Possible crash for cash caught on Camera!
Discussion
I think what a good few posters on this thread are not realising is - speaking as someone who has driven a lot of miles over a lot of years in a fairly wide variety of vehicles, from classic cars to articulated lorries - I can state that the behaviour of the two car drivers in the clip is pretty well darn normal - there's virtually nothing unusual in what you're seeing.
The Merc speeding up when the lorry is overtaking - absolutely normal, happens *all* the time, happens every single time you drive a lorry on every single journey, and also totally common behaviour is for the car to then slow down after the truck has pulled back in. On a long journey you can get hassled by people like this for literally hundreds of miles.
The Golf, and it's actions - not that unusual at all, you'll see such muppetry every single day or night if your workplace is out there on the roads. The Merc, sitting on a dc while a lorry is bearing down on him, is not that unusual at all. I reckon that's how most people would react after having had the Golf perform in front of him like he did; they'd sit there in indignance while a lorry is bearing down on them.
Put simply, there is nothing that the ordinary driver would not do, nothing at all, and i'd suggest that most people's imagination won't stretch to what they will do.
The lorry driver is piss poor imo, he even blocks the slip road off when he stops. But what I would say in response to the chap commenting on HGV drivers and gaps, I can state quite categorically that it's virtually *impossible* to maintain a safe gap, because virtually every single time you create a nice safe gap between yourself and the vehicle in front, someone will fill it. Virtually without exception. Motorway road works - i must have driven through thousands and thousand and thousands of those, and I can state quite categorically that it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to keep car drivers away from you. Time and again when going through those interminably long sets of works such as Luton or the M1 north of J28, I would 'cultivate' a safe space around myself, yet within 5 mins, and without my speed changing 'cos I always used cruise, I would have a clutch of cars around me, in front and alongside, all travelling at the same speed. Trouble is, not enough people use cruise so the speed of the car in front would constantly be changing. And every single car that runs alongside artics at the same speed, had travelled more quickly to gain on the lorry and then slowed down to drive alongside. It's absolute madness and it's also totally, totally normal.
I was never ever able to go through road works in what I would describe as a safe manner due solely to the bizarre way car drivers drive. I can only equate to the scenario of when you park your car in a totally empty part of a large car park to save your doors from being dinged, and when you return there are two sheds parked either side, even though there is still acres of empty car park.
In the scenario shown in the film, which shows a slip road off, when driving a lorry it is COMPLETELY NORMAL BEHAVIOUR (I can't stress it enough) for traffic leaving the main road to pile in front of the lorry and brake for the exit slip. The fact that there is NOTHING behind the lorry is irrespective, 99% of drivers will always pull in front of the lorry, no matter how tiny the gaps are, no matter how incredibly dangerous it is for everybody. Before I gave up trucking i was doing a regular route on the M5 and M6 around Birmingham, and I decided that i was going to move into lane 2 before every junction regardless of whether traffic dictated it or not - it was the only safe way. You couldn't tell what people were going to do, 'cos nobody indicates anymore, there is no lane discipline and nobody adjusts their speed before hand - is was just 'get in front of the lorry from whatever lane and BRAKE!' for every exit.
It's impossible to keep a gap - but that trucker still shouldn't have run into the back of that Merc in that film.
The Merc speeding up when the lorry is overtaking - absolutely normal, happens *all* the time, happens every single time you drive a lorry on every single journey, and also totally common behaviour is for the car to then slow down after the truck has pulled back in. On a long journey you can get hassled by people like this for literally hundreds of miles.
The Golf, and it's actions - not that unusual at all, you'll see such muppetry every single day or night if your workplace is out there on the roads. The Merc, sitting on a dc while a lorry is bearing down on him, is not that unusual at all. I reckon that's how most people would react after having had the Golf perform in front of him like he did; they'd sit there in indignance while a lorry is bearing down on them.
Put simply, there is nothing that the ordinary driver would not do, nothing at all, and i'd suggest that most people's imagination won't stretch to what they will do.
The lorry driver is piss poor imo, he even blocks the slip road off when he stops. But what I would say in response to the chap commenting on HGV drivers and gaps, I can state quite categorically that it's virtually *impossible* to maintain a safe gap, because virtually every single time you create a nice safe gap between yourself and the vehicle in front, someone will fill it. Virtually without exception. Motorway road works - i must have driven through thousands and thousand and thousands of those, and I can state quite categorically that it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to keep car drivers away from you. Time and again when going through those interminably long sets of works such as Luton or the M1 north of J28, I would 'cultivate' a safe space around myself, yet within 5 mins, and without my speed changing 'cos I always used cruise, I would have a clutch of cars around me, in front and alongside, all travelling at the same speed. Trouble is, not enough people use cruise so the speed of the car in front would constantly be changing. And every single car that runs alongside artics at the same speed, had travelled more quickly to gain on the lorry and then slowed down to drive alongside. It's absolute madness and it's also totally, totally normal.
I was never ever able to go through road works in what I would describe as a safe manner due solely to the bizarre way car drivers drive. I can only equate to the scenario of when you park your car in a totally empty part of a large car park to save your doors from being dinged, and when you return there are two sheds parked either side, even though there is still acres of empty car park.
In the scenario shown in the film, which shows a slip road off, when driving a lorry it is COMPLETELY NORMAL BEHAVIOUR (I can't stress it enough) for traffic leaving the main road to pile in front of the lorry and brake for the exit slip. The fact that there is NOTHING behind the lorry is irrespective, 99% of drivers will always pull in front of the lorry, no matter how tiny the gaps are, no matter how incredibly dangerous it is for everybody. Before I gave up trucking i was doing a regular route on the M5 and M6 around Birmingham, and I decided that i was going to move into lane 2 before every junction regardless of whether traffic dictated it or not - it was the only safe way. You couldn't tell what people were going to do, 'cos nobody indicates anymore, there is no lane discipline and nobody adjusts their speed before hand - is was just 'get in front of the lorry from whatever lane and BRAKE!' for every exit.
It's impossible to keep a gap - but that trucker still shouldn't have run into the back of that Merc in that film.
ADEuk said:
So is the lorry driver in on it too? Did he know there was a camera in the cab?
Personally i just think he was a muppet. Although having said that, watching the film i was waiting for an aged Nissan to pull in front of the truck at a roundabout - i wasn't expecting a Merc planning to be whacked hard by the truck - if they've done much of that the crims won't have a neck left come middle age. 
I can 100% tell you the lorry driver had no intention of hitting that car on purpose.
The camera was supplied by his insurance company. After the accident he sent the footage in to his insurance company (thinking he was at fault) and it was the insurance company that were concerned the footage and passed it on to the Police.
There should be more on Ch5 News tonight at 5pm and 7pm.
The camera was supplied by his insurance company. After the accident he sent the footage in to his insurance company (thinking he was at fault) and it was the insurance company that were concerned the footage and passed it on to the Police.
There should be more on Ch5 News tonight at 5pm and 7pm.
heebeegeetee said:
if they've done much of that the crims won't have a neck left come middle age.
Probably not likely to get too injured in an impact like that if you see it coming. Notice all the rear head restraints were up - what's the betting their heads were pressed up against them in preparation for the impact?Cheers,
FT.
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