This is a SFW video of a serious fatal accident involving a bus and several cars. It’s taken from a rear-facing camera. You’ll note that none of the cars forward of the accident seem to stop. When I first watched the video, I was disappointed at this. Then I though further, that the bus is crashing into a tunnel and if a fire were to break out, those forward of the accident, in the tunnel, would likely die, so fleeing was in fact the right thing to do.
How say you?
Wow, took out several cars.
I’d say it depends on where you are and if you have the ability to help. I wouldn’t be so worried about fire - I don’t know how common it really it, but I’ve never seen one at any of the accident sites I’ve passed by. But if I was in a populated area, I’d just be more likely to think I would be in the way than to think I’d be helpful. Call 911 (this accident isn’t in USA, but I am) if I don’t think anyone else has (bystander effect can cause problems there) and then keep going so I’m not causing a problem for anyone else or blocking the way for emergency responders (less of an issue with divided highways, but also don’t need to stop oncoming traffic on divided highways if you are in front of accident, so don’t need to stop for that reason).
No rationalizations needed.
You don’t have the video to review.
You have no idea what actually happened
You can get away from it.
Get the fuck away from it.
You are not fleeing the accident. It’s occurring behind you. Putting aside the fact it occurs at a tunnel entrance (fear of fire), most people probably would not see it occur. Of those who did, a smaller percentage would call 911 (in the USA) and an even smaller percentage would actually turn around and render aid.
Typical human responses.
Well, there were hundreds of people in the massive traffic jam caused by the wreck who were in a better position to render aid. The scope of the accident is so terrible that the best thing anyone could do is call the Korean equivalent of 911 and let the professionals get to it. I am trained in emergency medicine, so if I had been in the car I might have pulled over and tried to help, but without being there I just don’t know what I’d do.
My brother was in a similar accident. Stopped in a freeway traffic jam and a guy in a pickup slammed into the back of his car – never even touched the brakes. He was either asleep or texting. The car was utterly destroyed, yet the passenger compartment stayed intact. He was badly injured but survived. It’s sickening to watch the video.
How can anyone stop? They’re in a tunnel with no way to turn around. Just call emergency services and go.
Good god, I don’t think there would be anything left of the folks in the first car hit. That car was flattened.
One day about 12 years ago I glanced at my rear view mirror during my morning commute and saw a truck behind me violently swerve to the left across 6 lanes of heavy traffic and hit the center divider and bounce back to the right shoulder in reverse. He hit alot of cars and surely there were numerous collisions behind him when traffic stopped. The logistics of making a u-turn and driving the wrong way on the freeway or getting off at the next exit and doubling back to join the traffic jam didn’t measure up to the extremely low value I could offer by inserting my unskilled self at the scene.
I’ve stopped and offered my services as a witness for small accidents, especially if one guy was very obviously at fault. Jackass runs a red light, t-bones another guy, no injuries, lots of bent metal: I’ll pull over and hand my card to the victim.
Big messy scary flame-out deathly incidents? Nothing I can do. No training, no equipment. I report it to 911, and then leave. (The 911 system has a record of me in case they need me as a witness.)
this.
It’s pointless to stop and it further blocks the tunnel. Unless you’re the last car on the planet then the people behind the bus can render aid.
I’ve seen a few accidents on the road where I’ve called 911. I give the location, direction, # of cars, etc. I’m not trained in first aid and don’t have equipment beyond window breakers and bandages. I consider that rendering as much aid as I can, and getting out of the way for those more suited for the task.
if I was the only one around and it was safe to stop, I would try to help but most cases this wont be the circumstances.
You must be joking. You’re in medium heavy traffic at speed in a tunnel and you hear (and possibly see) the world exploding behind you as the result of a massive traffic accident and you think some of those forward of the accident should be stopping their vehicles? Forget about fire just the traffic logistics would make this an amazingly foolish thing to do.
If you watch the video carefully, you’ll see that the speed of the car taking the video slows right down. And they’re not in medium let alone heavy traffic after the accident happens.
Traffic will back up behind the accident with plenty of people to help. It will also block the way for emergency equipment. anyone forward of the accident who stops blocks the road and prevents emergency equipment from back-tracking on what should be an empty road.
