Accident I79 North of Pittsburgh

I have a friend who drove big rigs in the military and he constantly blames auto drivers for any accident involving a semi.

He talks about how safe the semi drivers are and how reckless the auto drivers are.

I just agree to disagree, as I have seen MANY semi drivers cutting cars off to switch lanes to make the appropriate interchange at the last minute. I have also seen them fail to anticipate slowing traffic and damn near rear end several cars.

Absolutely! The other issue is that 99% of the other drivers on the road pay zero attention to what's happening behind them. I can't believe how many will end up at the back of a jamb, due to construction or an accident ahead, stop 4' from the guy in front, and NEVER look in the mirror. I can't count the number of times I see idiots sliding to a stop behind me, since they are not paying the least bit of attention to what is going on. One day, out on RT 80, I was last in line at a dead stopped jamb, driving an F250 and a travel trailer attached. I left a good 150' in front, and immediately shifted my focus to the mirrors. Sure enough, a semi driver was closing fast, still doing 70MPH. I was beginning to take the escape route of stuffing my rig down the shoulder between the guiderail and the stopped traffic, as he started to jack knife. By the time it was over, I had used my 150 ft. of cushion, and was about to stuff the nose in the gap, while he had slid sideways a few hundred feet with the trailer sideways, and all the brakes smoking. I know for a fact that most of the cars ahead missed the show, since they never even bothered to check the mirror. Not saying that this accident was preventable, but they are a lot more survivable if you stop driving like a proctologist, and leave enough room that you aren't blasted into the back of another rig, because you aren't driving defensively.
Situational awareness is being aware of more than just what you are looking at out the windshield.

It is like motorcycles always blame cars.. It may be difficult to see motorcycles, but when they are going 80mph in a 40mph limit and a car pulls out...whose fault is that? (Or when they are weaving in/out of traffic and get hit... ) Same thing.

I see both sides of the argument, being someone that has a Class B and has driven straight trucks and has had quite a bit of interaction with truck drivers. Yes there are truck drivers that do not pay attention or are not experienced enough at what they are doing. I try not to drive next to them because of how many times we had to load trucks and teach them how to properly secure the load. The other side is when you are hauling 30,00# in stop and go traffic and you purposely leave enough space for you to stop, how many ignorant people think that the space is there for them to slide in at the last second. All that weight does not stop instantaneously.

Anyone who was been in an accident or near miss knows that it is usually a series of small mistakes that come together. Fatigue, inattention, mechanical failure and/or dumb luck also play a part.

It is the result of being human and there is not much we can do about that; except to try to anticipate the unlikely.

I sure hope those folks were okay, trucks can be replaced. Thanks for posting, it is good to have a reality check once in a while.

I see both sides, as I used to commute on one of the worst highways in the US (I-35 through Austin). I've seen real bad auto drivers nearly cause wrecks, and I've seen hyper-aggressive NAFTA truck drivers rear-end vehicles since they didn't want to let anyone in, in front, so they leave no gap... which then a subsequent stop from a vehicle ahead causes a crash.

Best thing one can do is keep distance around, keep the insurance current, and keep the drive cam rolling.

To add to more headaches for travelers on 79, this was in the paper today because of this accident.

Travel Advisory – Emergency Bridge Repair Project on I-79 in Butler County
The bridge carrying I-79 over East Lancaster Road has been restricted to one lane in both directions between the intersections of Route 19 and Route 3025 (Yellow Creek Road) after a truck crash damaged a beam. This bridge is located in Lancaster Township, Butler County.

Beginning the week of May 5, the road passing under I-79 (East Lancaster Road) will be closed to facilitate the bridge repairs. A detour will be in place (please see the map below for the detour route). The road is expected to reopen on May 24.

The work for this emergency bridge repair project includes the removal and replacement of two overhead beams.

This $500,000 emergency bridge repair project is being constructed by Thornberry Construction of West Sunbury and is expected to be completed by August.