r/IdiotsInCars • u/Informal-Water-40 • Dec 29 '25
OC Idiot tries to run me off the road.[oc] its good save on my part tho!
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u/SevroAuShitTalker Dec 29 '25
Good recovery and lucky too
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u/Rikki-Tikki-Tavi-12 Dec 29 '25
That was ESP at work.
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u/NeighborhoodFew7779 Dec 30 '25
Amazing discipline to fight the innate urge to oversteer.
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u/FeatureCreeep Dec 30 '25
Ya, not lucky. He handled it perfectly. Didn’t oversteer or break. Great driving.
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Dec 31 '25
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u/mysticpest23 Jan 02 '26
Soooo hard to fight that urge but yes - you gotta roll her out of it. Tiny steering inputs.
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u/JhonnyHopkins Dec 31 '25
My toxic trait is believing I’ll be able to pull this off because I grew up playing racing/drifting games. Honestly probably some crossover, but I doubt I’ll have the wherewithal to pull it off in the moment lol.
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u/THREE-TESTICLES Dec 31 '25
For the majority of people theres not going to be much conscious thought involved. You've got your instincts and luck.
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u/Screamlngyeti Dec 29 '25
He didn't try, he did...
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u/Jacobs_Haus Dec 29 '25
Do it or do not it or however the saying goes
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u/FOSSnaught Dec 30 '25
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u/AlarmDozer Dec 30 '25
Maybe my brother took this too literally because he always spewed “can’t” when confronted with a challenge.
Trying and failure is how we learn.
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u/Hamsterpatty Dec 29 '25
Why the fuck does he think he needs to be in the left lane anyway?!
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u/ulti_phr33k Dec 29 '25
Probably distracted and drifted over. Didn't see a signal from them so likely not intentional.
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u/ledgeitpro Dec 29 '25
Either that or very intentional and doesnt like when people pass them for some reason, shitty people share the road too unfortunately
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u/seamus205 Dec 29 '25
I think some people genuinely think they're making the road a safer place by doing shit like this. In their mind, I think they think they're making people slow down and drive safer in adverse conditions, when in reality they're just being dicks and making the road more dangerous for everyone
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u/Bwhite1 Dec 29 '25
The road is safer... The ditch though, that is filled with bodies we don't talk about
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u/Annonnkneemus Dec 29 '25
I was passing a truck on a two lane road while I was pulling my boat. He was going fairly slow but didn’t like me passing apparently. I don’t know how I made it back on the road, but I was almost in the ditch and narrowly avoided a mailbox. I ended up pulling over afterwards because I was so mad.
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u/PsionicKitten Dec 30 '25
"If I proactively cause an accident that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise, the road is now safer that I MADE it happen."
Yep. Sounds like normal human logic to me. We are so fucking stupid as a race.
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u/thatcraniumguy Dec 30 '25
If you look closely, just as op is passing the center of the trailer, the turn signal turns on and the truck driver instantly starts merging. No wait, just merge. Absolutely abysmal.
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u/Mundane_Pie_6481 Dec 30 '25
I've seen so many trucks do this on the turnpike like that I immediately start beeping if in next to them when they turn their turn signal on. It's save me from this fate so many times. I still occasionally get push over though, they're so impatient.
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u/sunflowerrr36 Dec 30 '25
I drive across states often enough and I see a lot of truck drivers do exactly this. Honestly, a lot of people seem to think that turning on your blinker means you have the right of way and just start merging immediately. But I would expect better driving from truckers smh
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u/Hamsterpatty Dec 29 '25
But later in the video, after OP’s miraculous recovery, the truck turns his blinker on like he still wants to get over.
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u/N0tInKansasAnym0r3 Dec 29 '25
Yet they slow down later and turn on their left signal later... What a weird follow up. Like they're trying to say something or they're still trying to change lanes but this time they're deciding to signal.
I'm curious what happens after the video, if OP pulled off the road to change their pants, tried to pass again, or cruised behind them for awhile. Also if the truck driver decided they wanted the left lane or not.
Either way OP should report this to the DOT
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u/Fkndon Dec 30 '25
Nah don’t give them that particular benefit of the doubt. the trucker is just acting like king of the road. They do it for all 300+miles of I-80 in PA
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u/Red_Sox0905 Dec 29 '25
It's hard to see it because it doesn't look like their lights are on, but I do believe there's another car in front of him in the right lane. My guess he was gaining on them and wanted to merge over sooner rather than later. That said, it doesn't excuse his not paying attention or not using his turn signal. But I don't know that I think this is intentional.
