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It was a left from an outside turn lane. The semi would have had plenty of room if they didn't try to cut it. If they wanted both lanes they should have straddled the line.
to be honest, I wasn't expecting three lanes either. looks weird and it probably threw the semi off guard as well. Definitely an area needing experience and advance signage.
Yes, semi shouldn't have been in the center turning lane, but he was anyway. SUV then made the gamble of taking the inner turn anyway (it's not like they coudln't *see* the semi) and paid for it. Was the risk worth the expected 5s of time that wasn't won anyway?
Yea. The truck driver's just wanted to rush by, which was pretty stupid. The driver stopped and then decided he wanted to squeeze thru. He didn't hit the semi; he went over the curb.
I think it's fair to give the benefit of the doubt to the pickup truck driver that maybe they, like so many of us in the comments, didn't realize there were three left turning lanes at that intersection, and thought the big truck was on the outer most turning lane.
Assuming everybody else drives perfect is a great way to make your car spend a lot of time in the body shop. That doesn't mean you need to drive like a paranoid coward and never leave your home, but applying some common sense to tricky situations — double turning lanes, people not paying attention at turn-on-red, speeding in an open lane right next to stalled traffic, etc — is an easy way to deal with these kind of incidents by not having them, as opposed to getting your car fixed.
Semi driver stuck themselves in a bad spot by not taking the outside turning lane. Vehicles in that outside lane forced the semi to cut in sooner than they normally would have resulting in the trailer cutting across lanes.
That's so fucked, there's like no room at all for a semi to cut back in to the second lane if they take it on the outside like they're supposed to, and no room in the second lane if drivers take it tight to the line in the third lane (like what happened in OPs video)
I'd be tempted to S-turn and block second and third lane if it wasn't ass to try to take two lanes in traffic coming up to a stop light.
As someone who drives a semi, the best and safest option (maybe not strictly legal, though) would be to take up the two most outer lanes. Stay right on the middle line between them so nobody tries to squeeze in on either side.
The truck needs to drive beyond the lane in order to keep the trailer from tacking too far out of the lane on the inside if the corner. Semis take the outside lane by default so they can do this, by driving straight ahead, out of the turning lanes painted on the ground, and cutting back in late. This pulls the trailer forward far enough before it starts tracking to the side that the trailer shouldn't leave the lane.
But without being able to leave that lane to the outside, the trailer cuts over much sooner, as we see in OPs video.
...on the trailer, yeah. Because the truck itself is following the lane (can't escape the lane to the outside) and the trailer begins moving to the inside of the corner (albeit slowly) as soon as the truck is moving that direction.
You have to think of the trailer as pivoting off the forward axle of the axle grouping, and the trailer always moves directly towards the current location of the fifth wheel on the truck. When the truck has begun turning and moving in the new direction the trailer is going to follow, slowly but surely. The center of the trailer appears to swing across lanes as this happens. This is why trucks drive Out first, to try to pull the axles of the trailer as far forward as they can, before cutting sharp and turning in. So the trailer has time to move forward into the corner before it begins pivoting into the new direction. The farther back the trailer is before turning, the more the center of the trailer swings across ground sideways.
It's hard to tell from this angle but it looks like that box truck in the outside lane is crowding the inside of the corner as well.
Regardless of whether or not the semi should've done this or that, always left room for them to turn, the potential cost is never worth the maybe 3 seconds saved rushing
Like the old driving adage says, "The cemeteries are full of people who had the right of way". You give the semi the extra room, call him an idiot, and go about your day.
It’s always wise to give big trucks space on their inside during a turn. Now I don’t know that intersection, but I will say as a CDL driver that has been driving large vehicles for the better part of the last 20 years that collision is also on the semi drivers error. They should know that they needed to move that tractor farther into the intersection so that the tandems don’t cross over that dotted line.
Also, he should’ve been watching for that truck to do something stupid like that and stopped his vehicle leaving enough room for that truck to get through. I know they shouldn’t have to, but that’s what they should’ve done because now they got to pull over and their route is going to be running behind. And depending on how tight they have them it could take an extra day to complete the route because we have a limited number of hours per day. We’re allowed to drive before we have to take a 10 hour break.
Trucks made wide right left turns from the middle that means you need to left your right turn to middle your turn to the right from left. Have you ever been so far as to do want or look more like?
How are the majority of comments making excuses for a professional driver who failed to maintain their lane?
They could have taken the outside lane. They could have straddled two lanes if they knew they needed space. They could have turned on their flashers if they were worried they were going to be a hazard.
They did none of these things and caused an accident.
They’re both idiots but more so the truck.
The semi driver was not able to safely make that turn in the middle lane. You’re right that they could have made better choices to prevent this.
The truck should’ve given the semi space. It’s common knowledge that semi’s make wide turns. They have large blind spots. I don’t know why someone would think speeding up next to a semi that’s trying to make a tight turn would be a good idea.
Legally the semi is at fault. His trailer crossed the white lines. That is a traffic violation, even the solid white line when you merge on to freeways. There’s a saying, swing wide it’s a fricking trailer. The pickup driver is on guilty of being a dumbass and seeing what was about to happen.
