going about that.

Had the truck driver not swerved, he would have hit a car already going nearly freeway speed, so the damage probably wouldn't have been life threatening to the driver of the car.

The video is remarkable in how it shows a stopped car can just be accelerated to freeway speeds nearly instantly by a large vehicle hitting it like a truck. I'm guessing the truck driver was not injured at all. Does anyone know?

I know this is a sad situation. The reason I want to discuss it is I never really thought about what I should do in the bus if something suddenly blocks my lane. I am inclined to just keep going without swerving, but I would like to make the most informed, ethically correct decision I can. Also, would some legal liability attach if I didn't try to swerve?

Of course, if there is plenty of time to react, I would stop or safely change lanes. I am only proposing to not swerve in these sudden situations like shown in the video.

Thanks

[ArtGill]

In NC we have a move over law also, but you need to see the trooper's lights to know to pull over.  Here is a problem that I have seen several times and is going to cause the death of a trooper if they don't change their SOP's.  NC troopers go to the drivers side of the stopped car and to protect themselves, they always place the troopers car further over towards or in the traveled lane.  Even if it is in the traveled lane to the point of blocking the lane.  Now to really make it dangerous, they have taken the warning lights off the top of the cars and put them in the back windows.  So, you are not aware of the lane being blocked until the car in front of you moves over.  The other day I was towing a box trailer with a friend following me.  I got surprised by a stopped trooper that had is car in the traveled lane and made a last minute lane change, my friend was surprised and was only able to avoid the troopers car because there was a motorcycle beside him and he had enough room to get around the trooper's car. This all happened at 60 mph, just think how much faster things happen at 70 or 80 mph.

       They need to put lights back on top of their cars, us their PA's to move really OFF the roads, and go to the passenger side of the stopped car.

        Sorry, I got wound up

Art

[kyle4501]

As a matter of principal, I try to avoid sudden maneuvers & stick to the current course. But I don't always end up doing that.

As I've said before, you don't know what you're gonna do in that type of situation. Only after you see a video will you know what you did.
I've been in some situations like that & it amazes me how much information your mind can process instantly. But, you have to already KNOW your surroundings, you ain't gonna have time to look.

Bottom line is driving down the road isn't like watching TV.
You have to be fully aware of all the traffic around you & any thing else that may affect your planned route.

The trucker screwed up by reacting to the first thing he saw without considering anything else.
I may do the exact same thing the trucker did next time, But, I hope not. . . .

[lostagain]

There are a lot of deer and elk on the roads around here most of the year. We get a little respite for a few weeks this time of year. People get hurt (and killed) all the time by swerving to avoid them. Swerving is a natural reaction. You really have to mentally rehearse not to do it. Any vehicle, especially a heavy one like a bus, will be impossible to keep between the lines if you have any speed.

JC

[muddog16]

I always say, "if you want to see how stupid people are, put them behind a steering wheel."  The great equalizer the steering wheel,  being a policeman is the last thing in this world I want to be, theirs is a thankless endeavour!  Nature has a way of thinning the gene pool out!  Truckers scare me to death and I'm fearless!  The shoulder needs to be 20 feet wide to be safe, and I'm not sure that is wide enough!

[kyle4501]

I've found that being angry at whatever is in your way helps to avoid the swerve reflex.     

[BG6]

Does this suggest that when driving a bus, we should try to prepare to not swerve when there is a sudden obstruction in our lane?

You want to always be evaluating the situation around you.  Don't make REFLEXIVE moves -- if you don't see a reason to do something different, keep doing what you are doing, which is generally going straight in your lane.

[jjrbus]

One of the commentors on the u-tube site supposedly read a news article about this acident and posted the following,

"The reason for the truck being so far over was that another car had pulled out in front of him and slammed on the brakes (why, I have no idea). The truck swerved right to avoid that driver and ended up hitting the driver that got pulled over (who was too far over the line to begin with)."

If you look you can see after the truck passes by the cop and cleans out the stopping vehicle, there is a car on the left side of the truck that the truck is passing. Quite possibly the one who created the unsafe situation was one only one to be unaffected.


It's a sorry situation (for the truck driver in this instance) when you have nowhere to go. 

Reminds me I was driving down an interstate in the bus and saw someone ahead pulled over. I was going to change lanes to the left, but there was a car passing me.
The guy passing me way too quickly pulls in front of me and hits his brakes to rubberneck someone changing a tire!!!!!
I was so busy with both feet on the brake pedal trying to not rear end him that I did not think that here was a perfect opportunity to clean up the gene pool a bit. That dumb self centered #%&^ has no idea how close he came to being a statistic. I wonder how many accidents people like that cause??    JIm

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Lots!