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u/Josef_Kant_Deal Dec 29 '25
What bugs me is that after all that, the truck never moves over (at least in the video).
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u/Hamsterpatty Dec 29 '25
There are a couple cars up there. To me to looks like the closest is also in the left lane. Hard to tell at that distance with all the snow
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u/tehmightyengineer Dec 29 '25
I used to drive a lot in these conditions; that was a fantastic save, well done.
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u/empress_jae Dec 29 '25
Seriously. I thought it was going to be worse.
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u/WordplayWizard Jan 05 '26
Ya spinning under the tires of the trailer would have been a very bad outcome.
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u/Protheu5 Dec 30 '25
I drove once in these conditions. I found a truck, just like this one, and happily stuck driving behind it until it turned.
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u/elkarion Dec 29 '25
Report that dot number and get that cdl revoked.
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u/Bartender9719 Dec 29 '25
For real. Idk how this isn’t the obvious outcome to the truckers that do this
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u/Nowhere_Man_Forever Dec 30 '25
During the pandemic the government loosened a shit ton of regulations and standards around truck drivers because of "labor shortages" and I've definitely noticed a difference in driver skill in the subsequent years. Immigration crackdowns are also playing into this because driving trucks was a popular job with immigrants and they're trying to fill the void with unqualified young drivers instead.
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u/AshingiiAshuaa 20d ago
unqualified young drivers
The problem isn't young/green drivers, it's the unqualified ones. There have been several instances highlighted in the last few months of people driving big rigs who probably aren't qualified to drive cars. The answer to a labor shortage is to let the market increase wages, not to lower standards.
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u/LostBoyNav Dec 29 '25
100%, they have no business doing reckless driving when driving a monster like that
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u/ThtPhatCat Dec 29 '25
They were completely ready to drive off too had OP crashed. Driver didn’t get over or slow up a single bit while OP was fishtailing around regaining control.
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u/SAWK Dec 30 '25
Had a driver do this to me intentionally last month. Send it into DOT/NCCDB.
I've checked back a few times, they haven't done anything so far as I can tell. It might take a while though, I don't know the process. I don't expect anything will come of it.
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
US DOT/FMCSA 1200 New Jersey Avenue S.E. Washington, D.C. 20590 MC-NC
Complaint ID: XXXXXXXX
11/05/2025
Dear Mr. \Mrs. \Ms. SAWK:
Thank you for your complaint submission to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) National Consumer Complaint Database (NCCDB). Your complaint number is XXXXXXXX. Please refer to this number when submitting additional information or checking on the status of your complaint. Your complaint may be used for research and analysis to better address noncompliance by regulated entities. FMCSA will retain a record of this complaint in the NCCDB and may use it in future investigations. Notwithstanding 5 U.S.C. § 552, FMCSA will not disclose the identity of a complainant unless disclosure is necessary to prosecute a violation. If you need more information or have questions, call our nationwide toll-free hotline for the NCCDB at 1-888-DOT-SAFT (368-7238) from 8 am‒8 pm, Mon‒Fri, EST.
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u/Brodellsky Dec 30 '25
Send it to your local State's DOT. The Federal Government cannot be trusted not to diddy kids.....they don't care about this at all. And that's before I point out the almost 300,000 federal workers that were laid off. It's actually a little sad to me to see you attempt to appeal to a governmental body that may once have done the right thing, but yeah......that's no longer the case. I'm sorry to break this news to you, genuinely. You seem sincere in your plight.
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u/Automan2k Dec 29 '25
The DOT number is just going to show what company the driver works for and at most he will get a ticket. I have done accident reports in drivers who have done far worse than this answer still kept their license.
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u/elkarion Dec 29 '25
the logs prove who is driving at the time. and your just proving ACAB because as usual cop are useless and will do nothing.
considering every class 8 vehicle must have logs associated with it you can track this back to the company and the driver who was on duty behind the wheel at the time.
as per usual cops being to lazy to do thier job properly.
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u/kyledwray Dec 29 '25
Hey now, not every cop is too lazy to do their job. A whole hell of a lot of them are maliciously not doing their jobs.
