almost hit a semi at 70+mph
Posted by Vultrogotha@reddit | driving | View on Reddit | 28 comments
I was driving on the interstate close to midnight tonight, and i was in the right lane going like 75ish in a 70mph zone with about a car every mile or so apart. coming up under a bridge, there is a semi broken down with zero lights on in the right line. even with my lights on it didn’t illuminate until i was about 5 meters away because it was unlit & under a bridge. i swerved last second and missed it by about 1-2 meters. there were rocks everywhere too and i’m surprised i didn’t skid out or have my tires busted.
i was really shaken because i could have obviously died if i wasn’t paying attention but there wasn’t much i could have done making me see it sooner. also, there were several other cars on the opposite side and i couldn’t put my brights on. even if i was going 70, 60 or 65 i wouldn’t have seen it til the last minute. idk if anyone else has experienced something like this, or if this kind of post is allowed i just wanted to share.
VedantaSay@reddit
a 911 call after this might save someone else. The driver of the semi could have called non emergency no. If it was not visible to you...quite possible the situation will be same for all.
Vultrogotha@reddit (OP)
i did report it immoderately
unftp-0@reddit
You’re probably getting an innocent guy fired lol good job. Pay attention and stop being on your phone next time
ibringthehotpockets@reddit
Wut lol? Bad troll attempt
lOOPh0leD@reddit
Reminds me of this accident locally. Two semis, one inattentive, the other disabled on the highway.
https://www.newson6.com/story/66b34361f7c5745236b8c5cd/surveillance-video-shows-i-44-crash-between-semitrucks-that-killed-2-people
DungusIII@reddit
I'm going to guess the 2 dead are both drivers? Inattentive driving in a semi should lead to losing your CDL for life, no exceptions.
lOOPh0leD@reddit
It was the inattentive driver and his wife riding with him. The driver of the piggyback semi survived. I'm guessing the trailers took most of the impact.
rusticatedrust@reddit
Every semi in the US has retro-reflective tape on the rear of the tractor and trailer (49 CFR 393.11) which has an illuminated visibility of over 300m (1000ft) per DOT C2 visibility characteristics. If you couldn't see it until 5m away, you should consider checking your headlight adjustment, because that leaves you with less than 0.1 second of reaction time at 75mph, which is half of general human reaction time (250ms), while correctly adjusted headlights would afford you roughly 9 seconds to react at 75mph allowing for safe collision avoidance.
Vultrogotha@reddit (OP)
no shit the truck didn’t have it, i would have seen it if it did. it was dark grey, no lights, no triangles, and no reflective tape. i was watching the road straight ahead and didn’t see it until the last minute, if i was honeslty distracted i wouldn’t have made it. and yea i do need to check the adjustment idk how though.
rusticatedrust@reddit
The semi wouldn't be able to get an annual DOT inspection without it, and would be a magnet for a roadside inspection if it was missing or obscured. Watching for retro-reflection isn't a skill most drivers have, since taillights are orders of magnitude brighter. I can usually spot one vehicle per two hours of night driving with no rear lights on most interstates, which is a pretty spooky number, even with over 1 million miles of driving experience.
You'll likely need a flashlight and screwdriver (thumbscrews have fallen in and out of favor over the years) to adjust your headlights, and an empty parking lot in front of a large building at night, preferably level and unlit. A Chilton or Haynes manual is a very sound investment for a novice driver, but almost every maintenance and repair task is documented online these days. A strong indicator that something is wrong with your beam pattern is when vehicles passing you pass your car's beams with their own well before they pass you on a near constant basis.
HanakusoDays@reddit
I would rephrase that last bit something like: when a car is alongside or passing you at night, look at the pattern their headlights put on the roadway. If your pattern doesn't go as far down the roadway as theirs, your headlights are probably aimed too low and need to be raised.
Do this with more than one car to give you a better baseline, and if you have an older car, don't compare it to new ones because the new LED headlights are much stronger and not a good match.
redditusername_17@reddit
This, op is exaggerating or not telling us that they weren't paying attention.
Pressman4life@reddit
Overdriving your headlights is a self imposed, easily correctable problem. Re-aiming the lights, installing new bulbs, and yes, even slowing down. And 5 meters is 15', at 75 MPH 15' is faster than the brain, let alone your motor functions, can react. Can people stop the hyperbole and exaggerating?
Ferowin@reddit
Damn... I'm glad you're okay!
Substantial-Prune704@reddit
The driver should have triangles or flares out. It’s a DOT requirement for this very reason.
Vultrogotha@reddit (OP)
yeah they had nothing out and a lot of their load spilled into the road. i’m not sure if they were injured, but that could be the case
Bill_Hayden@reddit
Always notify the police of a stopped vehicle in a dangerous position. Don't assume anyone else has. They'll get a trooper out to cover recovery.
I think you should have seen it earlier (they have a lot of reflective stuff stuck to them, by regulation), but night driving can throw a lot of visual tricks at you, causing the brain to not always immediately register what you're looking at. I saw a broken down bus surprisingly late one night but this was at an urban intersection at plodding speed, so I know how it can happen.
Vultrogotha@reddit (OP)
yeah i reported it. but there was like nothing on the back of the truck. it was dark grey under a bridge. i only saw it when i came up on it and my lights hit theirs that were out.
Big_Bill23@reddit
Scary, for sure. The truck driver should have had safety reflectors/triangles out.
At the same time, you were obviously overdriving your headlights, which is a no-no.
Vultrogotha@reddit (OP)
yeah i probs was, also it was bright af on the other side. i think when i need to adjust the lights up higher, because their pointed down. idk.
theFooMart@reddit
In other words, you're an idiot who's not paying attention.
To begin with, semi trucks and trailers have conspicuity tape on them. It's red and silver reflective tape.
They may also have reflectors on them. And the light lenses will also reflect your headlights.
Also, if your lights didn't illuminate the trailer until you're 5 meters away, then you don't actually have your headlights on, it would be your daytime running lights. Or your headlights are dangerously dim.
And then if you can't stop in the space that your headlights illuminate, then you're driving too fast even if you're going under the speed limit.
I'm also calling BS on the 5 meter thing. That's 16 feet. At 70mph, you're travelling at 102 feet per second. That means you had 0.15 seconds to notice the truck, and avoid it. You're not that good.
Admit it: You weren't paying attention, and you're exaggerating the story.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
That's scary! I had a similar experience with a horse. Didn't see anything til I was right on top of it and then all of a sudden im seeing my life flash before my eyes. Thank God for good reflexes right? That semi could've been the last thing you saw, thank gosh it wasn't! Sometimes avoiding accidents is more about luck than skill.
Yalsas@reddit
So was the horse just standing in the road or was it already down on the ground?
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
It was standing in the middle of the highway, in the middle of the night. Didn't see it til I was like a foot away.
Bill_Hayden@reddit
Easily done.
TheDutchTexan@reddit
Came across a sofa like that. I had enough time to avoid it but dang that was out of pocket.
Called 911 and others had already done so.
DeepFudge9235@reddit
That's scary stuff. The truck should have had markers, reflectors set up so you can clearly see. Glad you are ok. If you don't already have a dashcam, get one. While it can't prevent an accident you want evidence in the event you did hit or even clip it, you want the evidence to show the negligence of the other party.
Not sure what else you could do. You clearly had enough space and reaction time to avoid it. Good job.
Vultrogotha@reddit (OP)
yeah thanks man. shit scared me made me realize i could have could have basically randomly died. i called the cops and reported it, i’m praying no one hit it.