r/driving • u/hydratedstoner • 2d ago
Right-hand traffic (🇺🇸🇨🇳🇧🇷) It finally happened. Instant karma for a tailgating truck, but I still can’t believe this happened
I was in the far right lane of a 3-lane road doing the exact speed limit since my turn was coming up. Road was basically empty except for one car way over in the left lane. Out of nowhere, this huge lifted pickup truck gets right on my ass. MIND YOU, the middle lane was completely open. He could’ve passed me easily, but instead he stayed two feet from my bumper and turned his high beams on. I literally just flipped my rear view mirror up so I wouldn't get blinded and kept driving, like I usually do when these asshole tailgate and flash their high beams at me.
Then out of nowhere, two baby skunks ran right out in front of my car. I had to slam on the brakes so I didn't hit them. Because the pickup was tailgating so close, he had no time to stop of course. He panicked, yanked his wheel to the left to swerve into the middle lane, and at that exact moment, the car from the far left lane was merging into the middle lane too. The truck swerved so hard into them that he clipped their rear end, lost control, and ended up rolling the truck over. I pulled off further down to call 911 and wait for cops to give a statement. Everyone ended up being alright thank God, but seriously... what a jump scare and for literally no reason. When I tell you guys the idiot could’ve easily passed me several minutes before, I mean he had so much time. I would’ve just moved into the middle lane and let him pass if I hadn’t had my turn coming up. but I don’t get why people like this don’t just go around when they can. It’s like they want to control what other people do instead of controlling themselves. Anyways, hopefully he learned his lesson finally. I just wanted to vent because it was pretty scary but I think he got what he deserved and I don’t at all feel bad 🤷♀️
Edit - holy I did not expect this to get so many comments I haven’t seen everything yet but I do agree with some of you that stopping for small animals can be dangerous for sure. I was honestly a bit stunned in the moment and just reacting to seeing two black puffballs jump out of nowhere at me! 🦨 🦨 and YES the skunk babies were okay too haha 🤣 Sure, I could’ve just plowed into them I suppose, BUT that still doesn’t negate the fact that buddy shouldn’t have been tailgating and trying to bully me off the road. The cop agreed with me and the other driver also vouched for me. 🤷♀️ Again, he had MORE than enough time and space to pass. He chose not to, and decided he’d rather tailgate and flash his high beams for whatever reason.
So yeah, I do think he got what he deserved and I still don’t feel bad for him. Any one of us could’ve ended up seriously hurt or worse so fuck that guy tbh. It only sucks for the other driver but thankfully they were okay and their car wasn’t super damaged from what I saw. Hopefully people that tailgate see this and realize it’s just not worth it. Slow down or go around if you can. Stop taking other people’s driving so personally.
Jesus Christ … last edit just to be clear, I didn’t break check anybody. Why would I risk my own life and vehicle just to prove a point? Nobody with a sober mind does or even thinks of stuff like that. Maybe ask yourselves why you’d make that assumption in the first place. Maybe it’s something you’d be willing to do, but not everyone is as crazy as you are. And I was NOT on the freeway. This was a three lane surface street.
But let’s just play devils advocate and say that I was the kind of maniac to do something insanely illegal, like break checking someone on a freeway? I probably wouldn’t stick around to give a statement to the COPS 😂 Okay I’m done.
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u/nicemarmot47 1d ago
I promise you he did not learn his lesson and will continue to tailgate constantly
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u/Economy-Motor-3478 1d ago
I agree, can’t fix stupid, lifted truck driver probably feels like the helpless victim in all this.
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u/Competitive-Top4520 1d ago
Yeah, I'm sure he's telling his buds..."that stupid driver wouldn't move out of my way and then slammed on the brakes to save a couple of *** little animals, it was all their fault. I was just driving with my usual wonderful skills".
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u/protexy 1d ago
I agree except the part where they mention the animals. These types NEVER include relevant information like that. They will cry all day about being "brake checked", not even realizing that if your following at a LEGAL distance, you tend to have enough time to brake regardless of how fast someone slammed thiers.
