Doing the ethical

While I can agree with your feeling and sentiment.

Unfortunately,.. if you lay your truck down because someone cut you off and they drive off,.. guess who 100% of the blame and if an O/O,.. costs fall onto?

I'm not saying I wiilingly want to kill someone. But there is a grey line to cross before I lay my truck down with out bringing the guilty party into mix with me.


Hurst

 

I will continue to practice what I was taught...maintain your lane. Could I take a different approach when faced with it...sure. Leaving your lane and laying it down could be worse than maintaining it...or not. Keep plenty of space and your chances of having this situation play out is reduced dramatically.

 

I keep my lane. I like to keep Darwin's theory in play.

 

In 14 + yrs. I have never been in a situation where it's me or them.
Unless it's a school bus with children I'll hold my lane.

Pulling a tanker means no quick maneuvers or things can get really bad.
75% of what I'm pulling has placards. And most of the time are flammable.
I spend most of my driving in the right lane so if need be at least I have an out, the shoulder.

 

I have done exactly that. Had a lady swoop and squat on me. Was driving flat at the time. Load of shingles. I felt the load shift and said Lady you want it you got it, came off the brake and sent her flying. Caved in the whole backside of her minivan. Don't make that mistake in front of me. Ill kill you and wont think twice if that's what its going to take to save myself.

 

Yea it's not a "me or them" attitude.. Hold the lane, what happens after that, just happens...

 

I'd say that the ethical compromise would be to always get a piece of the conflicting vehicle in order to prove your case, while doing all you can to mitigate the situation.

 

I refuse to sacrifice my own life/safety in order to protect somebody who just did something absolutely suicidal. I'll apply the brakes as best I can (don't want my load coming through the back of my cab), and I'll use whatever "out" I have SAFELY available (open lane, paved shoulder, etc...". I WILL NOT swerve abruptly, drive into the ditch, or take out an "innocent" motorist/pedestrian just because somebody pulled out in front of me or cut me off. Stupid ought to hurt...and if somebody is stupid enough to force me into a crash, you #### well better believe they are going to have their #### tore up too. I have a family to get home to, and NOTHING I do on the road is going to increase the risk of me not getting home to them. If you're dumb enough to put yourself in a position where I have to choose between clobbering you or overturning in the ditch, I'm NOT choosing the ditch. I don't want to kill anybody, but I've always said that if SOMEBODY is going to die and I have ANY say in the matter, it ain't gonna be me or my family. I don't know you. I don't care about you. You could live, you could die, or you could die by my hand and I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over you if you forced my hand.

 

I had a trooper tell me: If you are on a two lane road and someone is coming head on toward you, whatever you do "don't" swerve into his lane to avoid him. If you get in his lane and at the last second he swerves back into his lane. Now you have a wreck and it's your fault because you were in the wrong lane.

Now taking the ditch? hope I never have to make that choice.