It’s the one-year anniversary of one of the most viral trucking dash cams ever, and guess what? There’s also a fresh clip to remind truckers that—somehow or other—four-wheelers still don’t see big rigs in the lane next to them. Or worse, they don’t understand the physics of momentum. Or do they just not care? Regardless, here's our Dash Cam of the Week double-header.
First up, from Feb. 6 last year, this clip of a car trying to wedge into the fast lane just ahead of the tractor-trailer garnered 8 million views on YouTube (to say nothing of some lively debate on various discussion boards about what really happened).
We’d like to make two points: First, a camera mounted high on the windshield has a better view than the truck driver, so there’s likely some validity to the suggestion the trucker couldn't see the car until it was too late. Second, even if you don’t buy that, some of us get really annoyed by cars flying up in the right lane—passing everyone else as if we’re just hanging out in the fast lane for kicks—and then trying to tuck in when they finally look up and see a vehicle that's waaay slow in their lane. (And for truckers, there’s also the frustration of knowing that, after getting around the slow vehicle on the right, all the cars behind you immediately jump back to pass before you can move into the right lane yourself … but don’t get us started. And you're better than that, right?)
Anyway, without further comment, here’s the colorfully titled YouTube clip from one year ago:
Of course, to borrow from the French (or the Cajuns, depending): plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. The video below was posted Jan. 31 from what looks to be I-295 in New Jersey. Incroyable!
It would’ve taken a force-field around the truck top prevent this (keep an eye on the driver's side mirror):
[Editor’s Note: We know we promised some snow removal clips, but we’ve suddenly received more than we can stand. Maybe next week.]
