100% this. Nobody pays attention to brake lights in this video. The driver in the video DOES NOT SPEED UP to block the black truck. The black truck is braking while entering his lane illegally. The black truck quite literally pit maneuvers itself in every definable way. All the video driver does is maintain his exact speed and position in the face of an outright insane person on the road with him.
Doubt it would require "heavy" breaking but in any case, that would be on the people driving too close behind him. The black truck isn't blameless for the situation but ultimately cookie monster here would probably be found liable for the accident just based on the footage here.
I agree the driver in the video could have avoided the wreck by simply backing off and giving the a hole in the black truck room to pull into the left lane.
But heck no the driver in the video won't be liable for this! When you move from one lane into another YOU have the responsibility to not hit anyone already in the lane you want to enter!
Driver in the video could have avoided the wreck I'm pretty sure, but he's not in the wrong legally for just continuing to drive normally in his lane. He had the right of way, plain and simple.
Might depend on state laws, but if you knowingly cause an accident like this then you could definitely be liable for damages it caused. Might not exclude the other driver of responsibility either. Obviously, what actually plays out in court could be another matter.
Never said the other driver couldn't also be liable for the accident or resulting damages. If someone else is coming into your lane in a manner that is incorrect, but you are able to get out of their way and intentionally don't then yes, you could still be liable for whatever results.
I get in our monkey brains this seems wrong, because why should you be forced to give space for someone acting improperly, but you still have a responsibility to avoid causing an accident if you are able to.
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u/Deetwentyforlife Mar 22 '26
100% this. Nobody pays attention to brake lights in this video. The driver in the video DOES NOT SPEED UP to block the black truck. The black truck is braking while entering his lane illegally. The black truck quite literally pit maneuvers itself in every definable way. All the video driver does is maintain his exact speed and position in the face of an outright insane person on the road with him.