Cybertruck sideswiped on highway. ROAD RAGE?

[Gaximus]

Yes, it's clear the OP punched the accelerator of the Cyberbeast about two seconds before impact.

2) One can observe the attitude of the car on the suspension by paying attention to the attitude of the camera (because the camera is rigidly attached to the windshield, which is attached rigidly to the chassis of the Cyberbeast). The chassis is suspended above the road by the suspension which rises in the front under sudden acceleration, it's the opposite of brake dive. As the passing car rolls by the Cyberbeast, you can see the nose of the Cyberbeast suddenly rise. The most obvious reference point to use to observe this is the horizontal level of the top of the concrete divider wall (where it falls on the left side of the video frame). Because this level suddenly lowers in the video frame, we can deduce with 100% reliability that the attitude of the Cybertruck chassis suddenly became more nose high.

That was the first thing I noticed was the "Squat" when it looked like it accelerated. Either way I think van would be legally responsible. 1. It was an incorrect lane change. Even if he hadn't accelerated, there wouldn't have been enough room to change lanes. and 2. Why change lanes, there was no one in front of them close enough to warrant a lane change that quickly. Which bring me to a much bigger issue.

OP should not have been in the far left lane with no one to the right of them. OP clearly stated that the van had been behind him for quite a while. and there was tons of room on the right, could have gotten over and let around. The left lane is not for driving, doesn't matter if you're going 130mph. Most states have laws about driving in that lane and will give tickets for being in that lane if you are not actively passing. It causes road rage and dangerous situations as others now have to make 2 lane changes just to get around(and are most likely speeding on top of that). Had OP stood his ground and not "given in" it would have been a pit maneuver and caused the van to flip and could have killed occupants of the van, maybe children, that can't control what their road rage dad is doing. Other states don't have laws about driving in the left lane, and in those case, it's called just driving like an A--hole. People use the justification, I'm going #mph over the speed limit already so I'm not getting over. ??? So you can break the law to your liking, but anything over that you don't approve. Just get over.

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[Cyber Man]

I agree on the left lane rule; however, I have rarely seen people follow that rule when there are only two lanes. People just drive on both lanes for long periods of time, and then there are jerks who pass you on the right, such as in this case. The OP was not even in the blind spot. Even if the OP accelerated, which is a valid thing to do if someone is tailgating in your blind spot, there is no excuse to what the Van driver did. Accelerating suddenly when you are in someone’s blind spot is bad but I don’t see anything wrong with what OP did except using left lane for extended period of time. IMO, the Van driver was clearly distracted or did it intentionally and is at fault. No excuse to what he/she did. I’m surprised that some people pointed fingers at OP for accelerating. You probably haven’t seen how people drive in California. People will appear in your blind spot out of nowhere in a split second. When you change lanes, you always have to watch out. You just can’t nudge someone off from their lane. It only happens in movies!

If this is a road rage, my wild guess is that OP didn’t let the van pass from the left lane, pissing the van driver. It takes two people to have a road rage, and someone will pay the price if things are not deescalated.

 

[HaulingAss]

I agree on the left lane rule; however, I have rarely seen people follow that rule when there are only two lanes.

Staying out of the passing lane when there is no one in the adjacent lane and you are not overtaking anyone, is even more important when there are only two lanes.

People just drive on both lanes for long periods of time, and then there are jerks who pass you on the right, such as in this case. The OP was not even in the blind spot. Even if the OP accelerated, which is a valid thing to do if someone is tailgating in your blind spot...

Oh boy! I can see you are not a very seasoned driver. Nor do you posess much common sense.

If this is a road rage, my wild guess is that OP didn’t let the van pass from the left lane, pissing the van driver. It takes two people to have a road rage, and someone will pay the price if things are not deescalated.

Oh my! That's the first thing you wrote that I actually agree with!

 

[CTWheee]

Get out of the fast lane..

 

[Cyber Man]

Oh boy! I can see you are not a very seasoned driver. Nor do you posess much common sense.

I have admired many of your previous thoughts on other threads; however, I don’t appreciate personal attacks.