The pickup would have hit from behind. That makes it his fault. 100%. Same as if the pickup hit a sign or a car. Your job is to avoid. White lines are not a fence Nobody OWNS the road.
The difference here is one of these two drivers is paid to drive and is supposed to be a "trained professional". Spoiler alert, it's not the dude in a pickup truck....
Being paid has no bearing on the situation at all. Truck drivers are not legally more or less responsible for traffic rules. They are called professionals but are not legally recognized as professionals. By government. More responsibility for the vehicle roadworthy conditions and regulations yes but for the general use of the roads no.
I appreciate that they added the extra turn lane at this intersection considering the backup to get on 66 in the mornings. But I swear these lanes are smaller than they should be
Hello /u/box-flex! Please reply to this comment with the following information to confirm the content is OC * What country or state did this take place in? * What was the date of the incident? * Please reconfirm that this is original content If you are unable to reply directly to this comment, please leave a standalone comment in your thread with the requested information. If you fail to answer these questions, your post will be removed. ------ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/IdiotsInCars) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That car driver is 100% not a cyclist.
Which is probably why they went up the inside of a large turning vehicle
That was my point. As a driver and cyclist, this was insane to me.
Always give semis room on turns. Light was still green. No rush.
It was a left from an outside turn lane. The semi would have had plenty of room if they didn't try to cut it. If they wanted both lanes they should have straddled the line.
Three turning lanes, semi should've been in the Outside lane, they got stuck cutting it short because there was another vehicle in the outside lane.
Ah, you're right. I'm unused to three turning lanes, and thought there were only two.
to be honest, I wasn't expecting three lanes either. looks weird and it probably threw the semi off guard as well. Definitely an area needing experience and advance signage.
Yes, semi shouldn't have been in the center turning lane, but he was anyway. SUV then made the gamble of taking the inner turn anyway (it's not like they coudln't *see* the semi) and paid for it. Was the risk worth the expected 5s of time that wasn't won anyway?
Yea. The truck driver's just wanted to rush by, which was pretty stupid. The driver stopped and then decided he wanted to squeeze thru. He didn't hit the semi; he went over the curb.
I think it's fair to give the benefit of the doubt to the pickup truck driver that maybe they, like so many of us in the comments, didn't realize there were three left turning lanes at that intersection, and thought the big truck was on the outer most turning lane.
Assuming everybody else drives perfect is a great way to make your car spend a lot of time in the body shop. That doesn't mean you need to drive like a paranoid coward and never leave your home, but applying some common sense to tricky situations — double turning lanes, people not paying attention at turn-on-red, speeding in an open lane right next to stalled traffic, etc — is an easy way to deal with these kind of incidents by not having them, as opposed to getting your car fixed.
how about they stay in their lanes? like the law says.
That's not physically possible with a semi all the time.
seriously this. if a truck is unable to safely traverse the road, they should drive elsewhere, or use a smaller truck that actually fits the roads.
Honestly, those lanes look way too narrow. Lanes are generally supposed to be 10 to 12 feet wide, those look like they're closer to 8 or 9.
Yep. I’ll even look out for them so I know to wait a little farther back at the red light or just assume one might be arriving soon.
Hey man some of us rather scratch up our rims hitting the curb squeezing through for absolutely no reason. Its a free country
"Makes wide right turns" turned into "makes lazy and uncalculated left turns"
Semi driver stuck themselves in a bad spot by not taking the outside turning lane. Vehicles in that outside lane forced the semi to cut in sooner than they normally would have resulting in the trailer cutting across lanes.
Semi absolutely fucked up but what on Earth is three left turn lanes?
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ekvwKJtX3DFdosED6 Outer most left turn lane basically goes onto a freeway on ramp
That's so fucked, there's like no room at all for a semi to cut back in to the second lane if they take it on the outside like they're supposed to, and no room in the second lane if drivers take it tight to the line in the third lane (like what happened in OPs video) I'd be tempted to S-turn and block second and third lane if it wasn't ass to try to take two lanes in traffic coming up to a stop light.
As someone who drives a semi, the best and safest option (maybe not strictly legal, though) would be to take up the two most outer lanes. Stay right on the middle line between them so nobody tries to squeeze in on either side.
Right? I'm glad I'm not the only one taken aback by this.
It's like a left turn left but with 3 of them
Pretty sure they can clear that without using the outside turning lane. Just shit driving.
The truck needs to drive beyond the lane in order to keep the trailer from tacking too far out of the lane on the inside if the corner. Semis take the outside lane by default so they can do this, by driving straight ahead, out of the turning lanes painted on the ground, and cutting back in late. This pulls the trailer forward far enough before it starts tracking to the side that the trailer shouldn't leave the lane. But without being able to leave that lane to the outside, the trailer cuts over much sooner, as we see in OPs video.
There's like 2 feet of space to the right of the truck's lane...
