“Patience is a virtue” is one of many proverbial expressions used to convey truth or advice. Well, there was no patience or virtue during our Dashcam of the Week when a truck driver tried to maneuver around a passenger car to make a left turn onto a highway ramp. This impatient decision resulted in a crash into a school bus with passengers aboard.
The collision happened in Pasco County, FL, on January 17, 2017, on Florida State Road 52 underneath the I-75 overpass. A passenger car held its position in the front of the left turn lane, waiting for the right opportunity to turn onto the exit ramp. However, the truck driver that enters the scene behind the passenger car did not want to wait for a safe moment.
Watch the video below for a clear view of the T-bone crash:
On August 16, 2018, Fleet Owner hosted a webinar with Mike Becker, director of routing intelligence transformation at PepsiCo. During this webinar, Becker shared his thoughts about the struggles of determining the most efficient route for truck drivers. When discussing this, Becker noted the importance of recognizing left and right-hand turns when building a route.
“Taking left-hand turns in a commercial vehicle tends to have more accidents instead of having a right-hand turn scenario,” Becker said. This safety measure can potentially maximize time efficiency as well as safety due to a left-hand turn penalty, he added.
This left-hand turn penalty is given to those who make improper turns while driving. According to the Statutes, Constitution, and Laws of FL, the driver in this scenario would receive a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving violation, and Florida Highway Patrol cited David Dunlop for failing to yield.
According to ABC Action News in the Tampa Bay area, there were five students on the bus all of which did not suffer serious injuries. One adult aboard, a bus aide, was injured and transported to an area hospital for minor injuries. As for the truck driver, there was no word whether he/she sustained any injuries.
Trying to squeeze in a left turn to beat oncoming traffic is a great opportunity for a crash. Next time the feeling of impatient road rage begins to brew, remember that “patience is a virtue”.