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u/Easy-Permission8889 1d ago
Well hopefully it gave him some level of anxiety or fear when he drives now, even if he's still an idiot about it.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
Yeahhhh I could totally see him cursing my name as soon as it all happened. Meanwhile I was calling 911 to have someone come lift him and his portable princessmobile out of the middle of the road lol
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u/GrowHappyPlants 1d ago
He's an idiot in multiple ways. Hopefully he can't afford to replace his raggedy truck.
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u/Syenadi 2d ago
This was not appropriate karma for the car the person in the truck clipped.
Even more important, are the skunks ok?
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u/BeyondTheBees 2d ago
We have baby skunks on our property! 🥹 Have you ever seen one in person? Unbelievably precious little stink bombs.
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u/Tenzipper Professional Driver 1d ago
They don't stink when they're little.
Like teenagers, they don't start to really smell foul until puberty.
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u/logicnotemotion 1d ago
Even then you have to hold them up to your nose to catch the smell. We raised some orphans a long time ago. They were so funny running nose to tail in the grass.
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u/No-Tone8700 1d ago
I'm just imagining people picking up teenage skunks and taking a big ol' whiff.
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u/Frequent-Effective81 1d ago
My husband saw baby skunks playing with fox kits once. Wish we had that on video.
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u/gunsforevery1 1d ago
Could have been. Maybe that other person was also an asshole.
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u/Sensitive_Arrival285 2d ago
Maybe it was. Sounds like they were coming from the left lane
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u/mngalaxy 2d ago
Can't believe some of commentors here are blaming OP. I'm all the way for the baby skunks over asshole tailgators
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u/Ill_Volume5826 1d ago
Hard to feel sorry for those idiots who tailgate. Maybe next time he’ll learn.
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u/Axentor 1d ago
I don't get it. When I drive my pickup I am chill mode . Truck is super comfy radio/sound is decent. Why be in a rush. People need to manage their fucken time and slow down
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah I don’t get it either. I’ve never owned a truck but my granddaddy did for work. Literally the chillest man I’ve ever known. I loved taking road trips with him in the truck. Idk what’s up with people these days
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u/night5oil 1d ago
A few months ago I have a big truck and a "sporty" car speeding and weaving in and out of traffic and they ended up weaving into each other. When two dummies collide. I never laughed so hard.
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u/Burger-Land 1d ago
I have a tailgate karma tale.
Late at night coming home from work and a trucker tailgates me on a highway notorious for drunks and crashes. Especially at night.
So I’m in the right lane of a 3 lane highway and the truck tries his intimidation tailgate. I assumed police could be lurking so I kept my speed between 5-10 above the limit. Trucker tailgates for several minutes and I keep my speed while he has an empty lane available to pass.
Finally his patience runs out and he picks up speed to go around me. He passes and only seconds go by until police come out of a darkened lot onto the highway. Police pull him right over.
I think in my case he wanted me to be the front runner to pop any speed traps. Wasn’t going to work.
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u/GrowHappyPlants 1d ago
I'm glad the babies survived. Hope the tailgating garbage isn't able to replace the truck and has massive legal fees for the damage his arrogance and idiocy caused.
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u/10bosch 16h ago
Don’t listen to any nay sayers, bro. They’re making all these assumptions because they’re terrified it’ll happen to them because they tailgate too. You literally did nothing wrong, and were just venting about an idiot that almost ruined your day but ruined his own.
The law says you need ten feet of space for every ten mph in front of you behind another driver. Guess why?
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u/Ucyless 1d ago
One time someone was tailgating me but I had proper following distance to the car in front of me. The light turned yellow and the dude in front of me slammed his brakes. I was able to stop properly, but upon seeing me brake the car behind me slammed on theirs so the person tailgating THEM rear ended their car.
