safer to drive... vans, tankers, or flat beds?

I'll give you too fast for conditions, that's easy enough to see. But from start to the point where the semi hit the 4-wheeler, it was all of about 6-7 seconds. So tell me, were you in that driver's shoes...

Scanning takes 1-2 seconds, plus processing time, then scanning to ensure you're not going to hit anyone else/your best options. Leaves you at best 3 seconds of reaction time. It's rough math, I know. I don't expect it to stand up. I'm just making a point.

And here's the point. It's really really easy to play Monday morning quarterback.

What'd we all learn?

-scan the road
-slow the hell down
-remember that you can't predict the behavior of others
-whatever else you all learned

 

I viewed the video a few more times, pausing the action, then play, over and over. I cannot see "too fast for conditions". all the other traffic was moving along just fine. that SUV, veered ever so slightly into the ridge of snow the separated the lanes, and lost control.

as I was watching the video, it does appear the big rig, had made an attempt, to move over to the shoulder.

if "driving too fast for conditions" is to be said, that SUV was actually speeding up, to pass that 6 wheeler

and also, it does appear, the 6 wheeler also got hit by the car, just behind the big rig.

 

He could've been moving slower than I though, but either way... Most folks reaction time isn't going to be good enough for 5-7 seconds.

My two cents.

 

actually, if we were to get Superman to spin the earth, in the opposite direction, he could slow down time just enough for the accident to have not happened.

 

The only way that was preventable was for the 4 wheeler driver to drive according to conditions/ability and NOT lose control of his/her vehicle. There is absolutely zero blame to the big rig driver.

 

To respond to all who responded to me on this side of the argument.

• The Smith System teaches us to scan the road 15 seconds (1100 feet) 50 & above.

• Driving too fast for conditions greatly decreases your time to react &/or come to a halt (Will automatically deem the accident preventable)

You've also made clear that you acknowledge it was a huge fault of the driver but the emphasis on it is crucial here.

So when you ask were I in that driver's shoes what I be able to react accordingly? Probably not. But to be in that driver's shoes at that moment would mean I am an irresponsible driver. Sad how a life was lost as a result.

 

Watch the video again. The best that I can determine is that the rig crests the rise at 11 seconds into the video, at 17 seconds into the video the collision occurs. I am certain the Smith system is unable to impart the ability to see over a hill, to anyone.

 

Exactly. The given conditions here show that the ONLY thing the driver could've done to prevent this, was to show up 10 seconds earlier, 10 seconds later, or park it at the truck stop.

That being said... Speeding up in those conditions is hardly ideal. Slowing down can make you a bigger target and risk to motorists that aren't paying attention. Parking at a truck stop wouldn't have been ideal, for me, either as those conditions aren't so terrible as to warrant parking.

While I agree that in most cases every driver could've done something different to prevent an accident or death... Discussing it in the context of, "What that driver should've done" is pretty fruitless. As is placing blame with anyone at this point. Learn what they did wrong and apply it in one's own driving.

I wished I could see the lines on the other side of the road. I could figure out about how fast the semi was moving them. The trooper & 4-wheeler were running 55.

 

The concept if the system overall is to always give yourself the proper time & distance to react to any potential hazard.

Let's say he couldn't see due to the hill. To crest a hill at that speed in those conditions without being able to see on the other side is still WRONG.

I'll say it again: Going too fast for conditions is automatically preventable.

 

There is no way a company would call that a preventable.

And there is no way to know if he was driving too fast for conditions. That accident happened in a 6 second span.
How slow do you have to be running to stop a rig in 4 seconds (-2 for reaction time) on dry pavement in the summer?

I mean you can say ALL accidents could be prevented if the driver would have been going slower.

I don't know, but I would bet my left pinky finger that this would not be considered a preventable accident.