Near Miss - Distracted Driver

I hang back from clusters of other cars until they are stopped because often those clusters are following too close and taught me to stay back many times.

As an alternative I would have been going slower knowing the potential for something like that can happen, but mostly I avoid clusters esp. with all the druggies.

I see the golden pickup showing brake lights starting on 3rd second on this video and red car on 4th.
I also see the red car wheels turning during panic stop, so ABS did work and the black marks are the results.
So I agree with OP conclusion that the red car driver was distracted or underestimated the traffic and when she finally realized stop traffic ahead of her (6th second), at 35-40 mph she run out-out of stopping distance.
To her defence, right turn saved the situation.
I think the final jerking come from suspension bouncing on abruptly stop wheels, but some contact could be made.
Bottom line, whole situation lasted 4 seconds and it was just a hair distance from ruining the day for 3 drivers.

Wow, Neil, great footage. The company's phone number was on the side of the truck -- when I have a close call with a truck, I almost always phone the firm, if I can, to alert them to a bad driver. The complaints add up over time, and they fire the bad apples.

And the OP is to be congratulated on his fast reflexes -- well done!!

I drive like I'm a ghost anymore, throw back to being a M/C rider for 50 years and a commercial driver. We had an idiot cut us off to "get to the exit" from the #1 lane...typical here in southern California for my area. It was a little car like a Civic, we weighed just under 17K that day, I missed him by inches and was hard on the brakes to do it. People are generally idiots and they prove it all the time..........

AnEv942 wrote:

Wardster wrote:

AnEv942 wrote:
That was close. Suprised driver of truck that the red car swerved to avoid didnt pull over- car still tagged it.

I thought she hit it too, but somehow she didn't.

I dunno, snipped part of your video https://youtu.be/NpULiL1YINY. Rear of truck lifts several inches as front of car jumps over about a foot. Sure looks like contact?
I don't think driver distracted as brakes applied, though not enough, well before- just don't think it registered truck was stopped until last second-
Your scooter rack must have been inches away...

Thanks for sharing the videos! It gives all of us minutes to analyze and comment on the quality of split-second decisions. LOL!!!

Red car looked like they were maintaining as safe following distance. Their brake lights came on long before the panic, which does not make me think they were distracted. It looks to me like the silver truck was the instigator. They panic stopped and the red car responded as if the silver truck was doing a normal braking. When the distance quickly shrunk, the red car locked up the brakes (why no anti-locks?) and went to the right lane.

Again, with plenty of time to analyze the event.... What the red car should have done is kept going in the right lane, rather than do a complete stop. That would have given the OP time & distance to brake safely. As it is the OP was lucky there was no one riding their tail, allowing them to panic stop in the camper.

This is a classic little-car following a big-truck situation. The little-car cannot see around the big-truck to allow them to see and anticipate traffic problems. They have to rely on the actions of the big-truck to give an indicator as to what is going on in traffic ahead. And if the big-truck doesn't give those indicators to the vehicle behind them, then this stuff happens.

Question for the OP... Did the silver truck have working brake lights? It is tough to tell the tail lights because the red car blocks the video. I don't see any change in the CHMSL. In particular when the silver truck starts moving I don't see any change (brake light going out) which I would expect. Their left tail light might be working. And if this was the case (one of three functional tail lights), the first illumination of the left tail light alone would normally be the indicator of a turn signal, not a braking signal.

And with this detailed analysis, I will yield the floor to anyone else who wants to utilize as much time as they want to pick apart the actions of individuals making split-second decisions. :)

-Eric

Well, in her defense it is easy to miss a full size pickup and TC.

Travels with Yoly wrote:

jimh425 wrote:
If you had more than a 6 1/2 foot TC, you shouldn't have been on a narrow road without shoulders either. Sounds like the truck was lost in any case.

Any normal truck and truck camper with a typical 8 or 8.5 foot width would have been fine on that Hwy. It's a well travelled route in a very touristy place ... lots of camping etc. It's a normal width road. It was just the length of the truck/trailer that posed the problem.

I agree, I run that road with my Dually and 7x14 box trailer every couple weeks. Its a popular route from Jacksonville (and north) down into central FL where you can avoid Rt 4 and some of the Disney traffic.

they did not pull into your path, they slid into your path as the tires were locked up (you can see the skid mark from the front tire as it slides). I know, that car should have ABS but in Fla there is no inspection so it might not even have break pads on it.

but if you had hit them I would not want to use that video for evidence, it shows you were doing 5 mph over the speed limit at time they slid into your path.

jimh425 wrote:
If you had more than a 6 1/2 foot TC, you shouldn't have been on a narrow road without shoulders either. Sounds like the truck was lost in any case.

Any normal truck and truck camper with a typical 8 or 8.5 foot width would have been fine on that Hwy. It's a well travelled route in a very touristy place ... lots of camping etc. It's a normal width road. It was just the length of the truck/trailer that posed the problem.

AnEv942 wrote:

Wardster wrote:

AnEv942 wrote:
That was close. Suprised driver of truck that the red car swerved to avoid didnt pull over- car still tagged it.

I thought she hit it too, but somehow she didn't.

I dunno, snipped part of your video https://youtu.be/NpULiL1YINY. Rear of truck lifts several inches as front of car jumps over about a foot. Sure looks like contact?
I don't think driver distracted as brakes applied, though not enough, well before- just don't think it registered truck was stopped until last second-
Your scooter rack must have been inches away...

I once came to a rather sudden stop on a freeway as traffic ahead of me stopped. I heard tires squealing and I looked up in the rear view to see a little Ford Fiesta's nose dive low under panic braking. I was stopped, so I let off the brake and instinctively cranked my wheels to the left. The little Ford nailed me good and shot me off onto the wide grass divider between the lanes of traffic, I missed the car ahead of me by inches as I was propelled to the left. I was in a late model Tahoe with a Class 5 receiver and drawbar. The Ford was totalled with the radiator splayed across the front of the engine and the engine moved back off its mounts into the firewall. There wasn't a single scratch anywhere to be found on the Tahoe. No damage of any kind whatsoever, anywhere :-)