Tragic truck accident

Tragic truck accident happened yesterday, fatality. Nobody seems to have video of the accident and investigators are still looking into it. So I thought I'd run it past the moparts brain trust and see what they think. First video is from today, driver 71 years old, mopar guy. Second video is from yesterday when the accident happened but it's below the highway so all you see is the truck going over and catching fire. What does the moparts brain trust think happened?

Mustang with damage on right side. Hmmm.

Some contact with left side of truck? Someone moved into another lane and stuff started happening.

It is a mustang, so just from plethora of internet videos, likely their fault...

Too bad the truck driver was killed. 71 and still hauling the mail!

From other sources...

Truck was USPS hauler full of mail. Driver was a USPS employee. Got cut off by a car on the bridge. Hit the car, swerved and went over the wall. Split a fuel tank. Car he hit was towed away and the driver is being questioned.

Heck of a mess.

https://www.wfaa.com/video/news/loc...287-a11ace84-f07b-4802-a113-033afe42931f

It sure sounds like one of the vehicles entered the other vehicle's lane. Hopefully there are witnesses or dash cam video or traffic cam video to show what happened, maybe some debris on the freeway to indicate where the impact occurred. I would think at that time of day, there should be witnesses who were behind the truck and the Mustang.

That's what they're hoping. I think the Mustang changed lanes into the truck that was traveling in the right lane and the truck driver over reacted and went over the rail. I just can't imagine NOT being aware there's a big truck beside you and blithely changing lanes into it. I don't think there's any way the truck has the maneuverability to change lanes abruptly enough to cave in the passenger door that way.

Even if someone comes forward I don't think they're going to release the info to us.

I-75 is all you need to know. I travel it all the time and it is an accident waiting to happen. People don't see me all the time and I am significantly smaller than a semi. Professional drivers will try their best to avoid an accident to their detriment sometimes...

No, this isn't I-75, Dixie Highway, it's US 75 heading NNE out of Dallas.

with all the "infotainment" junk on new vehicles, plus the WAY OVERUSE of the cell phone, hands free or not, it's a wonder we don't see accidents like this more often.
i'm not assigning blame to anyone, but with the way the door is caved in on the mustang, it sure looks to me like it possibly cut off the semi.
for over the last 15 years or so, it seems to me the general driving public just doesn't care how they drive. jump in the car and go. if you are in my way, well here is mr. middle finger to you !
it's getting worse by the day................
prayers and condolences for the trucker's family and friends.

We see distracted driving accidents all of the time.

It sure looks like he took one for the team! That's got to be a bad feeling going over the barrier knowing that you probably aren't going to get out of this one alive! It happens to me driving my pickup truck to work and back, 18 miles each way. I get cut off about 4 to 6 times a day! These people drive .Ike they are playing a Fast and Furious video game! This time they are out of quarters!

Distracted driving is out of control so not hard to believe he may have been cut off. How sad. Thank goodness there weren't vehicles directly below where his semi landed.

Well at least now we have some context. Dallas and Houston are two of the worst driving area's in the country!

20 years ago I decided I-95 South approaching Miami had become a
“South American Highway where traffic laws were considered suggestions”

Now I-75S is fast approaching that description.

At least a third, maybe half of drivers are impaired or distracted.

Luckily I watched the advanced driving techniques illustrated in
The Mad Max Movies

I'll probably get flamed for this but if I get cut off on an highway and it's a choice between putting myself and my passengers in harm's way trying to avoid an accident, OR, simply driving to protect myself, even if it involves ramming the other car.......

but people don't practice that. they practice, or instinct is to dodge out of the way.
if you drove a tank for a living first, your instinct/ training would be to drive over but that isn't the normal reaction.

people react the way they practice/train since you don't have time to think about it.

Agreed. I also remember being taught in drivers Ed to not swerve into the oncoming land to avoid a car coming at you in yours, cause their natural instinct will be to get back in their lane if they can. There comes a point though….

True, but sometimes that doesn't work, either. For example, if someone's coming at you head-on you'd be better off swerving vs taking a head-on hit.