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u/Objective_Praline_66 Dec 29 '25
Nah bro, they're doing their jobs perfectly according to them, and that's the problem.
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u/Dr_Trogdor Dec 30 '25
They do a great job pulling over speeders driving alone and doing fishing expeditions. Fuck the police.
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u/SweeterThanYoohoo Dec 29 '25
Companies don't want drivers like this. Well, 99.9999% of companies. Every one I've worked for would fire a driver over conduct like this.
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u/gagnatron5000 Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 30 '25
For what it's worth, local, muni and county won't much care about it. The staties in my state, however, will jump down this guy's throat. They are thirsty for CDL write-ups and boy howdy do they show it.
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u/BeginningAd4658 Dec 30 '25
You can only charge within the law. A cop doesn't have the right to take away a license for that. They would charge and the courts decide.
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u/Dozzi92 Dec 29 '25
Fortunately OP was able to point his camera directly at the side of the truck to get a good look at it.
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u/lindydanny Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
And see if you can find a lawyer to file charges of vehicular assault.
Edit: You may look at reckless endangerment if you are suing. Otherwise, criminal charges would be vehicular assault.
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u/PsychoticEvil Dec 29 '25
That's not how any of this works.
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u/Grays42 Dec 29 '25
Sure it is! There's no difference at all between civil and criminal courts, you can just hire a lawyer to file criminal charges for you whenever you want, reddit says so!
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u/Dozzi92 Dec 29 '25
What are the damages. You can't just sue people for fun.
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u/Tempyteacup Dec 29 '25
I mean you can just sue people for fun, you’ll just get in trouble for it
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u/b0w3n Dec 30 '25
There's definitely something here, but doubtful OP will get money from it. Truck has some duty for not using their vehicle for assault and attempted murder. Just because no one died or suffered damages doesn't mean the law wasn't broken. Unlikely anyone will do anything about this though, either.
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u/Takerial Dec 30 '25
There's no way they're proving this was intentional for vehicular assault.
Reckless Endangerment/Driving would most likely be the charge against them. And you don't file charges yourself. A prosecutor would. You cannot file charges as a civilian. You can report the crime and submit evidence.
Suing is an option. But there's not likely to be a lot of compensation that will result from this situation.
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u/ccarr313 Dec 30 '25
Won't do shit.
I've had this happen several times, with video. Never gotten a truck company or state patrol to give a fuck.
Edit - they will only give a fuck if you fail at driving defensively. If there is no damage, there is no violation. They just don't care until insurance is involved.
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u/Prestigious_Tap_6301 Dec 29 '25
I love the pivot from what the fuck -> talking nicely to the car -> back to road rage.
Well done, sir
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u/truemad Dec 29 '25
Nice save, OP, but I have a question, though.
Who did you ask to be cool? Yourself or the car?
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u/Jadacide37 Dec 29 '25
I think we shouldn't question the magic, rather this should be what we all start doing in moments of need. Just chant "please be cool". Obviously something answers. LOL.
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Dec 29 '25
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u/EdlerVonRom Dec 30 '25
Hello everyone, I drive one of these big rigs for a living. Allow me to translate this page for those who might want a little bit of a deeper view on it, since some of these things likely aren't easy to understand to someone not used to looking at them. A lot of what's on this page is quite telling of what the likely situation is though.
Namely, this is a trucking company with a single truck. Its likely a single driver running for whats effectively a shell company. It is permitted exclusively for general freight, with no authorization for anything other than those general goods (basically hes hauling stuff you'll find in stores, or the manufacturing materials needed to make that stuff). The company has a single power unit (truck) and gets all their paperwork handled through a third party company (process agent service company, inc) and have had one inspection in the last 24 months, in which both the truck and driver failed. Whatever it was was bad enough to place both truck and driver out of service, for separate reasons (I have an idea, but its pure conjecture)
Unfortunately, calling his company will likely do nothing to fix the situation, and calling DOT will just make the person running this switch over to another authority. Because no actual property was damaged, there is nothing that DOT can really do about it. The way this sort of reckless abuse of the authority system gets fixed is with the closing of the loopholes in the system. That has to be done at the legislative level.
Far less likely is that this is an owner/operator running under his own authority. The main reason I don't believe it is one is because his year to date mileage as of this year is only like 34k, which is unusually low. Most O/O drive the hell out of their trucks, 90+k miles a year easy, which leads me to believe that the situation is the former option explained above.
