Damage Report

[pcrdude]

I understand the comments, but disagree with any of this being my fault. This driver didn't have situational awareness by presumably not seeing me on his right, allowing him to know I was there and wait until he saw me in front of him before the lane change. In Missouri, passing on the right is fully allowed on a multilane limited access freeway. In addition, there are plenty of ways to reduce blind spots by use of mirrors, cameras, sensors, etc.

In the end, I lucked out. But the fault of the collision lies squarely on the semi drivers shoulders.

[lbls1]

If its a rear impact, the the first two things I'd do after the police report is to go to the emergency room or to your doctor, and consult your attorney.

I am less forgiving with accidents (especially rear impacts). A lot of people are careless and don't really consider the amount of damage that one could do being aimless behind the wheel. Besides the damage to one's car, an injury from an accident could range from being long term, to permanent, to fatal. I take driving seriously.

[MrChrisLS3]

Originally Posted by pcrdude

I understand the comments, but disagree with any of this being my fault. This driver didn't have situational awareness by presumably not seeing me on his right, allowing him to know I was there and wait until he saw me in front of him before the lane change. In Missouri, passing on the right is fully allowed on a multilane limited access freeway. In addition, there are plenty of ways to reduce blind spots by use of mirrors, cameras, sensors, etc.

In the end, I lucked out. But the fault of the collision lies squarely on the semi drivers shoulders.

You may very well wind up being in the clear when the insurance companies are done fighting this one out.

However, that said, I know a couple of people that drive these things for a living, and situations like this are their biggest nightmare. There's a really good chance that the driver had no clue of you existence. Even with proper mirrors, seeing vehicles beside them, especially towards the front, near the cab is nearly impossible. Then if all you can see is his grill, all he can see is the road in front, can't see you at all. In that situation, I will accelerate until I know I'm in view of the driver.

I don't take chances with big rigs on the road. If I'm behind them and want to pass, I stay a safe distance back, change to the passing lane, wait a couple of seconds to give them a chance to see me, and then accelerate and pass them quickly. Then I return to the driving lane only when there is plenty of room between me and the truck. I never ride side by side with them, that's a tremendous blind spot, not to mention the possibility of one of those huge tires blowing.

Again, not saying it's your fault. However, just pointing out that in many accidents, truck related or not, a good percentage could have been avoided by the 'victim' driver being more aware of other's blind spots, anticipating lane changes for upcoming exits, and the full understanding that someone around you is about to do something stupid.

[frankwjr]

unless there are 3 lanes truckers need to stay in the freakin right lane...period! And if they are speeding...auto loss of license. I respect their job but not all drivers are "good" drivers and an 18 wheeler need lots of room and is not forgiving at all.

Lucky for you the car did not spin out....for me it was a low speed impact but still...

[pcrdude]

Originally Posted by MrChrisLS3

You may very well wind up being in the clear when the insurance companies are done fighting this one out.

However, that said, I know a couple of people that drive these things for a living, and situations like this are their biggest nightmare. There's a really good chance that the driver had no clue of you existence. Even with proper mirrors, seeing vehicles beside them, especially towards the front, near the cab is nearly impossible. Then if all you can see is his grill, all he can see is the road in front, can't see you at all. In that situation, I will accelerate until I know I'm in view of the driver.

I don't take chances with big rigs on the road. If I'm behind them and want to pass, I stay a safe distance back, change to the passing lane, wait a couple of seconds to give them a chance to see me, and then accelerate and pass them quickly. Then I return to the driving lane only when there is plenty of room between me and the truck. I never ride side by side with them, that's a tremendous blind spot, not to mention the possibility of one of those huge tires blowing.

Again, not saying it's your fault. However, just pointing out that in many accidents, truck related or not, a good percentage could have been avoided by the 'victim' driver being more aware of other's blind spots, anticipating lane changes for upcoming exits, and the full understanding that someone around you is about to do something stupid.

I respect that opinion, but just staying in your own lane (the slow lane), should be safe from an unsafe lane change. If I had passed him any faster, I would have risked a speeding ticket. If a truck driver can't see well enough to make a safe lane change, then said truck driver needs to add mirrors, sensors, or cameras.

If I was passing him at a 20 mph differential, and he decided to change lanes while I was beside him, a crash would have resulted regardless. It's all on the person changing lanes.

[SSEssence]

That is crazy! I always get nervous driving around semis and especially those with the spiked lugs! Glad you are okay and lucky that you didn't have more damage!