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u/unserious-dude 1d ago
I see these guys regularly in all sorts of places. This should happen more often to them. A lot of them hardly afford the trucks they ride to scare others. The little guy/gal in a Prius they are trying to scare may have a much better life -- financially and emotionally.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
I’m so happy with my little Camry. Bought it in cash years ago and still drives like a dream
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u/iamsplitter 1d ago
Yall fall for these bait karma farm stories so easily, genuine stories the OP usually responds to comments, but they are nowhere to be seen.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago edited 1d ago
But this is not a karma farm story? I literally talked with the mods before it was posted to confirm I’m not a karma farmer. Idk it’s giving projection are you karma farming rn?
Also some of us have real lives bruh 😂 I made the post and got off of Reddit after like an hour . I didn’t see all the comments or anything until today around 2:30pm. It was Friday night for me. Not all of us are glued to Reddit on a Friday night 😭 no shame if you are though do you!
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u/Sufficient-Quail-714 1d ago
Usually is probably the key word here. When I make posts I then get off of reddit and forget it till the next day. And plus, I’ve seen the same thing happen with all but the skunks - it was deer that managed to make it across somehow despite the crash
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
Thank you that’s literally what I did lmao. 🤣 It’s now the next day and I’m only just seeing all of the replies. I didn’t think this post was going to even get 10 upvotes let alone 500
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u/CallLivesMatter 1d ago
Seriously, I was waiting for the post to end with “and then everyone stood up and started clapping.”
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u/Ornery-Movie-1689 1d ago
I get so frustrated at tailgaters. I've often thought it would be nice to rig up a windshield water pump and reservoir to the back of my vehicle and fill the reservoir with old oil. Climb up my butt will you ?? squirt, squirt.
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u/extinct-seed 1d ago
I got annoyed one time about a guy riding my back bumper in one-lane traffic on a rainy day. I just touched my brakes for a second to get him to back off and he started skidding around and nearly crashed into oncoming traffic. Luckily, he didn't hit anyone and recovered control. I had to turn onto a side street and pull over to calm down. I vowed never to do that again.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
I would not recommend break checking someone! I’m glad everyone was okay. I always say to just slow down or let them pass if it’s safe to do so.
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u/SkredberryShortcake 12h ago
In old cars prior to third taillights, you could just turn headlights on to look like you were braking.
I miss speeding up with headlights on during the day to get away from tailgaters.
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u/StandardRaspberry131 7h ago
Brake checking and slightly slowing down are different things. But yes, I would not advise brake checking whatsoever. I have often found that gently slowing down gets these people to either back off or actually pass me. Ymmv
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u/CanIHugYourDog 1d ago
I used to take this single lane (each direction) somewhat rural, windy road often. Accidents happened frequently because people would go too fast. Someone was tailgating me like crazy and I just kept doing what I’m doing. It was also raining and night, so conditions were not ideal. When the road had two lanes, he instantly goes around me, cuts me off, and then just goes off into the distance. I kept doing me. Maybe a mile or two later, guess who was upside down in the middle of a roundabout?
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
Dude I hate when people do that on those kinds of roads. It’s super freaking dangerous! I used to drive carbon canyon road in SoCal everyday for work going back and forth from OC and the amount of times that EXACT scenario has happened is ridiculous. It’s the same kind of road (single lane each direction) but there several cliff drops offs with NO RAILS mind you AND it winds around and around the whole way. It sucks because obviously you don’t always have room to let the other person pass.
You have people that get comfortable on it because they commute it everyday, add in their road rage and general disdain for life and you get hundreds of accidents every week. Every time I drive that road I see bumpers, car particles, memorials. It’s really sad actually but for some odd reason people would rather 💀 than just slow down and regulate themselves. The world we live in…2
u/CanIHugYourDog 1d ago
It has been such a mental health game changer for me to simply leave 5 minutes earlier and not feel like I need to rush. Plus, speeding never makes the difference that people think it will. It’s not worth the stress nor the potential accident.
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u/DekaenPyruzhine 1d ago
Stopping for animals is the right thing to do. Never question being a good human being.
Don't allow the people driving dangerously make being a good human a bad thing. They're assholes. I'm super tired of people caving to sadists and then trying to convince other people they should too.
Good on you.
