An impatient driver who tried to pass John Doe’s straight truck on his right side lost control, ended up sideways and was hit by both Doe’s truck and a car pacing Doe to his left. Was this a preventable accident?
Doe had just passed some parked cars on his right and was cautiously approaching the intersection with Main Street. He was keeping an eye on the bright green traffic signal when Mrs. Mattie Crowly-Bubkis, who was stuck behind him, decided that Doe and his load of personal pyrotechnics was moving too slowly.
Fearing that she’d be caught at the intersection by a red light, Crowly-Bubkis accelerated her 2004 performance-tuned purple Volkswagen Beetle around the right side of Doe’s rig, spun out and ended up sideways in front of Doe’s bumper. The Bug, stopped dead in its tracks after impacting the right front fender of a rusty Chevy van piloted by Gramps Grumbley, who’d been pacing Doe in the left lane, was then slammed by Doe’s truck.
Was this accident preventable?
Doe received a preventable-accident warning letter from his safety manager, which Doe promptly protested to the National Safety Council’s Accident Review Committee. "She made an illegal pass and hit another car," Doe shouted in disbelief.
In its final decision, the NSC upheld the preventable judgment, noting that Doe should have kept an eye on his right-side mirror. Had he done so, he could have avoided smashing into the maniacal Crowly-Bubkis.