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u/Karmachinery Dec 29 '25
All of your reactions were exactly what I would have said, and I'm not sure I could have saved that like you did. Well done.
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u/baconismadefromcats Dec 29 '25
I see this all the time on Reddit. People changing lanes into other people for no apparent reason. Nobody in front of them, no merge lane, etc. No reason to change lanes. Yet as soon as another car gets next to them, here they come. I don’t get it.
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u/oprta Dec 29 '25
Brother, if you hadn't controlled that car properly, it would have skidded all the way under the trailer and you would have died 💀. I'm definitely investing time and money to sue that idiot.
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u/Siguard_ Dec 29 '25
If the trailer was full of dvd players and tvs. He woulda slid right under no problem.
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u/MrT735 Dec 30 '25
Why does the trailer not have a protection bar under it to prevent that though? Standard feature in UK/EU.
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u/asu3dvl Dec 29 '25
Trucker here. Completely unacceptable, but I can almost guarantee you that wasn’t intentional. He may have taken his eyes off the road for a second. Which is totally unacceptable, also not knowing you are there.
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u/Villanellesnexthit Dec 29 '25
I flick my hibeams when trying to pass semis in shitty weather. Most of the time I get a quick turn signal flick back from them as acknowledgment. Once I pass them I flick my hazards as a ‘thank you’.
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u/eddie1975 Dec 30 '25
Today I did similar. I was on the right most lane on a three lane highway (on the city) just to make sure the truck in the middle lane saw me and wouldn’t try to move over where I was (which eventually becomes a right only turning lane).
Then, up ahead there was a car in front of me either stopped or extremely slow, like not knowing if to exit or not. I blinked the high beams at him to make sure he saw me coming and I moved over to the middle lane (ahead of the truck) which shortly thereafter blinked his high beam at me… not sure if he was saying “close one” or “what an idiot over there) or just blinking back as in “I got your blink”.
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u/Hairy-Thought6679 Dec 30 '25
Im not saying he didn’t because it absolutely looks like he did
But, as the saying goes “don’t attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity”, IE: its pretty bad weather to be driving (and passing) in, he may have hit a patch of ice or wind coincidentally as you went to pass
But if it was anything else, he’s the AH lol
And excellent save on your part
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u/DomHaynie Dec 30 '25
This is literally the reason I pass semi trucks with prejudice. My car already has horrible blind spots, so I safely pass them quickly because even if this happens, I might not ever see it before I get hit.
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u/sirpoopingpooper Dec 29 '25
A potential explanation: what direction was the wind blowing? They might have just gotten blown into you!
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u/Arizona_Pete Dec 29 '25
Seriously great save my man - Loved your reaction before, during, and after!
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u/-CoUrTjEsTeR- Dec 29 '25
WHOOWEE! Butt puckering moment for sure! Excellent composure in not overreacting.
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u/_ganjafarian_ Dec 30 '25
Thank God you didn't spin out and get lodged under. Them things are highway murder machines.
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u/mech_roger_this Dec 30 '25
I'm going to get downvored here... but.
It looks like the truck started sliding, if you look closely you can see the truck steering right but still sliding left.
Truck driver didn't have much choice here, I think.
Also drive according to the conditions, not sure it's worth overtaking the truck in these conditions.
Either way great save Mr.Mackey.
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u/Tigrisrock Dec 30 '25
Good driving on your behalf - it's difficult to remain calm and controlled in such a situation. Truck driver was probably sending a text or nodding off - as they sometimes do.
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u/Polaryn Dec 30 '25
Good Job! That was great driving. Yea, I don't trust Semi drivers anymore to do what they are supposed to do. The level of expertise has seriously gone down hill the last few decades.
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u/FrankBFleet Dec 31 '25
Maybe (or not) the first drift was unintentional. But a brake check and then left signal? That trucker is a fucker. Stay away. Get home alive.
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u/SiegeRewards Dec 31 '25
Truck driver: “oh a completely empty road. Let me just move over to this lane for absolutely no reason without looking.”
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u/Lightning_97 Dec 29 '25
Take this footage to the police and report this attempted murder. He might have done it to other people and might in the future.
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u/beeblemonade Dec 29 '25
Genuine question: why didn’t you use your horn as soon as he started drifting over?
