Cybertruck sideswiped on highway. ROAD RAGE?

[Pops]

Can you imagine getting your precious new Cybertruck in an accident due to no fault of your own. Sharing your story and then having pompous people jump all over you and make incorrect assumptions like they are some forensic video expert? Then having to come back and take extra time while you're dealing with this problem to provide even more information?

OP can.

@Jethro story was correct the whole time. They were driving at a consistent rate in the left lane and passing traffic. The minivan was apparently speeding and merged right into them.

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[sys700]

At 1:35 in the video you say, "There he comes" just before he passes and then sideswipes you. Curious why you said that, since this was the first time the van appears in the video. Did you have a previous altercation with the guy down the road aways (before the video begins)?

My apologies to anyone I may have offended in my responses to some of the more antagonistic and ignorant comments

I tried to trim down on of the videos showing more of a historical perspective, but it’s almost 2 minutes.

Not a computer person and trying to do this on my iphone, but I‘m attaching an Icloud link: https://share.icloud.com/photos/043KWUMJBx9WTGSQdYdPc_MwA


So, what the longer video shows:
-I was in the right lane except to pass
-The other vehicle was following me, but I didn’t know (hard to see)
-my speed was modest (cruise control probably on) and I did not accelerate hard.
-The other drive was in my lane while he was still behind me and failed to use a signal.
-The other driver had excessive speed and continues to pull away after he hit me..

 

[mongo]

At 1:35 in the video you say, "There he comes" just before he passes and then sideswipes you. Curious why you said that, since this was the first time the van appears in the video. Did you have a previous altercation with the guy down the road aways (before the video begins)?

The audio is from dubbing the video, Tesla dashcam has no audio channel (it's not from the original event)
OP recorded the playback on iDevice to show the peanut gallery the extended version and called out when the event is about to occur.

 

[c379776]

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 suspect this is the truth. Well stated.

 

[LARGE II]

Recently my wife and I were returning from a series of car shows and got sideswiped on the highway.

The other driver was passing us on the right, seemed to be speeding excessively, appeared to be in our lane when he was behind us and may have been following us for some time. We cant say if he was aggressive, under the influence or distracted, but hit us HARD!

Originally we thought it was a “hit and run” as the other driver left the seen without a word. Turned out to be a local resident who was quickly interviewed then released from a parking lot. He is claiming it’s our fault and has filed a claim. The video seems to show otherwise.

Anyone else had problems?

I’m guessing we need a good lawyer familiar with Kansas. Thoughts, recommendations? Anything would be greatly appreciated…we are very shaken and car shows are over.

I

Recently my wife and I were returning from a series of car shows and got sideswiped on the highway.

The other driver was passing us on the right, seemed to be speeding excessively, appeared to be in our lane when he was behind us and may have been following us for some time. We cant say if he was aggressive, under the influence or distracted, but hit us HARD!

Originally we thought it was a “hit and run” as the other driver left the seen without a word. Turned out to be a local resident who was quickly interviewed then released from a parking lot. He is claiming it’s our fault and has filed a claim. The video seems to show otherwise.

Anyone else had problems?

I’m guessing we need a good lawyer familiar with Kansas. Thoughts, recommendations? Anything would be greatly appreciated…we are very shaken and car shows are over.

VIDEO:

 

[LARGE II]

Recently my wife and I were returning from a series of car shows and got sideswiped on the highway.

The other driver was passing us on the right, seemed to be speeding excessively, appeared to be in our lane when he was behind us and may have been following us for some time. We cant say if he was aggressive, under the influence or distracted, but hit us HARD!

Originally we thought it was a “hit and run” as the other driver left the seen without a word. Turned out to be a local resident who was quickly interviewed then released from a parking lot. He is claiming it’s our fault and has filed a claim. The video seems to show otherwise.

Anyone else had problems?

I’m guessing we need a good lawyer familiar with Kansas. Thoughts, recommendations? Anything would be greatly appreciated…we are very shaken and car shows are over.

VIDEO:

 

[LARGE II]

Recently my wife and I were returning from a series of car shows and got sideswiped on the highway.

The other driver was passing us on the right, seemed to be speeding excessively, appeared to be in our lane when he was behind us and may have been following us for some time. We cant say if he was aggressive, under the influence or distracted, but hit us HARD!

Originally we thought it was a “hit and run” as the other driver left the seen without a word. Turned out to be a local resident who was quickly interviewed then released from a parking lot. He is claiming it’s our fault and has filed a claim. The video seems to show otherwise.

Anyone else had problems?

I’m guessing we need a good lawyer familiar with Kansas. Thoughts, recommendations? Anything would be greatly appreciated…we are very shaken and car shows are over.

VIDEO:

The person that hit you was definitely in the wrong. But isn't it a law to stay in the right lane except to pass?