...on the trailer, yeah. Because the truck itself is following the lane (can't escape the lane to the outside) and the trailer begins moving to the inside of the corner (albeit slowly) as soon as the truck is moving that direction. You have to think of the trailer as pivoting off the forward axle of the axle grouping, and the trailer always moves directly towards the current location of the fifth wheel on the truck. When the truck has begun turning and moving in the new direction the trailer is going to follow, slowly but surely. The center of the trailer appears to swing across lanes as this happens. This is why trucks drive Out first, to try to pull the axles of the trailer as far forward as they can, before cutting sharp and turning in. So the trailer has time to move forward into the corner before it begins pivoting into the new direction. The farther back the trailer is before turning, the more the center of the trailer swings across ground sideways. It's hard to tell from this angle but it looks like that box truck in the outside lane is crowding the inside of the corner as well.
Yes and all that can be achieved using the outside of the middle lane.
[Not on that intersection](https://www.google.com/maps/@37.7021245,-121.9358844,99m/data=!3m1!1e3).
Regardless of whether or not the semi should've done this or that, always left room for them to turn, the potential cost is never worth the maybe 3 seconds saved rushing
Yup, when it comes to driving around semis, right or wrong is less important than mass and momentum.
Like the old driving adage says, "The cemeteries are full of people who had the right of way". You give the semi the extra room, call him an idiot, and go about your day.
Pickup driver was glad that all he got was a scuffed tire...
Semi is the wrong lane. He should always be on the outside lane to turn wid. However, the pickup truck should have seen that coming
In a lot of cases like this in Australia there is signage telling trucks to use both lanes to turn.
Unless the lanes are really wide, I don't see how the trailer won't off track into someone else lane
It’s always wise to give big trucks space on their inside during a turn. Now I don’t know that intersection, but I will say as a CDL driver that has been driving large vehicles for the better part of the last 20 years that collision is also on the semi drivers error. They should know that they needed to move that tractor farther into the intersection so that the tandems don’t cross over that dotted line. Also, he should’ve been watching for that truck to do something stupid like that and stopped his vehicle leaving enough room for that truck to get through. I know they shouldn’t have to, but that’s what they should’ve done because now they got to pull over and their route is going to be running behind. And depending on how tight they have them it could take an extra day to complete the route because we have a limited number of hours per day. We’re allowed to drive before we have to take a 10 hour break.
I always thought it was common knowledge that trucks make right left turns an wide right turns.
Then why do those signs on the back just say "makes wide right turns" and a picture, but don't mention lefts?
That’s a good point
Trucks made wide right left turns from the middle that means you need to left your right turn to middle your turn to the right from left. Have you ever been so far as to do want or look more like?
How are the majority of comments making excuses for a professional driver who failed to maintain their lane? They could have taken the outside lane. They could have straddled two lanes if they knew they needed space. They could have turned on their flashers if they were worried they were going to be a hazard. They did none of these things and caused an accident.
They’re both idiots but more so the truck. The semi driver was not able to safely make that turn in the middle lane. You’re right that they could have made better choices to prevent this. The truck should’ve given the semi space. It’s common knowledge that semi’s make wide turns. They have large blind spots. I don’t know why someone would think speeding up next to a semi that’s trying to make a tight turn would be a good idea.
Pickup driver driving like pickup driver. Slow down and assess the situation.
Those lanes look slightly narrow also
100% semis fault but pickup driver should have seen it coming
Why 100%. Semi wasn’t passing pickup. Unsafe passing by the pick up. Is more the fault
Legally the semi is at fault. His trailer crossed the white lines. That is a traffic violation, even the solid white line when you merge on to freeways. There’s a saying, swing wide it’s a fricking trailer. The pickup driver is on guilty of being a dumbass and seeing what was about to happen.
The pickup would have hit from behind. That makes it his fault. 100%. Same as if the pickup hit a sign or a car. Your job is to avoid. White lines are not a fence Nobody OWNS the road.
Umm read your states driving Manuel, it a legal fence
That makes changing lanes a little awkward doesn’t it.
Solid white lines, not the regular broken lane dividers
Even that is not recognized universally. It should but it’s not. ONTARIO as an example. It’s a warning of an unsafe place to pass.
what dashcam is this? shit is like cinema quality lol
I’m curious as to who is at fault. Truck makes wide turns but was it allowed in the lane? Not saying the pickup wasn’t a dumb dumb genuinely curious.
It’s always a good idea to give them plenty of space. Their vehicle is huge and yours isn’t.
Impatient idiots I used to live down there. Really could’ve used that extra turn lane they added, years ago lol.
Oh, no! Consequences! SUV learned a valuable lesson about turning trucks today.
The difference here is one of these two drivers is paid to drive and is supposed to be a "trained professional". Spoiler alert, it's not the dude in a pickup truck....
Being paid has no bearing on the situation at all. Truck drivers are not legally more or less responsible for traffic rules. They are called professionals but are not legally recognized as professionals. By government. More responsibility for the vehicle roadworthy conditions and regulations yes but for the general use of the roads no.
I appreciate that they added the extra turn lane at this intersection considering the backup to get on 66 in the mornings. But I swear these lanes are smaller than they should be