American dash cam

[ryoder 1,590]

"No shit; There I was; Thought I was gonna die!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INyiMA3hfto

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[BillyVance 35]

Dude, I have a friend who had something similar happen to him and his wife years ago. Driving a similar set-up, but smaller pickup. Around midnight, on I-65 south toward Mobile. Some 18 wheeler going damn near close to 100mph passed them and the air backwash caused their camper to blow over, rolling their pick up as well. Totally destroyed. But they lived.

18 wheeler never stopped.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[BIGUN 1,486]

One word: Anti-sway bars.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[skyjumpenfool 2]

BIGUN

One word: Anti-sway bars.

Well, that's three words. It's really all about tongue weight. If you don't understand this, don't pull a trailer.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/towing-capacity/information/tongue-weight.htm

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[gowlerk 2,277]

Sorry Billy, semi-trucks don't "blow other vehicles off the road". Your friend probably had a very poor set up for towing. Likely the load was overweight for the truck, so he moved weight behind the axle so the truck springs wouldn't be overloaded. This just sets it up for the swaying pendulum effect in the video. A proper setup does not need anti-sway bars, and blaming the semi for passing too quickly is about as lame as it gets. The truck driver probably didn't even know it happened.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[BillyVance 35]

gowlerk

Sorry Billy, semi-trucks don't "blow other vehicles off the road". Your friend probably had a very poor set up for towing. Likely the load was overweight for the truck, so he moved weight behind the axle so the truck springs wouldn't be overloaded. This just sets it up for the swaying pendulum effect in the video. A proper setup does not need anti-sway bars, and blaming the semi for passing too quickly is about as lame as it gets. The truck driver probably didn't even know it happened.

Fair enough. He definitely had a small pick-up truck. Don't remember what kind, except that it was small. And yes, towing a load too heavy for it. But he told me the drive was going fine until the truck blew by him going at least 100. The air blast was enough to get the swaying started until he lost control and rolled everything. There was another 18 wheeler behind him who hit his brakes and stopped to help. He saw the whole thing.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

BillyVance

***Sorry Billy, semi-trucks don't "blow other vehicles off the road". Your friend probably had a very poor set up for towing. Likely the load was overweight for the truck, so he moved weight behind the axle so the truck springs wouldn't be overloaded. This just sets it up for the swaying pendulum effect in the video. A proper setup does not need anti-sway bars, and blaming the semi for passing too quickly is about as lame as it gets. The truck driver probably didn't even know it happened.

Fair enough. He definitely had a small pick-up truck. Don't remember what kind, except that it was small. And yes, towing a load too heavy for it. But he told me the drive was going fine until the truck blew by him going at least 100. The air blast was enough to get the swaying started until he lost control and rolled everything. There was another 18 wheeler behind him who hit his brakes and stopped to help. He saw the whole thing.

I'm gonna call BS on the "At least 100mph" part too. The power needed to get a big truck going that fast is a lot more than most people would believe. The gearing needed is also very unusual. I would be redlined at about 85 or so (if I wasn't governed a lot lower than that).

There are a few trucks out there that can hit 100. But they are very, very rare.

And for a driver to be caught going that fast is a very serious penalty.

It's also really stupid to do it anywhere except open, empty roads (like wide open - out on the plains or out in the desert). The stopping distances & room needed to maneuver or change lanes or anything like that are also a lot more than most people realize.

If your buddy had a seriously unstable setup on his trailer, it wouldn't require much for the trailer to get upset, start swaying and go over. His simple reaction to the truck going by fast (80 or so would be really startling) could be enough. If he "flinched" and jerked the wheel just a little, then he was done for.

Most people vastly overestimate the speed of a car passing them at high speed. Ever since I got adaptive cruise control on my truck, I've learned how bad I was at it (the CC display gives a speed readout on the car in front).

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[justme12001 0]

Not sure what kind of truck you drive or are used to, but I travel I-95 a lot thru NC, SC, GA, and Fla. I usually set my cruise on 80 or a little over and get passed by 18 wheelers ALL the time. Or should I say used to, you don't see it as much anymore. I assume this is because of the way they are tracked and governed now. Not so many years ago though it was not uncommon to have a big truck go flying past you even if you were going 80+ MPH

[justme12001 0]

I've never been "blown off the road", but I have had trucks "push" my vehicle before! Especially in smaller cars and on motorcycles. I can defiantly see a truck with a camper that was to heavy for the truck or improperly balanced getting "pushed" and then loosing control due to sway.

[gowlerk 2,277]

justme12001

I've never been "blown off the road", but I have had trucks "push" my vehicle before! Especially in smaller cars and on motorcycles. I can defiantly see a truck with a camper that was to heavy for the truck or improperly balanced getting "pushed" and then loosing control due to sway.

Oh, for sure. You will feel the truck pass you, especially if there is a cross wind blowing. But the cause of the loss of control is not the truck. It's a poor set up being driven improperly. Billy's friend wants to blame the truck driver for his accident.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Freightliners and Internationals. I've been over the road for about 15 years now. I've never had a truck that was capable of more than 85 or so. Running around 1400 rpm at 65, redline is 1800 - which is about 85.
Those were/are all company trucks, and all of them were governed to about 65.

I'm out there for a living. Getting my "doors blown off" by another big truck doesn't happen that much.
I took a car trip out to California last year. Ran 85 or so across most of the western plains & desert. Only had one truck keeping up with me. He was running a little over 80 east of Salt Lake City.

Owner-Operators can spec their trucks out any way they please, and many of them choose higher (lower numerically) final drives to get more speed and better fuel economy.

80 plus? Sure. 90? maybe. 100? doubtful.

And a couple other things: 2 "major" tickets (15 over qualifies) and a CDL is pulled. Radar detectors are illegal in commercial vehicles everywhere in the US (federal law). The "detector detector" technology is getting better and better. Getting caught with one is not trivial. Radar & laser jammers work to some degree, but again, getting caught with one is not cheap.

And the cops are getting better and better at catching speeders. For the most part, LIDAR isn't "beatable." A "laser detector" is not going to warn you ahead of time, it's just going to tell you when you've been caught.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[BillyVance 35]

justme12001

Not sure what kind of truck you drive or are used to, but I travel I-95 a lot thru NC, SC, GA, and Fla. I usually set my cruise on 80 or a little over and get passed by 18 wheelers ALL the time. Or should I say used to, you don't see it as much anymore. I assume this is because of the way they are tracked and governed now. Not so many years ago though it was not uncommon to have a big truck go flying past you even if you were going 80+ MPH

I've actually seen 18 wheelers go that fast too. Maybe with an empty hauler. Those drivers are fucking stupid though. Takes a long time to stop from those speeds. And get caught going that fast is a good way to lose that CDL.

BTW, the incident I mentioned with my friend happened between 10-12 years ago.

ETA - I should add that he was going about 60 mph, so yeah, what speed the truck was going at can be subjective. I'm more inclined to think 90 than 100 though, but like I said, I've actually seen 18 wheelers go 100. Because I was going 105 just to pass the motherfucker on I-65 south of Nashville some 25 years ago.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban