The tales of two dash cams and a near miss head-on collision
Here’s a cautionary tale of how sometimes a front-facing camera in a truck does not reveal both sides of a story. And, if you are being vilified as a bad guy online, it may be helpful to have a camera in your truck.
A video of a recent close call on Hwy. 11 between Nipigon and Orient Bay in northern Ontario went viral when a head-on collision between transport trucks was narrowly avoided.
The dash cam footage from a truck shows another truck passing a commercial vehicle over solid double yellow lines on a curve on the single-lane roadway at highway speed. The driver of the truck from where the video was recorded, quickly applied the brakes allowing the passing truck to squeeze through and avoiding a head-on collision.
Online abuse
The truck that crossed into oncoming traffic was identified as belonging to SSP Group of Companies. The online reaction was quick and brutal.
Opinions like “reckless driving”, “should be deported”, “take his licence away”, “brown guys who can’t speak English”, and other slurs flowed in comment sections on social media.
That’s when SSP decided to release the dashcam footage from its own truck, Sam Vashist, the group’s CEO told TruckNews.com.
SSP’s video shows their vehicle approaching a curve in the roadway at highway speed, when a driver slowly maneuvers their truck onto the highway from a snow plow turnaround, seemingly without checking to see if traffic was approaching.
The SSP driver moves into the oncoming lane to avoid crashing into the back of the trailer that entered the roadway. You can see the oncoming truck slowing down, allowing the SSP vehicle to return to the proper lane and avoiding a head-on collision.
Vashist said that even if his driver — who was hauling cars — applied the brakes, they wouldn’t have stopped before hitting the truck or sliding into a ditch on the side of the highway. He also noted that the truck that pulled onto the roadway was not in a parking spot but on the shoulder just before a curve. Vashist said they had not contacted the company whose truck pulled onto the highway.
Winter driving training
Before every winter, SSP conducts a winter driving course for all its drivers, no matter how experienced they are, Vashist said. Company trucks are equipped with telematics that provide driving scores that drivers can access, and which help improve their driving techniques. The vehicles are also fitted with forward- and inward-facing cameras.
“Through rigorous training, our drivers learn to stay calm, make quick decisions, and manage high-pressure scenarios with precision,” SSP said in a LinkedIn post. “This level of preparation ensures they can navigate even the most shocking, uncontrollable situations safely, putting safety first every time.”
Have your say
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This is what happens with drivers who do not have an idea of what they are doing, maybe because they think they could drive the same way as where they come from they are very dangerous I have done it many times on Highway 17 and I was taking 11 because it was quieter and a bit safer but to be truthful when meeting an incoming truck you always fear of that incoming driver not knowing anything but being lucky the trip was still doing good and still alive no head on or accident.
Dash cams have become a necessity. But the driver that made the choice to cross into the oncoming lane without being able to see what was coming around the bend due to the trailer blocking their view, made a decision that endangered others. Did they avoid a collision? Yes – luckily. But they did not know that this was going to be the case. Slowing and impacting the vehicle entering the highway is still the better option than hitting another vehicle head on at full speed, which is a no win situation. With the video, their actions would be defensible if they hit the entering truck or went into the ditch. But crossing over the center line and endangering others would mean that they were at fault in the event of a collision.
The end result, is that they made a poor choice with an unknown outcome.
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Bob is 100% correct. A case can also be made that the SSP driver continuing on to pass the Ayr Motor Express driver was a mistake and the SSP driver, albeit in the wrong lane, should have aggressively applied his brakes, within the confines of road conditions, and pulled in behind the Ayr Motor Express driver, limiting the SSP driver’s exposure to oncoming traffic.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
We have reviewed these dash cam video’s extensively. The SSP driver had 10 seconds to react to what he was seeing. That’s plenty of time to slow and avoid a collision (provided he was doing the speed limit or less). The SSP driver made a conscious decision to go around the merging truck. Before that blind turn is a sign indicating a “snow plow turnout”. If a snow plow had been turning there the SSP driver would have collided with it.
I have 40 years experience as long haul truck driver and I am sure that this driver checked his mirrors prior to pulling out but at the angle he was at would not been possible to see a speeding truck coming around that turn. I am certified in Commercial Vehicle Incident Investigations and can say with certainty the SSP driver did nothing to avoid this situation.
Many drivers and steering holders never learn what about DEFENSIVE DRIVING I realized that in 1965 while serving in the army that is what we had to be aware of how and when to apply this method it is to know and have a look ahead and be mindful at all times.
I think every driver who navigates our roads should be familiar with the signage and regulations we all know on Highway 11 and 17. This is a day-to-day traffic, and these people or drivers who can’t read or understand English are hazardous.
Leo – Thanks for sharing as Paul Harvey would say the REST OF THE STORY. Not knowing SSP this story makes me want to know them. In my opinion all trucks should have forward facing and inward facing cameras. (that only work when the vehicle is moving. Surely there is a good way to afford privacy to people when they are driving and protection / accountability when they are.