Not to brag but since you asked, I have been driving for decades and driven in almost all states, driven internationally in 5 countries, and ride fast motorcycles, including track days. I have driven in WA state for more than a decade. People there drive nice. Just visit south and see how people drive in California. You will relearn your textbook theories. If you want to see more crazy driving, go drive in some developing countries. It’s a joke to say someone is at fault for accelerating in fast lane, and you deduced the speed, acceleration, time they stayed in left lane by watching 5 seconds video??!! My common sense says it’s BS imagination. Just watch in YouTube how people drive in India or China. If you want to get crazy driving experience, go drive there, especially with manual gears. You’ll be singing a different song. You might get chills holding the steering wheel. I have driven, so I’m speaking with experience. Even in those countries where nobody follows lane discipline, it’s universally accepted that the person entering your lane should always watch out. Always!!

You can’t go around side swiping people in fast lane if they are occupying it. You cannot just ram into someone’s lane from behind and say it was their fault for accelerating. It’s their fault if they are not letting you in their lane or if they suddenly appear in your blind spot at a ridiculous high speed. This scenario is different. The minivan came from behind from the blind spot, accelerated and changed lanes. Clearly you don’t have much experience driving in the middle of crazy drivers, and you expect everyone to stick to textbook theories. Sorry to burst your bubble! The world filled with crazy drivers doesn’t work that way. Crazy drivers are everywhere. We need to use common sense before changing lanes instead of relying on theoretical knowledge or blaming others. 100% agree fast lane is for passing, but jumping on them from blind spot doesn’t make you any better.

 

[REM]

and then there are jerks who pass you on the right, such as in this case.

Maybe the guy is a jerk, but people who intentionally travel in the passing lane are also jerks ?‍

 

[Cyber Man]

Maybe the guy is a jerk, but people who intentionally travel in the passing lane are also jerks ?‍

I totally understand and I agree, but the answer is not to go hit them. I can’t tell you how many times people have cut me without an indicator, and they were just few inches away at high speed. I don’t go after them to teach them a lesson. I just honk and move on. Bad drivers are everywhere. To teach them a lesson, you can’t try to be a bigger jerk. This minivan driver is seriously putting so many lives in danger by trying to teach a lesson, if that’s truly the case. This is exactly what happens when people don’t have experience dealing with aggressive drivers. They get pissed off and escalate things so quickly, endangering everyone on the road.

Take a motorcycle and go for a ride. Your senses are heightened. You will be surprised on how many jerks text and drive. I can try to be a bigger jerk by doing crazy maneuvers, but I’ll be risking lives if I do that. The solution is to sense who is driving like a jerk and maintain distance. If I intervene and road rage, it’s on me.

 

[HaulingAss]

I have admired many of your previous thoughts on other threads; however, I don’t appreciate personal attacks.

Not to brag but since you asked, I have been driving for decades and driven in almost all states, driven internationally in 5 countries, and ride fast motorcycles, including track days. I have driven in WA state for more than a decade. People there drive nice. Just visit south and see how people drive in California. You will relearn your textbook theories. If you want to see more crazy driving, go drive in some developing countries. It’s a joke to say someone is at fault for accelerating in fast lane, and you deduced the speed, acceleration, time they stayed in left lane by watching 5 seconds video??!! My common sense says it’s BS imagination. Just watch in YouTube how people drive in India or China. If you want to get crazy driving experience, go drive there, especially with manual gears. You’ll be singing a different song. You might get chills holding the steering wheel. I have driven, so I’m speaking with experience. Even in those countries where nobody follows lane discipline, it’s universally accepted that the person entering your lane should always watch out. Always!!

