Trucker clipped by distracted driver. Was this crash preventable?

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Updated Oct 26, 2021

Truck driver John Doe was headed northbound on a crisp morning, traveling down on a two-lane city boulevard at the posted speed limit of 35 mph.

Doe turned right at the next intersection and up ahead saw a pickup in the opposing lane. Doe could tell the driver was distracted and the pickup was going at a high speed, weaving in and out of its lane.

The road was devoid of other traffic except for Doe’s tractor-trailer. The pickup driver suddenly jutted into Doe’s lane, on a collision course with the tractor. Doe promptly hit both his horn and his service brakes and came to a screeching halt.

The screeching tires and blaring horn caught the attention of the pickup driver who, momentarily, whizzed back into his own lane before losing control smashing into Doe’s left front fender.

Could the truck driver have prevented this accident?

The National Safety Council ruled the accident was non-preventable. John Doe stopped dead in his tracks immediately upon seeing Durham’s truck in his lane and could not have avoided the impact.