Every crash is different, and you only have moments to make a decision and act....

Cars these days have built in distractions.

The mustang went to change lanes and ran into the truck(driver not paying attention/going to fast. etc...) truck driver swerved into the guard rail and the momentum took it over. I seen a trailer flip over taking a off ramp. It wasn't going that fast either so it doesn't take much to flip them.

I know, and it pizzes me off that they advertise and sell them. Bigger screens, devices to hold your phone on the windshield, etc. Preach one thing yet encourage another with products. It's like driving past popular bars and the parking lots are packed. Yeah right, they all have designated drivers.

I will guess, mustang driver possibly distracted, truck likely in a blind spot, especially if he was distracted and did not look long enough before executing the lane change = accident

I learn to drive in SO CA, out in the Mojave Desert, I spent many hours later in L.A. traffic and learn when it comes to a collision where it is me against the other guy, screw him
I tease some of the locals up here in central Oregon that were born and raised here when they complain about all the new California drivers and how they drive, I tell them that have not driven in L.A. that it is not unusual to be going 80+MPH in bumper to bumper traffic having to shoot at other drivers out every window and then have to come to a stop in 50 Ft.
I'm kidding about shooting out the windows but not about the speed or heavy bumper to bumper traffic
It is really too bad that he had to die in that accident

I think DOT is about to consider raising the barrier height on bridges to no less than 42"

Cell phone jammers need to be installed on freeways so people will have to focus on driving instead of surfing facebook or texting.

or shut the thing off if it is moving more than 5 mph which would be much easier to implement. Sorry people you and your BS messages/ texting are not that important

What if it was the truck driver that was distracted and went to change lanes and didn't see the car???? Personally I've seen more trucks cut off cars than the other way around especially if some dumb car driver sits in the trucks blind spot FOREVER. Can't fully blame either but it seems that most are blaming the car driver for running into the side of a semi. Which driver had the most possibility of not seeing the other in their blind spot? The only way the car could have not seen the semi would have been at the very front corner of the tractor and shouldn't that hit spun out the car too? Needs to be more before jumping to conclusions..............................like I'm doing. Where exactly did the car and semi come in contact? If it was from the back of the cab or farther then it was either distracted driving on the cars part or blind spot or distracted driving on the semi's part. Okay I'll take the flame. Oh one more thing, my son when he first started driving came home from work with mud on his tires and I asked him how that happened. Well I was going to work he said and I was doing the 70 MPH highway speed limit and passing a semi. Before I could get around the first semi we came up on a slow moving wide load semi and the semi I was next to ran me into the median. I asked if he was in the semi's blind spot and he thought he wasn't just that the semi was mad because I was going to make him slow down. I said you messed up because semi's don't like to slow down especially if they are on cruise control and then have to get back up to speed and use more fuel than if you would have just been courteous and either you sped up or backed off to let the semi over. Yep ran my son right into the median at 70 MPH with no regard for the young kid's life. Yes my son was wrong or inexperienced but no reason for a semi driver to road rage him to near death and drive him off the road with a 40 ton weapon. So there is why I'm looking at this from a different angle until it's proven who was at fault. I personally don't think the car drove into the side of a semi until someone proves me wrong. Waiting for more facts not guesses.

Mike

I see the feds want breath analyzers in new cars. If this is allowed I think it could clear the way to ban/jam cell phone use while in a moving car or in a car period. Therefore- In my opinion I don't think breathalyzers in new cars will pass- because if you cant ban one how can you ban the other. Both are dangerous but cellphone use has been deemed a dang near human right. I see distracted cell phone drivers EVERYTIME I drive. I do not see drunk drivers every time I drive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLBS53tkc0E

You wouldn't believe what cars will do around trucks. Take that from someone who has driven a truck for 34 yrs. Some days I wish I had a Go pro filming.

and this was the reason for my "infotainment" post !
[and the "bar" i will visit is "home". have one or two, go inside for supper, then tubby time and nap time ! ]