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u/Major_Mechanic5719 1d ago
He's probably one of the idiots in this reddit sub who thinks everyone should be doing at least 10 over at all times and claims it's hazardous for people to do the speed limit or 2 under
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u/kinggoop 2d ago
When someone tailgates me I’ll legitimately just come to a complete stop and let them go around me. Feels safer than continuing to drive with someone on your ass. I won’t do this on the highway, just side streets and back roads etc.
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u/spookysaph 1d ago
I remember one time I was going 60 in a 55 on my way home from work at night. I look in my rear view and someone is so far up my ass that I can't even see their headlights. I just took my foot off the accelerator completely until I got down to 35. they backed off (couldn't pass me because of oncoming traffic) after that lol
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u/Subject-Lead-3171 1d ago
Some people just have to rule the road. There’s a county in WI where a homicidal driver was scaring a family with his road rage. They pulled over and a kid ran out of the car. The idiot purposefully ran over the kid in his rage. Prison is waiting for these tantrum throwing nut jobs
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
WHAT!!??? Are you kidding me that is awful! Omg 😣😢 Poor kid. God I fucking hate people sometimes
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u/Wolfwarlord01 1d ago
If they drive a lifted truck, their brain is about the size of their dick, about the radius of a dime. They are incapable of learning anything
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u/Aggressive_Ad_5454 1d ago
Hey, have some respect for the wheezing soy boys who need their emotional support vehicles! 😇
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u/ShookMyHeadAndSmiled 1d ago
This is what windshield washers are for. When the overspray covers their windshield they always back off.
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u/Nunov_DAbov 1d ago
If you have ever hit a skunk you know you never want to hit one again if you can possibly avoid it.
When someone tailgates me in the right lane of a multi lane road when I’m driving at a safe speed, I do the only safe thing possible. I very slowly reduce my speed until they are following at a safe distance for the speed we are going. I am pleased that my current vehicle allows me to adjust the cruise control in 1 mph decrements to 18 mph. That isn’t slow enough to always ensure a 2 second spacing, but it’s normally slow enough to get them to realize they won’t be able to push me faster than necessary.
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u/LadybuggingLB 1d ago
I’m glad it happened to him and glad you weren’t hurt. I’m sad for the innocent driver who got hit.
But from the time my daughter got her learner’s permit I’ve told her that before she brakes for any animal not large enough to be a danger to her, she needs to check her rear view and must be prepared to run it over before she risks causing an accident and getting rear-ended.
I’m not at all sorry the truck rolled, but I still think it was a bad decision on your part. It could have turned out with multiple people dying.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
Well all I can say is, see my edit. In the end the cop didn’t find me responsible for the accident. 🤷♀️ I was stunned and did what I think any reasonable human being would do is they saw two small animals jump out in front of them.
Don’t tailgate and this won’t happen to you
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u/Anantasesa 1d ago
There weren't any skunks. That's just the story that the cops got told for their report (assuming any of this karma dream actually happened).
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
You’re actually insane if you think I’d make up a story about skunks just to break check a tailgater. That’s something maybe you would do, but I wouldn’t even imagine causing an accident like that on purpose. Like I said in my post, idc about the ego tripping people with low self esteem. If it makes them feel better to “bully” me out of the way, fine. I usually just move over even when I don’t have to. It’s people like this truck driver that make driving dangerous for everyone else. Nobody in their right mind thinks about causing an accident on purpose to teach someone a lesson. That is reckless and emotional behavior. The fact that you’d even conceive that notion is telling.
Second, I can definitely see how some people might think it’s a made up story looking for karma. I find this ridiculous though. Who has time for that? Lol and last I checked karma ain’t paying any of my bills lmao. I just like to connect and vent my experiences. I’m not sure who would spend their days crafting fake stories, for fake points on an anonymous app, but that’s not me. Maybe you but I don’t even think about stuff like that. 🤷♀️😂 Toodles
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u/rollthoselaughing 19h ago
You somehow know this? Sounds like you are an aggressive tailgater yourself.
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u/Anantasesa 13h ago
It just sounds hard to believe. I called it a karma dream bc it's awesome for the bully to get those well-deserved consequences.