 

[Jethro]

At 1:35 in the video you say, "There he comes" just before he passes and then sideswipes you. Curious why you said that, since this was the first time the van appears in the video. Did you have a previous altercation with the guy down the road aways (before the video begins)?

Good question! This is not the original video from the truck.

The video was replayed on the truck and recorded on my iPhone, that is why I said that…it’s my iPhone narration
We were afraid the system was going to delete the video before we figured out how to save it.
Again, I had no idea this guy was following us.

I’m unaware of any previous encounter

 

[CGIIRL]

Looks like you’ll win that battle

 

[CyberGus]

Those of you suggesting that the OP bears any culpability for this collision are giving off serious "I only hit you 'cuz I love you" vibes

The perpetrator made an unsafe lane change and failed to yield, and is 100% at-fault, no matter what may have previously transpired.

 

[Cyber Man]

The reason your insistence is malicious is because you refuse to acknowledge that the OP did nothing wrong here legally and ethically. This is already a stressful enough situation for them. You are fighting so hard to not be incorrect that you are grasping at straws.

I watched the full video, if you count the lane markers there are approximately 22 in 10 seconds. Those dashes are 10 feet long and 30 feet apart (40ft total) from what I have found on the internet. That means 40ft x 10 seconds = 880ft or 5,280ft a minute or 60mph, lets round that up to 65mph for margin of error. A very reasonable speed with room to increase it safely on most highways in America.

The minivan is clearly moving significantly faster than the CT. They are weaving in and out of traffic, no turn signals and most damning is they merge into a lane while a vehicle is still there. In fact they start to merge while the CT is still literally in front of them. Without a turn signal why would OP have had any reservations about changing speed, accelerating or decelerating?

Add to that, you are not even considering that the minivan moving so closely to the CT would have an impact on the flow of wind and could easy cause the CT to shift. This is why Nascar and geese fly to close to each other.

On top of that the minivan passed from the right-hand lane, which is illegal. That’s the primary offense right there. I don’t have to quote Kansas Statute, but here it is -

“
Upon a highway located outside the corporate limits of any city divided into two lanes of traffic proceeding in the same direction, all vehicles shall be driven in the right lane except when:

(1) Overtaking and passing another vehicle;

(2) preparing to make a proper left turn;

(3) otherwise directed by official traffic-control devices; or

(4) otherwise required by other provisions of law.”

 

[Jethro]

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.

Not sure if I replied to this one, but it deserves a response:
-I was in the left lane only to pass and was most likely using cruise control…it’s my driving style.
-I DID NOT ”punch it” as H. Ass has concluded .
(with little information)
-I’ve been unable to upload the longer video…so far...showing that I was in the right lane and moved to the left lane to pass.
-I did not know that specific van was following me until I saw the video and recorded with my iPhone.
-I’ve been trying to upload longer videos (I only have an old iPad), but have been more focused on not damaging the data…and family has been in town the last few days.

 

[Gaximus]

Not sure if I replied to this one, but it deserves a response:
-I was in the left lane only to pass and was most likely using cruise control…it’s my driving style.
-I DID NOT ”punch it” as others have concluded .
9with little information)
-I’ve been unable to upload the longer video…so far...showing that I was in the right lane and moved to the left lane to pass
-I did not know that specific van was following me until I saw the video and recorded with my iPhone.
-I’ve been trying to upload longer videos (I only have an old iPad), but have been more focused on not damaging the data…and family has been in town the last few days.

I wasn’t commenting directly at you and only assuming what I could from your original post. My comment was more directed at people who drive in the left lane. (Saw a soap box and jumped up, biggest pet peeve of mine while driving)

As for punching it, the video does look like it, but I’ll take your word for it, I’m not an investigator, and since you hadn’t responded to any comments about it at the time I assumed it was the case. Either way, the van would be legally responsible for damages. I’d file a report if you haven’t.

 

[Pops]

But to deny the OP accelerated strongly right before impact is to deny reality.

This is a strawman argument. I didn't deny the OP changed speed at all. I pointed out that it is completely irrelevant. Without a turn signal from the minivan the CT changing speed is normal for cruising down a highway.

Also it is perfectly within the laws of physics to have less resistance to wind when another vehicle passes by you.

 

[Jethro]

Get out of the fast lane..

Yes! I generally agree AND in practice. I ride in the right lane except to pass.
-I had just passed 2 cars and was looking to pass a third when I was hit.
-I use cruise control to help adjust monitor/regulate my speed.
-I‘m generaly comfortable in the right lane IF traffic is moving at a good pace and I’m not behind a vehicle driving erratically or with an unstable load.
-I also move out of the left lane faster if I notice aggressive drivers behind me, did not in this case.
-I’m not invested in showing off or getting into a macho pissing contest 600 miles from home, in a new truck AND with my wife.
-I continue to maintain that I did not break the law and that they other driver hit me by accident or on purpose.

I encourage users or this valuable forum NOT to jump to conclusions without proper research of evidence and law...like MaulingAss!

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