Truck Accident In Cali

But still...he is missing the point. He wants to use the law and doesn't know it. Whether CMV or a car it is the same.

CA law says someone CAN pass on the right. It also says that if someone is partially at fault that person is compensated according to their degree of fault.

So even if the car was 80% to blame and him 20%, the car would get the 20% of his damages paid.

That is the law. Since he isnadmitting they are both wrong NO WAY would he ever win in court...and as pointed out....unless he suffered personal injury it would not be a case against the car but Stevens.

Insurance and fault differ from state to state. In NJ there is a "no fault" and each persons insurance pays then sues each other.

My 19 yr old sis was a passenger in a vehicle when the car was slammed from the rear. In NJ my mothers car insurance paid the doctor bills...although my sis didn't have a license and was not on the car policy. Then her state farm had to sue the driver of the vehicle she was in, and the driver had to sue the one who hit them and removed the trunk from the back of the car.

So unless someone knows the law of their state they should keep their mouth shut about "its the law I'll win"

Ok brothers and sisters of The road help a wanna be out. My experience in a combination vehicle is limited to a 1 ton truck and 30' gooseneck, total length around 45-50' and tipping the scales at 22,000. I drove these rigs all over the country. Now for my question: he claims he was already in the spot and couldn't move left as that spot was taken also. If this is true how did a car get in that spot if he was already there? When I change lanes in my 1 ton at 65 mph it probably takes me 50 to 70 yards. When I start to move I'm actually occupying 2 spots st once, the spot I'm leaving and the spot I'm moving to. At any point if someone tries to dart around me I see them. The movement in my mirror alerts me to look again. I just have a hard time understanding how me mashed someone with his tractor whom he claims wasn't there before he started the manuever.

I just have a hard time understanding how me mashed someone with his tractor whom he claims wasn't there before he started the manuever.

We all do...

The point of impact was passenger side of the tractor, somewhere near or below the door. If you have the time, read his original post before all the fur started to fly.

Oh I have followed this thread from the first word. Maybe I need to go back and read it again, it just confuses me how he was able to run over somebody with his tractor and blames them. Sounds more like to me the car was already in the lane and he did not look in his mirrors to see if the spot was clear. Again I have no experience in a tractor and trailer only a 1 ton and gooseneck. So I may not fully understand the mechanics of this manuever.

Oh I have followed this thread from the first word. Maybe I need to go back and read it again, it just confuses me how he was able to run over somebody with his tractor and blames them. Sounds more like to me the car was already in the lane and he did not look in his mirrors to see if the spot was clear. Again I have no experience in a tractor and trailer only a 1 ton and gooseneck. So I may not fully understand the mechanics of this manuever.

You understand it. The OP wasn't careful enough and barely avoided killing people, but doesn't want to admit it.

Oh I have followed this thread from the first word. Maybe I need to go back and read it again, it just confuses me how he was able to run over somebody with his tractor and blames them. Sounds more like to me the car was already in the lane and he did not look in his mirrors to see if the spot was clear. Again I have no experience in a tractor and trailer only a 1 ton and gooseneck. So I may not fully understand the mechanics of this manuever.

You understand it. The OP wasn't careful enough and barely avoided killing people, but doesn't want to admit it.

Ditto...

Bolt you understand it.

Ok brothers and sisters of The road help a wanna be out.

Bolt, while I was cranking out about 650 miles today, I had this particular conversation on my mind a few times and I was trying to think, "how does a new person in here view our responses to Lionheart?" Do they think we are heartless Piranhas, as Lionheart suggested, or do they see that we are trying to help him see the error of his ways, and hopefully enlighten some others at the same time as they are taking all this in? Sometimes when we are trying to help in here, people get all defensive as if we didn't really understand what they were asking, or they take offense because we didn't just answer their particular question - "What should I do, or how should I handle this so that Stevens will stop deducting money from my checks?"