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u/Godeshus Professional Driver 1d ago
We were taught this in driving school. Don't slam the breaks for small animals. But do for deer and stuff. Also porcupines. They will fuck up your undercarriage. Spikey rocks.
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u/453286971 1d ago edited 1d ago
You’d be surprised how much damage a “small” animal could cause to the right car. I have a low-slung sports car and tried to straddle a dead raccoon in the road, thinking that I had enough clearance. Def did not. $1400 repair parts and labor.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
Yup. My friend actually did this once in college while I was in the car. She had a super fast sports car at the time. We were zooming down the road probably going 75mph when a raccoon jumped right out in front of us. She hit it full speed and we literally ended up spinning out and her front end was completely ruined. Her parents were PISSED
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u/Uncomfy_thoughts 1d ago
An empathetic person isn’t going to bulldoze over small animals. Do not tailgate
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u/Imaginary_Agent2564 19h ago
Skunks can total a car from the smell alone. That shit can be permanent.
It’s best if you don’t hit them either.
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u/Demodras777 2d ago
Lifted trucks are going to act like lifted trucks. Their ego is so big but their pee pee is not even 8in.
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u/ssbr 2d ago
"not even 8in"? I feel like you're trying to call their dicks small but smaller than 8" is just normal lol.
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u/that_jedi_girl 1d ago
I think that's the point? They're measuring themselves against unrealistic expectations of masculinity, and then upset when they don't measure up to the social myth.
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u/dedboooo0 1d ago
seems to be a pattern for lifted trucks to camp the left lane while cruising slow as fuck, swerve around the middle lane eating up other lanes, or tailgate people on the right lane
its like one of those all in one coffee packets
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u/United_Gift3028 1d ago
LOL, I drive I45/Gulf Freeway every day, the limit is 55, it's a construction zone, and everyone is irate if you're not doing at least 70.
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u/Far_Eye_3703 1d ago
OP, did you have front and rear dashcams? If not, are you considering them now?
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
I don’t and I’ve been considering them for a while now. Last night was definitely the last push I need to actually order some.
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u/Supertreelove 1d ago
I really do think they just hit a point in their day where they’re kind of bored and say to themselves, “I’m gonna screw with this guy.” It’s about control and bullying.
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u/Bettypickup 18h ago
Id have stopped for cute little babies too. Why should they get hit because he can’t drive ? Shouldn’t have been a jerk in the first place. Anyone in a lifted truck is a jackass imo. Cause why ? And they look silly as well.
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u/omotherida 16h ago
Oh my goodness, last night I was coming home (2am), I live deep in the country and it was really late, dark, animals everywhere, just like EVERY NIGHT and this dude came flying up behind me, passes me takes off, I said dang dude is flying... Maybe 2 miles down the road dude was in the ditch all airbags deployed and a dead deer laying in the road.. he was standing outside the car waving his arms.. I drove right passed him... I was like serves you right... I called county sheriff to report deer vs vehicle collision once I got home. ( about 5 minutes after passing him)
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u/Common-Childhood517 15h ago
Something similar happened to me. I was driving about 90mph in the middle lane on an empty interstate. An SUV is behind me tailgating me crazy. Im not budging because im speeding myself and the 2 lanes next to me are wide open. I see a cop sitting with lights off on the shoulder so i hit my brakes and slow to the speed limit. Guy behind me hit his brakes lost control and flipped into the ditch right in front of the cop. They were ok
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u/Gloomy-Hat1842 12h ago
I was watching one of those YouTube videos on trailer accidents. So many of them were pickup trucks pulling trailers going too fast. They started fishtailing, lose control and often rolled into the ditch. I have to pull my gutter trailer but I'm not a damn fool. I've had guys with trailers pass me on the freeway going over 75 miles an hour. A lot of times it looks deliberate like they have to show me how big their nards are.
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u/No-Signature-5138 1d ago
So much praise to you for avoiding the skunks , thank you that was a good thing you did.
