Why we all should have a dash cam

a few things I noticed, doesn't it say slow vehicles "right lane only"? and you did cross a solid white line, isn't that illegal? ? also it would appear that when you made that sudden (illegal? ) lane change you just might have cut that pickup off?? so maybe it wasn't someone out looking for a payday, but rather retaliating?

not pointing fingers, just some of what I noticed.

 

I don't want to shatter your hope, but nothing good can come out of this unless you get an attorney and sue. A lot of your early posters came out excided praising the futage and shunning the the 4 wheeler. But few had anny real long time experience but a few until you get the second or third page.

See a lot of your newer drivers havnt had a lot of experience with that daq crap or the huanting of a ten year history affecting your employment.

10 yr Dmv print out, mvr's,10 yr work history. All wich these companies use to not hire you.

Yeh, what he did was wrong, and the guy looked like a little chump. But your a professional driver and your the one who get's screwed in the end.
As he will go on with bull shet dailly job, unaffected by the accident. You'll be huanted by it for the next ten freakin years.

Look, this is what I see. The truck in front of you is slowing you, but you wait until he puts his flashers on till you pass, then you haistelly get over to the left. Probablly cutting off the bittch in the pick up.

She gets mad and decides to teach you a lesson. So she pulls in front of you and slams on her breaks hopping to get a breaking reaction from you. Wene it doesn't work, the little ##### does it again.

That's wene you decide to dementsrate that your not affraid and hit the back of the pick up.

In my professional oppenion, I think you could of avoided the situation by backing off from the ##### early on.
Wene I say proffesional oppenion, I mean 11 years experience. Probably more than those that will be in your court room with you but maybe not.

I doute there was another truck dangerouslley behind you becouse you were lite and had good momentum going up the hill, a lot more than the trucks around you.
I think you could of safelly backed off the situation let the little ##### get over her tantrum and moved on.

I've had this same senario happen to me many times.

Also don't count on the ex trucker turned cop to much. I've had officers run that same bull shet down to me and still write me up. At that moment everything about the cops all about him. I was this and I used to be that.

He'll probablly reveiw the film and revaluate the situation. Hopefully he doesn't decide to charge you with somthing.

The chumps insurance company will demand a copy of the futage to cover they're ### and they'll come in with they're attorneys as well. Especially if they smell a law suit coming.

And if the little chump decides to get an attorney, They'll want to see the film to and try to use it against you.

Also you'll have some tuff exlaining to do for next 3-4 years maybe even more. Any possible employer you may be seekinf a job from will want to talk about that. Companeis pay people to do that and it actually makes them look good. I wouldn't go and try and show them the film. They'll probablly just think somthings wrong with you.

 

I've gone over Cajon Pass countless times. I've also watched the OP video more than a few times.

First of all, the solid white line and "trucks in right lane" issue is a nonstarter (pardon the pun). Trucks are supposed to be the only vehicles in the right lane. Trucks regularly pass each other in the next lane over.

It is common to have 4 wheelers crowding the 2nd lane and trying to pass other 4 wheelers on the right. Early in the footage you notice a daisy chain of 4 wheelers in the left 2 lanes, crowding to try and get around the semi's in the right 2 lanes.

What we don't see is how early the OP's turn signal was on, and whether he had it on for a period of time before getting room from the 4 wheelers to get into the 2nd lane. I've been up that pass many a time with a lighter load and found it problematic to find room between the 4 wheelers trying to cut me off by moving from the 3rd to the 2nd lane or speeding up to cut me off when I've had my turn signal on for quite a time.

Prior to making the lane change the truck in front of him seems to have missed a gear downshifting or backed way off on the accelerator as he was initiating the lane change. He seems to have waited for the 4 wheelers to move up that had him pinned in the right lane.

If you notice the camera/cab angle tilts down when the pickup brake checks him. He was braking hard. There's nothing there if you are looking for a "revenge hit". Nothing at all. The OP did everything right. Possibly in retrospect he could have simply braked to almost a dead halt in the right lane and tried to grab a gear to keep forward momentum. I don't see it, he likely had a turn signal on for quite a time, started the lane change and suddenly had a truck losing momentum in front of him while a pickup was trying to make a lane change to the RIGHT at the same time. The pickup driver should have seen the turn signal and not tried to cut him off in the first place.

 

Yep.... what full speed said. Expereince and PATIENCE , will trump that temper tantrum every time...that is exactly what separates the million-milers with zero accidents from the steering wheel-holders. It also has another definition....PROFESSIONALISM.... That is what every poster needs to take away from this thread...is what NOT to do....trucks don't climb hills fast they aren't designed to....we must always give each other and automobile traffic the respect and courtesy that they not only deserve , but what they demand....FOR SAFETIES sake.

Lepton1 you read this one wrong my friend..And yes those signs "trucks right lane only" mean ALL of the trucks..Not just the ones that are loaded light.....You see there are things that are called laws...and we are required to abide by them ...AT ALL TIMES.... not just when it's convenient. In this particular instance the OP had all the time in the world to see that the trucks in front of him were much slower , and all he had to do was reduce "his" speed , drop a gear or maybe even 2 , to keep himself from running up behind the slower traffic....The worst thing that would've happened , would have been it would have taken him just a little longer to pull the grade.....No accident...no problems with the pick-up driver no points on his companies safety score...a win , win for all folks involved....Once you've got some time behind you..both you and the OP..... you'll look back on this video as a picture of what not to do.......at least I hope so. Happy Trails...

 

yes, I did some research after I posted , and found that California is one of the few states that it is legal to cross a solid white line...

 

Trucks are allowed in the right two lanes coming up or coming down Cajon Pass.

While I agree that the safest procedure for passing in this situation is to make an early move to avoid this last minute situation, the traffic as shown in the video is heavy, with lots of 4 wheelers crowding into the 2nd lane. He is pinned by two cars and after they clear his way he initiates his pass when the truck in front decelerates quickly. It is not apparent why the truck in front of him decelerated as fast as he did, and I'm guessing he may have missed a gear on a downshift. That part of the pass increases slope.

Certainly the OP could have stayed in lane, put on his brakes, and crawled up the rest of the hill. However, if he had a clear 2nd lane to make the pass then he could have legally made it. It is apparent that he did make the lane change successfully. He reported that after initiating the lane change he saw that the pickup had tried to move from the 3rd to the 2nd lane to make a pass on the right side of the car(s) in front. That is something that can't always be anticipated, especially if you have your turn signals on and the lane is clear when you begin your lane change.

Ultimately the pickup driver was totally at fault for initiating the collision. There's no question about that. The OP had load damage from braking hard to try and avoid the collision. The camera dips with the cab when he applies the brakes.

Certainly the lessons to be learned from this thread is that running a multilane grade presents challenges for maintaining speed and making safe passes and that having a video camera running can be extremely helpful when another motorist makes a criminal move as shown in the video.

 

i think the fact that many of us are seeing this as an avoidable accident is what is making people question your experience.

 

Exactly how do you avoid an accident when a pickup driver does a "swoop and squat"? Perhaps you can explain.