Collision avoidance question
Discussion
I have recently commented on a video of an accident and there are differing views of what to do in the following circumstanes. Which would be the correct, or safest option?
The scenario was an initial accident which caused an oncoming lorry to swerve accross the centre of the road (left to right) the driver of the car involved in the seconary accident swerved right and collided with the lorry.
My thoughts are the car driver should have swerved left, not right and into the trajectory of the lorry.
I've tried Google, but that always seems to think I want to avoid a deer.
Any corrections to my thought will be appreciated. Links to visuals will also be appreciated.
The scenario was an initial accident which caused an oncoming lorry to swerve accross the centre of the road (left to right) the driver of the car involved in the seconary accident swerved right and collided with the lorry.
My thoughts are the car driver should have swerved left, not right and into the trajectory of the lorry.
I've tried Google, but that always seems to think I want to avoid a deer.
Any corrections to my thought will be appreciated. Links to visuals will also be appreciated.
dvenman said:
Got a link to the original video you refer to - assuming it's online?
I'm not convinced the car could have avoided the lorry regardless of anything he did, but I've seen quite a few similar accidents and they all seem to end in a crash with the driver turning into the trajectory of the other vehicle.https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=CYZuF_1578732375
He had no chance - his reflexes triggered and he hit the brakes and tried instinctively to turn away from the truck.
Watching these videos more than once gives you an unfair ability to think about how someone could have acted differently when in fact those involved have one shot at it.
Watching these videos more than once gives you an unfair ability to think about how someone could have acted differently when in fact those involved have one shot at it.
hman said:
He had no chance - his reflexes triggered and he hit the brakes and tried instinctively to turn away from the truck.
Watching these videos more than once gives you an unfair ability to think about how someone could have acted differently when in fact those involved have one shot at it.
Indeed, it wouldn’t be a natural response for the driver to turn towards oncoming traffic, if he had accelerated off to the right he might have avoided the lorry a bit but it was going pretty quickly towards him.Watching these videos more than once gives you an unfair ability to think about how someone could have acted differently when in fact those involved have one shot at it.
IME the default behaviour is to swerve away from where the hazard is now rather than where the hazard is going. I investigated more than a few accidents where the collision occurred 'on the wrong side' because the driver that was scared by the dangerous driving (a poorly executed overtake) swerved towards oncoming traffic whilst the protagonist swerved back to the correct side.
This is why you should always aim at the arse of the pheasant.
This is why you should always aim at the arse of the pheasant.
To answer the OP, brake hard, very hard, then leave the decision whether and where to swerve later in the incident. In those last moments you will see more clearly what you are ultimately heading towards.
In that incident, it was probably safer to head for the cab, which would be more compressible than the long rails on the trailer which would be at head height and would most likely penetrate the windscreen of the car.
In that incident, it was probably safer to head for the cab, which would be more compressible than the long rails on the trailer which would be at head height and would most likely penetrate the windscreen of the car.
hman said:
He had no chance - his reflexes triggered and he hit the brakes and tried instinctively to turn away from the truck.
Watching these videos more than once gives you an unfair ability to think about how someone could have acted differently when in fact those involved have one shot at it.
+1 There was no chance to predict it would be sent in that direction and react.Watching these videos more than once gives you an unfair ability to think about how someone could have acted differently when in fact those involved have one shot at it.
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