Dashcam: Shaunee Tractor wreck.. ugly

Yeah, you're right. I'm just trying to wrap my head around the idea that a trailer axle would cause that initial pull and dip to the right and what corrective actions a driver can take to keep the shiny side up.

 

Granted, the whole accident was bizarre. I'll give you that one.

 

If the back axle came off and he was on the throttle I'd believe the truck would shift back and make the front light. So when he let off the weight transferred to the front?

 

Last July I actually had one of my drives let go @ 65 m.p.h. on I-85 northbound just west of Gastonia,North Carolina(passenger side,front axle inner tire). When it blew it sounded like either a shotgun blast or someone banging a metal trashcan with a baseball bat. The temperature when it blew was110 degrees F (the pavement was probably 140-150 degrees)which,along with the friction being generated while driving caused the tire to "detonate". All the cords in the tire blew out and 2 feet of the tire's center tread peeled off the tire and ended up on my catwalk.

 

He was driving a 4-axle straight truck. Rear most axle, a drive axle, broke free:




I suspect the right rear torque/trailing arm failed (or the bolt was loose and fell out on that last expansion joint). When under power, that trailing arm is what keeps the axle from moving forward. With it inoperable, the right side of the axle would move forward, steering the back of the truck to the left (pointing the front of the truck to the right). A hard yank on the steering wheel to the left in hopes of keeping the truck straight caused the truck to start sliding sideways. The RRO then blew, causing the truck to dip, at which point the wheel dug into the pavement sheering the axle all the way off and causing the truck to bounce and then tip over

 

You beat me to it ... i hate you but yes I completely agree with those conclusions ... hopefully it is entirely a mechanical error not of his doing. Glad he and the gal walked away ... lucky!

 

I wasn't aware he was driving a straight truck. Your analysis makes a lot of sense.

 

WOW----what a ride !!!!

 

DY there is another part that will have played a part in this.The driveshaft.If it broke at its front joint first.........speared itself in the ground........

 

In addition if you look at the photographs the steer tires are still intact-with no indications of a blowout or any other type of failure. It was definitely a Mack dump truck(the bulldog is visible in the video) though,the question is which model?