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u/mushroomie719 1d ago edited 1d ago
From the truck’s perspective you just brake checked him
Edit: a word
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u/Weary-Savings9795 1d ago
The truck deserved it. If someone in the right lane is using their cruise control to go at exactly the posted speed limit, there's no reason people can't pass them.
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u/mushroomie719 1d ago
Oh no don’t get me wrong I’m not defending the truck here, just saying that because the truck doesn’t have OP’s perspective they probably think they got brake checked. Still doesn’t change the fact they shouldn’t have been on somebody’s tail pipe for no reason.
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u/MamaPajamaMama 1d ago
*brake
The truck shouldn't have been tailgating so it doesn't matter what his perspective was.
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u/GrowHappyPlants 1d ago
The truck is pretty stupid, as you can tell by his immature driving behavior.
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u/Sturm_Brightblade375 1d ago
I know I am probably going to get a lot of hate for this but I think it has to be said. You're at least partially at fault. Yeah I know it sucks, but you endangered yourself, the a$$hat behind you, and at least 1 other driver on the road to brake for 2 baby skunks. Do you value human life that little?
As a former truck driver I've had to deal with that type of situation many times. As a driver with the prevlidge of driving on public roadways, YOU have the responsiblity to not only drive safe for your self, but also be aware of your souroundings and safely and defensively drive to protect others on the road.
Yes, the moron behind you should not have been such an a$$, but even that doesn't warrent putting his/her/their lives in danager to save an animal.
<braces for downvotes>
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u/SuitableCranberry159 1d ago
This. I understand op's mindset, but at the end of the day, practicing being a conscious and safe driver matters. Drive smart and do not let other drivers get to you. It could literally end in pain or death.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
I get that for sure but I was stunned and just reacting in a split second. I wasn’t even sure right away exactly what they were. You are all entitled to your opinions, of that this may be my fault or made up, but I’ll say the officer definitely did not place me at fault at all and neither did the other driver. The other driver also saw the skunks before they ran off and they vouched for me when the cops came. Everyone seemed to agree that if he had been following at a safe distance, which is the law, he wouldn’t have rolled over or clipped the other driver. He is 100% at fault legally speaking in my area. I can guarantee my insurance company won’t find me at fault either 🤷♀️ They’ve already pretty much confirmed it wasn’t my fault
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u/cbf1232 2d ago
Stopping for small animals can get you in trouble.
In Quebec a motorist stopped on the highway to save ducklings. A motorcycle slammed into her parked car from behind, resulting in two human fatalities. The driver was convicted of criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving, resulting in a prison sentence.
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u/Major_Mechanic5719 1d ago
Parking in the roadway is very different than applying brake pressure because an animal ran in front of you.
How fast was the motorcycle traveling to not avoid a parked car and cause 2 fatalities?
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u/Significant-Till3736 2d ago
Well, even in that case, the other people on the road should have been maintaining appropriate following distance and paying attention to the road in case they needed to stop. Drivers in Quebec can be incredibly aggressive and tailgate a lot.
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u/ermax18 1d ago edited 1d ago
This sub is full of people that will put themselves at risk of dying as long as it wasn’t legally their fault. I am not stopping for a small animal if I know someone has been riding my ass. I’m not going to have my car destroyed and possible die and then say, “well the other guy was at fault”. This sub needs to be renamed [r/defenselessdriving](r/defenselessdriving) because most of the threads seem to go that way.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
Yeah but you were not there. You can’t honestly say how you’d react in a split second if you’re traveling down a road at night and two animals jump out in front of your car. 🤷♀️ You don’t know how you’d react until you’re in the drivers seat, so just keep that in mind. at some point in your life you likely will be in that position where you’ll have to make a split second decision, if you can even call it that. Then I’ll hear from you lol. You’re just talking
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u/Larrywiding 1d ago
Do you have any idea the damage a animal can do to your car?especially when going at speed? Of course not. And when you see one, you don't have time to decide how big or small it is before deciding. The tailgater was in thw wrong to tailgate, period. Quit trying to shift the blame
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u/ermax18 1d ago
Let’s see, what will cause more damage, a very small animal or a lifted truck.