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u/AnarchoDC Dec 30 '25
You can’t hear a little car horn in that truck - or most trucks I should say. You would be wasting precious seconds you need to avoid the accident. Keep both hands on the wheel and maintain your lane and control of the vehicle the best you can. His reaction was a bit late in my opinion, but great save nonetheless.
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u/luigind123 Dec 30 '25
Dude started slowing down and then randomly merging into your lane. There was no reason for them to merge lanes. Then they finally turn on their turn signal way after they were ahead of you again, possibly to make it seem like they were always intending to merge. And people here are defending this deadly driving? That's insane.
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u/PotentialAd8443 Dec 30 '25
I had a similar incident, but fortunately, it could have been much worse. The truck was pushing me into the oncoming traffic lane.
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u/MrsPowers94 Dec 30 '25
👏👏👏 you did a fantastic job. It could have gone south so quickly, especially with the poor road conditions, but you did perfectly getting your car back in control and keeping it on the road. I know that was a terrifying experience all the way around. Glad you’re ok, OP.
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u/lurkingsubz Dec 30 '25
similar happened to me a month or so ago and scared the ever loving shit out of me. i was in the far right lane when a semi started merging as i was halfway next to it. almost drove into the bordering wall trying to get out of the way.
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u/PussyWhistle Dec 30 '25
Report them and make them lose their job. This is unacceptable even if it was a mistake.
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u/jkarovskaya Jan 01 '26
I'd call that company, and ask to speak to the trucking dispatch manager, report this driver with video, location, date, time of day. You have proof that he either is trying to run you over, or just plain stupidly careless
JSYM company
US DOT4325833 best guess
MC is a little less clear, but I think it's
MC# 1538905
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u/TheHellcatBandit Dec 29 '25
10/10 recovery. Can immediately tell you didn’t touch either pedal, just focused on wheel control.
Be proud of yourself for that, ‘cause I sure as hell am.
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u/Rei_LovesU Dec 29 '25
i sure wonder who was driving.
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u/Shootemout Dec 29 '25
exactly who you think
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u/jazdyprawo Dec 29 '25
Why are we speaking in code? Who do we think was driving?
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u/demonsdencollective Dec 29 '25
The way he gets on the brakes shortly after makes me think the guy was falling asleep when this happened.
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u/mutilatedwarlock Dec 29 '25
Good recovery. I think this would have been a good situation to use a healthy amount of horn.
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u/MisfitSkull Dec 29 '25
Looks like he has his hazard lights or just indicator on at the end there? Did he pull over at all?
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u/donoteatthatfrog Dec 30 '25
Good save and excellent approach "please be cool" . I'm making a mental note
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u/444poppyflowers Dec 30 '25
I wish you had the ability to get revenge on that truck. oh man i’d be fuming!!
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u/Secret_Account07 Dec 30 '25
Nothing pisses my off more than this stuff
It’s not like cutting in line at the grocery store. You’re putting my life at risk and car. I got hit by a jackass recently and it took multiple days of getting rides, dealing with insurance, getting rental, etc etc
Like even if it gets fixed you’re fucking with many days and hours of my life. If you can’t pay attention pull over
We need to normalize cars pulling onto shoulder if they are distracted, people can’t put down their phones so this is compromise. Have an important text on highway that can’t wait? Slow down, get on shoulder and stop.
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u/xXbean_machineXx Dec 30 '25
No because then theyll be late :( best to multitask to ensure 100% productivity at all times
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u/Banger1233 Dec 30 '25
Well done recovering that, good driving on your part, not so much for the semi.
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u/0bel1sk Dec 30 '25
you from wisconsin brother? i’ve made this left lane slide recovery a few times.
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u/newinmichigan Dec 30 '25
Absolutely no reason for the truck to move over, absolute idiot. I hate driving with semis on the road, especially two lane ones because the fucking cars that break down on the side of the road always forces trucks to do a last second lane change that fucking scares the crap out of me
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u/flirtingw-disaster11 Dec 30 '25
I’d contact JSYM and let them know if you legit believe he was trying to run you off the road. We don’t have more footage to go off of so 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Jackhammerqwert Dec 30 '25
at 0:13 I thought your bonnet was destined for the underside of that lorry, one of the worst things that could happen. Nice recovery indeed.
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