If you move to the shoulder, are you at failure to maintain lane

In a case like this your dash cam footage is your most valuable possession.

 

A lawyer will find you at fault and get that driver a big payout.

Might be harsh. But if you maintain your lane and get hit. You'll not be at fault. Try to change lanes and get hit. It's open season for interpretation.

 

If you have a SPECIFIC accident and want to share all the facts. I'm sure you can get better answers.

But the general situation is as I said it.

 

Being "at-fault" and a company determining whether it was preventable are two separate things, if that's what you're asking. You may be determined not at-fault by the police or insurance, but your company may still decide you could have avoided the situation and mark it as a preventable accident.

 

Why would you be at fault for failing to maintain your lane when the shoulder lane is for situations as you're describing?

If you're in the lane next to the shoulder, I don't see how it would be the truck drivers fault. Now if you got over multiple lanes to reach the shoulder, that would be a totally different story.

 

Armchair quarterbacks watching the drivecam footage won't be reacting to a split second situation, but they will take the time to figure out what you could have done differently.
If you hold your lane they might say you could/should have slowed down and moved to the shoulder, and if you slow down and move to the shoulder they might say you should have kept your lane.

There is usually a bit of catch-22 in every situation where you 'could have' done it differently, in some small way, if you had had the time to think and consider for more than half a second.

 

Defensive driving is all about having an out. The shoulder was your out and you used it. The cop knows and saw that and put you down that you are not at fault. The insurance company knows you are not at fault.
You have nothing to worry about.

 

Years ago, when I worked at Dayton Freight Lines, the Safety Director said to do everything possible to keep the rig ‘on the roadway’ is these situations. If the rig leaves the roadway for any reason other than a blown steer tire, the driver could be subject to termination.