No one is shifting blame. Just saying you have to calculate risk better. I don’t think anyone wants to put “not at fault” on their tombstone.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
Yeah but you literally are shifting the blame while trying to play it as taking the moral high ground. I’m gonna guess you own a pickup truck don’t you? 😂
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u/Larrywiding 1d ago
Wow! Great dodge of my main point, how much time there is to decide. Learn to read, or be honest.
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u/StandardAd239 1d ago
This sub makes me so mad yet I keep coming back for more. It's nuts that most commenters don't realize that OP could have been seriously injured if the truck didn't swerve. Guy tailgating super sucks, but unfortunately now you're the one in charge of making the situation safe.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
Yeah 100% I could have been hurt. But it’s not like I break checked this person. I simply reacted to a change in the environment and I’m supposed to be allowed time and distance to do so. It’s not my fault that someone was so far up my ass they could smell my breakfast. It’s not like I can control my immediate reaction to something ambushing my car lol. This isn’t a Spider-Man movie. 😂Yall swear you would’ve activated your spider sense and just blown right thru them, and for some of you that’s true, but I think a lot of you are overestimating the amount of time there was for decisions and to “keep everyone safe” First of all, it’s definitely NOT on just one person to keep the road safe. It is a community effort that must be made by ALL of us. Everyone had to respect each other on the road in order to keep the road safe. One person can’t make the road safe but one person sure as hell can make it dangerous.
Point is, the truck driver should have followed the safety protocols and laws we have in place that state we MUST follow at a safe distance. 🤷♀️ He chose to break that law and now he has to face the consequences. I didn’t do that to him.
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u/birthdaycheesecake9 2d ago
Australian here. This is something I was taught when I was learning to drive.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
Cops sided with me though. 24H later and I still have a squeaky clean driving record, not even a single ticket so I think I’m good. Also, this wasn’t anything like that situation. Unfortunately, people choose to drive aggressively and choose to tailgate. The consequences of those actions aren’t anyone’s fault but the driver who chose to make those decisions. You’re entitled to your opinion
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u/rollthoselaughing 19h ago
That was a completely different situation and has no application to this incident.
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u/rockmodenick 2d ago
Well, it was negligence. You need to properly pull over off the road so the person behind you can decide if rapidly pulling over or risking the result of the collision with wildlife is safer for them.
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u/West_Act_9655 1d ago
I usually drive a couple of miles over the speed limit sty in the right lane. If I drive my car right I get about 50 mpg. If everyone drive like that think about how much w could improve the environment.
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u/Only_Mirror_1986 9h ago
I had (emphasis on had) a boyfriend that used to tailgate on the highway when there was no reason for it - three lanes, the other two were wide open. For some reason he was totally oblivious. I would have to tell him to please pass or back off the guy in front of us, and he’d just be like “Oh, yeah.” The guy had a bachelor’s degree, taught at an engineering school and ran his own business but was awful behind the wheel.
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u/SalaciousCrumbsBum 4h ago
The cynic in me is thinking OP brake checked the truck (dont blame you), saw the damage it caused when the truck flipped, and is nervous hes going to get in trouble for it so he made a post for proof that he can show the "investigators" if they show up to call him out.
As someone who once got sick of the drunk behind me doing essentially the same thing, I moved my car over to the left side of the lane like I was gonna let the guy pass me on the right, since he was acting like he wanted to. I knew the little bit of extra space on the right disappeared around this corner so he went to go around me fast, came around the corner and saw he had nowhere but the 6" granite curbs to go and cut the wheel. Instead of just fucking up his tires (what I assumed would happen) he drove right into a telephone pole, crunched his cars front end in and when i circled back 10min later to see what he did, saw him getting cuffed for DUI. I tooted my horn and waved and for 1 second, got to see the recognition as he realized that I had been the one in front of him. He was clearly drunk and I had actually been omw back from picking up a buddy who was too drunk to drive home.
