Crap happens. 4 wheeler is not innocent Her lawyers will get a settlement no matter who's at fault. Big business suing carriers.
the #2 4-wheeler (who got hit) was not innocent in one regard, but was put into a no-win situation by the #1 car, and as such was "partially innocent". It would be interesting how all this shakes out in settlement, but I suspect the trucker (carrier) will be the biggest loser in terms of financial responsibility. In terms of real responsibility, everyone knows where they stand. The #2 car knows he made a bad choice to take the out, and this is the result. But the #2 car will take all the cash the carrier deciders to settle for. Be sure, the carrier/trucker will not receive a dime from anyone.
4 wheeler caused her own accident. I see stuff like that all the time though, people not reacting to the dumb stuff around them, seemingly content that if 'crap happens' it won't be their fault. After all, they don't want to lose a precious half a second. Fortunately many of us are more concerned with the long term goal instead. The truck wasn't the cause of the accident but could have easily avoided it. I was on the brakes before the mercedes in the video below. Some how I don't think the guy this thread is about would have even tried to avoid a collision.
I think we are all in agreement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm just a evil person wanted to see explosions. Go big or not upload at all. This was not worth the views and comments.
The OP did remind us (and notify others) that everything is not black and white, right or wrong. There's lots of grey areas and this is where full-time defensive driving [and common sense] comes into play to help turn what could/would have been a crash, into a minor inconvenience.
DUDE! Nice Friggen reaction there man! Kudos! Now, for the OP's post....There is one thing that everyone who keeps saying the trucker wasn't paying attention has yet to mention- Mr. Distracted was at least smart enough to tell his honey buns "Love You" before he hung up and dialed 911.....
He probably has to talk to her 24/7, as that's the only way he can be relatively sure she's where she's supposed to be and not doing something she shouldn't be doing. Yes, I noticed it, and it reminded me of one basic fact, of those who regularly talk on the phone, some/many often literally spend the entire day on the phone with somebody or another. When cellular carriers introduced unlimited talk time and unlimited texts, this is when distracted driving accidents exploded off the charts. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen people engaged in conversation and see them/pass them/get passed by them 1,2, to 3 hours later, and they're still on the phone. It's a real issue for many, yet they don't even know it.
Not to say who was right or wrong but in CT on a 2 lane highway like this it is illegal to pass on the right.
It's been my observation that a lot of 4 wheelers tap their brakes either during a lane change in lieu of signaling or immediately after a lane change for whatever reason. I've seen all manner of stupid in the 10 years of doing this. Just assume the 4 wheeler (and any more, the trucker) will do the dumbest thing possible and you'll seldom be panicked and occasionally pleasantly surprised.