I truly do not understand your thinking here.
Your concern should be how to prevent the accident. The driver with the camera could have flashed his brake lights and honked his horn while the bus was coming up behind him. He could also have pulled to the right and slowed down while honking his horn. The bus driver was maintaining the lane and was likely in a hazy state and flashing lights may have been enough to snap him out of it. I’ve slowed traffic down MANY times by flashing my brakes rapidly when confronted with stopped traffic in front of me. I’ve done this with a motorcycle at the scene of an accident at night where the wreck was difficult to see.
While cars sometimes catch fire, cars exploding after w/o warning after initial impact is exceedingly rare. Gasoline, while highly flammable is not nearly as explosive.
IOW, I wouldn’t expect a car that is not on fire after the initial impact to suddenly explode.
Yup, I truly do not understand your thinking here.
You do realize that this is a rear-facing camera? The driver is responsible for his own vehicle. The driver of the vehicle with the camera sees traffic has slowed in front of him so he slows & changes lanes. It’s not his responsibility to notice how people are/aren’t paying attention to the road behind him because if he’s spending so much time looking in his rear view mirror that he can see where the eyes of a bus driver in a vehicle behind him are focused then he clearly is not paying attention to what is in front of him.
Prior to seeing this accident, from looking at this snippet of video alone, what would make you think the bus driver is in a “hazy state”? Sitting up higher in a bus should give one a better view of the road ahead than the vehicle that the camera was in.
Oh wait, I forgot who I was dealing with, it’s SuperDriver[sup]TM[/sup] who looks under parked cars for kids & pets waiting to spring into your path :rolleyes:
Yes. The driver taking the video was partly responsible for this accident. He approaches slow cars at high speed and changes lanes only at the last moment. Obviously the bus was at fault, but the driver in front made it much easier for the busdriver to blunder.
(BTW, I’m reminded of a 3-years-ago thread Did I see a suicide or just an accident?.)
Unless you’re a trained, qualified first responder, you call 911 if you have a phone, and get the hell outta dodge so you aren’t in the way of people that should be dealing with it.
The video shows the bus maintaining lane separation. I’m speculating he was zoned out but not completely asleep.
In the driver’s case he would have had to look at traffic behind him in order to change lanes. He had to see the bus flying up behind him.
Really??? you’re going to chastise me for the basic driving skills I was taught? REALLY? You need a sign showing children at play to pay attention to your surroundings?
If you’re ever in a similar situation as the videographer on the road, and you see stopped or very slow traffic ahead on the highway while you and the people behind you are at speed, flash your brake lights three or so times quickly. Especially if there’s trucks or buses or anything heavy behind you, they will really appreciate it, as they need a lot of time and space to come to a stop. (But not if you’re gonna be flashing your brakes lights in someone’s face - judgement call.) It will seriously help people snap to attention, and set a good example for others to follow if appropriate.
This is a rear-facing camera.
You’re only looking at it because something significant occurred after he changed lanes. IOW, a driver should be aware of what’s around him at all times but shouldn’t be focusing on what’s behind him, especially when driving at highway speeds.
Your first & last sentence are at odds with each other.
If a driver looks ahead & sees an obstacle, in this case a slowed car, then glances in rear &/or side view mirrors to see than the next lane is clear to make a change, why should he then be focusing back at a vehicle that is in a now-different lane behind him to see whether that vehicle is slowing or not. The driver should be focused on cars in front of him potentially swerving into his lane & be prepared to avoid them as opposed to playing superhero to alert the vehicles behind him that traffic in front of them has slowed by “flashing my brakes rapidly when confronted with stopped traffic in front of me”
Unless you live in the town of Monster-Truckville, or drive < 10 mph, most cars don’t have enough ground clearance to make that possible to do while keeping your eyes on the road ahead. So tell me, when you drive, do you sit on your superhero cape or drape it over the back of the seat behind you? :rolleyes:
If you’re changing lanes you’re absolutely looking behind you to see if you’re clear.
if traffic is slowed ahead of you then you’re concern should be alerting traffic behind you that can’t see it. That’s common sense.
That’s simply not true.
Are you drunk? You’ve referenced a post from 3 years ago and attacked me for having basic driving skills. What is wrong with you?