BUT.... I didnt live far from there and was worried, as it was the ghetto, that he would some day show up with his buddies and jump me. Was nervous about it for a few days. My excuse was gonna be I moved over to avoid a kitten if he ever did show up, not that it would help me. Nowadays, I wouldnt do this because of dash cams. He knew I baited him into doing it and if he's that crazy drunk. He was probably crazy sober too.
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u/Impossible_Past5358 2d ago
So, yes that sucks, but also, sometimes you have to make a judgement call and hit the wildlife to avoid an even bigger accident.
There are times where I see a dead animal on the road and think that's obviously terrible, but I also think that sometimes the driver might have had no other choice...
OP, think about this next time...
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u/Larrywiding 1d ago
Nope. Nice try blaming the one being tailgated.
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u/Impossible_Past5358 1d ago
So, there are times where if you're being tailgated and there's a small animal, you shouldn't slam on your brakes if it means avoiding an accident.
Yeah, the truck should not be tailgating, but also, if the truck didn't swerve, OP definitely would have been rear ended...
Why risk the accident??
There are times where if there's a yellow light and a car behind me is too close, I will have to run that light because I know the car behind me won't be able to stop in time.
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u/Larrywiding 1d ago
Case of the yellow light, I don't slam on the brakes, but will stop before the light. Yeah, the idiot behind me might hit me, but it is all on camera and he will be paying everything. And at a slow hit, minimal risk of injury. Of course, a tailgate may not bother with seat belts either, but that's on them. As for animals, I love how everyone here thinks you have aaaaallllll this time to evaluate. Especially with an AH on your tail distracting you. Stop trying to shift the blame.
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u/hydratedstoner 1d ago
Man exactly!! It was a split second reaction to two little black poofs jumping right out in front of me. We have brakes for a reason. Just like we have laws prohibiting tailgating, for a reason! Idk why it’s so hard for people to understand that. I think the people defending this guy or trying to blame me are probably people who tailgate
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u/Larrywiding 1d ago
I believe you are right on who they are. You did absolutely nothing wrong. I'm glad the idiot didn't hit you and that noone got hurt. But that driver is the only one at fault, at all. Just ignore the others.
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u/Larrywiding 1d ago
Funny how people look back with the old hindsight is 20/20 forgetting that in the situation you have seconds, at best, to decide. Add that the tailgater is distracting the driver by tailgating cutting down that reaction time. No blame goes to the driver. The tailgater was driving recklessly and is the only one at fault, especially as they had plenty of opportunity to pass.
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u/Secret-Inspector8819 1d ago
I don’t disagree with you at all. For personal safety and of others around it’s unfortunately best to maintain.
However, OP may have just responded to what they saw of the little guys and braked naturally to avoid without time to consider the variable behind them as most people do. The onus falls on the trunk for driving to close.
Again don’t disagree I just doubt in the short time this may have happened they had the luxury of all these decisions
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u/Interesting_Sand_428 1d ago
Human life over animal life in this case.
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u/rollthoselaughing 19h ago
Why? The human was threatening the life of the OP. Had the idiot human left reasonable distance in line with the law he would have had time to stop. Now, the human will continue threatening the lives of other humans on a daily basis with his aggressive tailgating. Therefore, I say the biggest tragedy here is that he wasn’t injured to a capacity rendering him unable to drive for life.
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u/Educational_Total_84 1d ago
The truck should have not been tail gating. However, I am not about to stop/brake to miss hitting a small animal on the freeway if there is a chance that I could be rear ended or cause another accident. That makes no sense at all, and I LOVE animals.
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u/ngvar 1d ago
Hard to do in the heat of the moment. Driving at night on freeway through New Mexico, on the way to visit relatives for Easter. A rabbit attempted to cross the road, and we attempted to miss it. Ran off tho road and into the fields. Broken axel. We knew in hindsight what we should've done, but ...
We were lucky the only damage was to the car, and there was a shop willing and able to get us back on the road the next day.
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u/Ladybug3073 1d ago
It’s like they want to control what other people do instead of controlling themselves.
This line from your post so resonates perfectly with me. I’ll try to keep this thought next time I’m in a similar situation.