You can’t go around side swiping people in fast lane if they are occupying it. You cannot just ram into someone’s lane from behind and say it was their fault for accelerating. It’s their fault if they are not letting you in their lane or if they suddenly appear in your blind spot at a ridiculous high speed. This scenario is different. The minivan came from behind from the blind spot, accelerated and changed lanes. Clearly you don’t have much experience driving in the middle of crazy drivers, and you expect everyone to stick to textbook theories. Sorry to burst your bubble! The world filled with crazy drivers doesn’t work that way. Crazy drivers are everywhere. We need to use common sense before changing lanes instead of relying on theoretical knowledge or blaming others. 100% agree fast lane is for passing, but jumping on them from blind spot doesn’t make you any better.

When I commented that you didn't seem to be a very seasoned driver, I meant that as an observation, not a personal attack. It was based on your comment that it's a "jerk" move to pass someone on the right.

If you recall, the OP said the other driver had been behind them for some time before they passed the OP on the right. I will also remind you that it was a two-lane highway, passing on the right is the only way to get around a car that refuses to move out of the passing lane.

Since you claim to be such a seasoned driver, you are probably aware that it is illegal in Kansas to hang out in the passing lane when not over-taking other vehicles. Hanging out in the left lane, especially with someone following you, is not only a jerk move, but also illegal! The law doesn't say that you can break the "keep right" law if you're going the speed limit or above, it says you have to keep right, when not over-taking, whenever possible.

I thought I was very clear that I wasn't assigning full blame to the OP, I said both drivers were at fault. Here's why:

This is a classic example of an ego driven dick swinging contest between two drivers. The minivan driver was frustrated that the Cybertruck was not moving right and letting him pass. So, he decided to send a message to the OP by passing him very closely on the right. This is collaborated by the OP's claim that he has a photo showing the minivan in his lane when the two vehicles were side by side.

When the OP noticed the minivan starting to overtake on the right, he acted very aggressively by suddenly punching the accelerator to prevent him from getting ahead. This is collaborated by the provided video. There is no other explanation for the sudden burst of acceleration. The driver of the minivan attempted to get in front of the Cybertruck before the Cybertruck could prevent that, but he misjudged the awesome acceleration of the Cyberbeast and crashed into the rapidly accelerating Beast. This is all collaborated by the video.

It takes two to tango, this accident was the result of a dick-swinging contest. Both drivers were breaking the law. The Cybertruck by not moving right to let following traffic pass and the minivan by not yielding to the Cybertruck who held the lane. It's highly probable that both drivers were speeding at the time of impact.

Don't take this personally but, IMO, anyone who does not assign some blame to both drivers is not a very skilled driver. I don't care if you've been to the track. Because both of these drivers exhibited very poor driving skills to end up in this unfortunate event. It didn't need to happen. Either driver could have eassily prevented it.

 

[Cyber Man]

When I commented that you didn't seem to be a very seasoned driver, I meant that as an observation, not a personal attack. It was based on your comment that it's a "jerk" move to pass someone on the right.

If you recall, the OP said the other driver had been behind them for some time before they passed the OP on the right. I will also remind you that it was a two-lane highway, passing on the right is the only way to get around a car that refuses to move out of the passing lane.

Since you claim to be such a seasoned driver, you are probably aware that it is illegal in Kansas to hang out in the passing lane when not over-taking other vehicles. Hanging out in the left lane, especially with someone following you, is not only a jerk move, but also illegal! The law doesn't say that you can break the "keep right" law if you're going the speed limit or above, it says you have to keep right, when not over-taking, whenever possible.

I thought I was very clear that I wasn't assigning full blame to the OP, I said both drivers were at fault. Here's why:

This is a classic example of an ego driven dick swinging contest between two drivers. The minivan driver was frustrated that the Cybertruck was not moving right and letting him pass. So, he decided to send a message to the OP by passing him very closely on the right. This is collaborated by the OP's claim that he has a photo showing the minivan in his lane when the two vehicles were side by side.

When the OP noticed the minivan starting to overtake on the right, he acted very aggressively by suddenly punching the accelerator to prevent him from getting ahead. This is collaborated by the provided video. There is no other explanation for the sudden burst of acceleration. The driver of the minivan attempted to get in front of the Cybertruck before the Cybertruck could prevent that, but he misjudged the awesome acceleration of the Cyberbeast and crashed into the rapidly accelerating Beast. This is all collaborated by the video.

