Truck driver John Doe was headed west on Route 1 with a fully laden trailer in tow.
He stopped at a red light, preparing to make a right turn onto Pooca Parkway, with his right turn signals flashing.
When the traffic light turned green, Doe carefully scanned his mirrors before starting the turn.
Hidden from his view was a purple Lincoln town car directly behind John’s trailer, whose driver also intended to turn right.
Not wanting to get stuck behind Doe’s slow-moving rig for a long stretch of unpassable two-lane highway, the driver of the town car decided he would try to cut across the grassy corner of the intersection in an attempt to head off Doe’s tractor before he could complete his turn.
But the town car didn’t make it and slammed into the side of Doe’s trailer.
No way Doe could have seen the car coming, so he argued the preventable accident warning letter he received from the company safety director.
Asked to settle the issue, the National Safety Council’s Accident Review Committee sided with Doe, noting there was nothing he could have done to avoid being blindsided.
CCJ's Preventable or Not series is sponsored by CarriersEdge, creator of interactive online training for small and midsize fleets, including comprehensive safety, compliance and best practices content for truck drivers. To learn more, visit www.carriersedge.com.