Often times (as in the case of this whole thread) the person is unknowingly asking an irrelevant question because they see the whole situation in a completely skewed way. Then when we start responding with what we hope they will see as the proper way to look at the scenario, they get upset that we just didn't answer their particular question, and then start hurling insults at us. We try to cut to the chase around here and that gets us in somewhat of a cat-fight at times. We do not enjoy coming across as aggressive, but we bear the burden of hopefully trying to teach not only the person who started the thread, but also the many who will read it later on. There are a lot of folks who come in here and will spend weeks going back and reading through all or many of the old threads in this forum. It is like a deep well of information for a newbie who is just getting started in here, and we want to keep it rich with good viable information that points the way to success out here on the road.

There was actually several different things going on in this one, and we tried our best to sort it out so that folks could benefit from the conversation. Unfortunately when the OP starts belittling us as if we do not understand what he is asking, and then starts hurling insults at us, it gets hard at times to sort it all out and make sense of what is actually going on. In their efforts to divert the attention from their errant ways and understanding of the issues at hand they try to make it appear as though we are a small group of arrogant truckers who enjoy beating up on unsuspecting rookies. Anybody who has spent any decent amount of time in these forums should know how utterly false that is, because we devote an incredible amount of effort and time trying to help folks lay a good foundation for a rewarding career in this very challenging business.

Lionheart demonstrated so many of the common and infamously characteristic traits that we recognize as big red flags for a rookie driver to be laboring under that we felt compelled to try and help him see the error of his ways. When we see a newbie start claiming things like their company is a bunch of "buffoons," and not being willing to own up to an obvious mistake they made, then pointing accusatory fingers at the people they just ran over, and even wanting to "take the gloves off" with their employer... well, we get a little concerned that this person is heading for a huge disaster. We've seen it played out thousands of times. There are a lot of "Type A" truckers who get started out like this and it rarely ends well. We do our best to try to steer them in the proper direction, but for all our efforts we end up being wrongly accused and berated by the very person we are hoping to help! It is a frustrating conundrum at times, but as long as we hold our ground and keep putting forth what is the truth, we know that some will get it, even if the original person who started the conversation goes their way without learning anything from us.

Continued...

Lionheart's attitude is his biggest problem, but there is also the issue of not being aware of what is going on around his vehicle at all times. We tried to point out both issues, but he was stuck on the fact that we were ignoring the issue of the laws in California. It clearly was a preventable accident, and that makes it clearly his fault. The laws in whatever state he happens to be in have no effect on any of that.

A professional driver has got to know what is going on in all six of the spaces around his vehicle. I loved what Pat posted about knowing about the vehicles behind him - that is how a professional consistently drives every day. There are habits that successful drivers develop, and one of them is knowing what is going on behind you. I can usually tell you just how many cars are behind me, what positions they are in, and even what colors they are. If one of them shows up missing as I make a quick perusal of my mirrors, I don't dare make a move into another lane until I have figured out where they are or can account for the fact that they have exited the immediate roadway. Those kind of things become second nature for a professional who is going to run hundreds of thousands of miles in a commercial vehicle and maintain a good safety record. There are just too many ways to mess up out here without being habitually cautious and careful about what is going on around your vehicle.

Brett once wrote a great little piece about how knowing what is going on behind you can help you predict what is going to happen in your near or immediate future. Check out this link to understand how:

Your Mirrors Hold The Key To Predicting Your Future

Old School...as usual you stated that perfectly. Except....I admit I'm a piranha.... But I'm a cute, smart, witty one lol

Old school, Thanks for your post. I've been on the site about a year and a half. I rarely post for a couple reasons. 1. I have no experience in a tractor and trailer therefore when those questions arise I have nothing of value to add.

2. What questions I do have somebody usually gets around to asking.

I soak up everything that is posted, or at least the ones I read. This site is a treasure trove of information and I for one am thankful that you, errol, brett, and the many other experienced drivers are here.

Yes it does appear sometimes that you guys can be a××holes, but when I sit back and think about what you guys are saying I then understand.

With this particular thread I was never able to figure out how he thought he owned the spot yet run over another car with his TRACTOR. Then he wants to get stuck on they got the ticket so he was not responsible.

Thank,you again for all the valuable information here. One of these days, hopefully soon, I will be able to fulfill my dream of driving a truck.

Till then "keep the wheels a spinnin' and the beaver grinnin'".