It takes two to tango, this accident was the result of a dick-swinging contest. Both drivers were breaking the law. The Cybertruck by not moving right to let following traffic pass and the minivan by not yielding to the Cybertruck who held the lane. It's highly probable that both drivers were speeding at the time of impact.

Don't take this personally but, IMO, anyone who does not assign some blame to both drivers is not a very skilled driver. I don't care if you've been to the track. Because both of these drivers exhibited very poor driving skills to end up in this unfortunate event. It didn't need to happen. Either driver could have eassily prevented it.

I get your reasoning now. As I mentioned above, it takes two to have a road rage. Yes, it is illegal to hang out in the passing lane in few states, and there are so many things illegal such as texting and driving. Solution is not to amp up the game, as you rightly mentioned. I would still put more blame on the minivan. If I see an aggressive driver breaking the law, my goal is to just leave them alone instead of trying to be a patrol officer and do Tactile Vehicle Intervention or even attempt to overtake or alert them. During my beginning years, whenever I saw someone at a very high speed in my next lane, approaching from behind, I would turn on my indicator with the hope to slow them down. I don't do that anymore. They might quickly change to my lane and rear end.

It's very important to not intervene when we see someone breaking the law. This simple common sense has saved me several times. I quench my need for speed in race tracks.

Just pay attention to how many people text and drive. It's illegal in most state. WA made it illegal a few years ago. I don't honk or try to get close to alert them. Of course if something happens, I can easily prove they were distracted, but that's not the point. I'll endanger people around me if I intervene. What if my forceful intervention by breaking in front of a distracted driver creates a chain collision and an infant is sitting in one of the cars? These things are pretty serious. Law might be on my side, but someone could seriously get hurt.

Let cops do their job. Our job is to stay away from aggressive drivers. If I intervene, I'll consider it as my fault. Probably we are saying the same thing, except I'm saying it's not 50-50 fault on both sides in this case. One can always call highway patrolling office to report anybody who is breaking the law. If I try to be a hero or jerk and intervene, I take more risk and also the blame.

 

[Mini2nut]

The standard built in camera recording feature came in handy. I‘m surprised most manufacturers don’t offer this as an option.

 

[HaulingAss]

Probably we are saying the same thing, except I'm saying it's not 50-50 fault on both sides in this case.

Yep, pretty much saying the same thing except I don't care to apportion blame in percentages since both drivers exhibited horrible driving behavior. Either driver could have easily avoided the impact, mostly by not getting into a dick swinging contest.

 

[HaulingAss]

Yes, it is illegal to hang out in the passing lane in few states, and there are so many things illegal such as texting and driving.

To be clear, almost all states have restrictions on using the passing lane if it is impeding the flow of traffic. The noteable exception is South Dakota which only requires "slow moving vehicles" to keep right.

You could get a ticket simply for driving unecessarily in the passing lane in number of states (around 11 states), including Kansas, even if travelling above the speed limit and there are no cars approaching from behind.

You can see a summary of the law in each state here:

State "keep right" laws (mit.edu)

 

[igs]

 

[sys700]

I watched the video over and over, and you can see the second van off in the distance doesn't get any closer from the first frame to the last frame of this short video. I don't see that the CyberTruck was accelerating at the last second, unless the van in the distance was accelerating as fast as a CyberTruck at the exact same time (which is highly unlikely). There are still six dashed lines between the CT and the van from the first screen to the last.

Assigning and assuming motive and intention of the CT driver and calling him a "dick" from a 5-second video is ridiculous. The van that hit the CT passed on the right hand side. In Kansas,

"The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle." Statute 8-1516​

If someone won't pull over on a two-lane highway, it doesn't give someone the right to break the law and pass on the right, then sideswipe them because you didn't realize how fast they could accelerate.

This is 100% the van's fault.

 

[AxelR]

Only shows one angle and tells one story. It could be road rage triggered by blocking the passing or anything else. Hard to tell what happened before impact.
Either way, it’s unfortunate to end up in this situation.

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