lorry vs 211

[nick mercedes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1LM8TtSLZ0

 

[glojo]

Hi Nick,
That footage baffles me!

Was it set up for a film?

I ask this because it is excellent footage without any shake, distortion etc and the truck driver does not even attempt to brake? Surely it would be a human reaction to instantly brake? The truck could so easily have driven straight over the car?

? = questions

Nice car control though

Regards
John

 

[nick mercedes]

Hi Nick,
That footage baffles me!

Was it set up for a film?

Supposedly it was just a coincidence?

If it was set up for TV they might have just a banger instead of a 211?

I know what you mean though.

 

[prprandall51]

Very interesting clip - but not as entertaining as the comments posted on YouTube below it! It is amazing how, in only 4 postings, the posters get down to some very real and unpleasant abuse about each other. Makes you realise what a friendly and polite forum this is.

To my eye, the camera angle doesn't change its position in the rear window throughout the incident and there is no attempt to "stay with" the action as it unfurls - it seems to be mostly luck that the the entire incident stays in-shot. Also, the filming car doesn't slow down to track the action. Therefore, I guess it is for real - the luckily-filmed clips that happen once in a blue moon (if you keep a camera running all the time )

 

[evdok]

Staged 100%

 

[RedDog]

The lorry must be one of those foreign left hookers that seem to be side swiping vehicles on our motorways!

 

[television]

Maybe the lorry driving had been dosing off and driving erratically and the car that filmed it knew that somthing would happen

 

[jaymanek]

Maybe the lorry driving had been dosing off and driving erratically and the car that filmed it knew that somthing would happen

maybe but he was indicating though!

 

[jaymanek]

I actually think we have decent lane discipline over here... In america (south and north) it just seems everyone over & under takes, usually resulting in the slow lane being the middle one..

 

[Dryce]

maybe but he was indicating though!

The narrator mentions that the camera shot is wide angle so the distances look greater than they really are and the truck is a car length behind the car doing the filming.

So the trucker is tailgating and probably too focused on the car in front and only glances in his mirrors. Missing the W211. He may also be trying to undertake the vehicle with the camera (it's not clear whether the truck accelerates).

 

[glojo]

The narrator mentions that the camera shot is wide angle so the distances look greater than they really are and the truck is a car length behind the car doing the filming.

So the trucker is tailgating and probably too focused on the car in front and only glances in his mirrors. Missing the W211. He may also be trying to undertake the vehicle with the camera (it's not clear whether the truck accelerates).

My point is that the instant that truck collected the car it would need a fair amount of effort to keep the truck at its original speed? The truck drive3r does not deviate NOR SLOW DOWN!!!! What type of human being will ram a car and keep their foot on the throttle? What type of driver would not even react when they collect a car?

I am not saying it's a set-up, but I am saying there are lots of questions that need answering.

The camera is not a cheap mobile phone thingie and it is extremely steady, so it must surely be fitted for a reason?

I'm certainly curious and at the moment I still have very strong doubts.

Regards
John the doubter

 

[Carrotchomper]

This was a story on A Current Affair which was about dangerous driving. By coincidence the car that was fitted with cameras to demonstrate this was directly in front of an accident inside the Domain tunnel, so it was captured on video.

Watch the marone mercedes move into the centre lane, out of view of the truck's mirrors as he indicates to change into the same lane. Once the truckie moves left a collision is inevitable.

I still reckon it's set up though. All seems too calm and controlled for a start.

 

[talltimtam]

On further inspection I am sure that the driver of the MB is wearing a crash helmet. Its not the Stig is it ???

 

[BIGjoe]

Writing as a HGV owner, operator and driver, I would say its genuine.
Its never happened to me, but I've witnessed similar incidents and spoken to many drivers over the years who have been through the same scenario.

The truck is RHD, he checked that the middlelane was empty and started to indicate and move over, reconcentrating on the road ahead, the car moved into his blind spot. As the car was a dark colour, and in a tunnel it would not stand out anyway.
The collision was pretty gentle, so would be undetectable to the truck driver at first until the car swung around the front of the truck and into view of the driver.
The friction of four car tyres would be no competition against the sheer mass of a fully loaded truck which could weigh up to 25 times more than the car, hence the truck seeming to continue at the same velocity. As for not stopping, the truck driver would be more concerned in controlling his vehicle in a confined space and slowing gently.

Who's fault?. I would say 50:50, as neither driver double checked or could see that the lane was still empty as they executed their move, the truck moved as soon as he indicated, the car drifted over without indicating at all.

 

[Dragon]

Hi Nick,
That footage baffles me!

Was it set up for a film?

I ask this because it is excellent footage without any shake, distortion etc and the truck driver does not even attempt to brake? Surely it would be a human reaction to instantly brake? The truck could so easily have driven straight over the car?

? = questions

Nice car control though

Regards
John

The driver is asleep.

 

[glojo]

The driver is asleep.

I was thinking that and perhaps the truck had cruise control BUT............. The lorry actually indicates before changing lanes.

Note how the 211 keeps the rear wheels under slight power to keep it in exactly the right location.

I have no idea how much energy is required to move a 211 sideways, but it will be very significant and will effect momentum.

Even though the filming car is some distance in front of this scenario, we can quite clearly hear the very loud screeching of tyres.

I wonder if this was some stunt for a film or Australian Soap?

Regards
John the doubter

 

[Dryce]

Note how the 211 keeps the rear wheels under slight power to keep it in exactly the right location.

That's kind of how all factors line up to cause a real accident.

I have no idea how much energy is required to move a 211 sideways, but it will be very significant and will effect momentum.

Basically it's an elastic collision. So the momentum of the car and truck are combined. It depends on how heavy the truck is. 40 tonnes? In which case a W211 at under 2 tonnes isn't more than a small %.

There was a thread some months back about a W211 hitting the back of a truck on an autobahn. The car was travelling at very high speed. However the truck driver reportedly initially thought he'd had a tyre burst. He would have had a jolt but the car is so puny that even travelling at three times the truck's speed there was only a small increase in speed of the combined crashed vehicles immediately after the collision.

That's physics.

 

[glojo]

I could understand if the 211 driver was to either floor the throttle, engage reverse and floor the throttle, or stomp on the brakes out of sheer terror. We are talking about a huge lorry, allegedly unexpectedly clipping the rear quarter of a car. Instead of reacting in a panic, or survival mode this car driver that allegedly has a crash helmet on reacts by keeping the car in exactly the centreline of the truck by very skillful, gentle use of the throttle. Sorry, but I just don't buy it.

Regarding the physics, I accept that the 211 weighs under 2 tonnes and I accept that you could possibly move the car on a level road, but how much energy will it take to move the thing sideways? Of course that large lorry with its possible load is very heavy and forward momentum will assist in moving the car, but please turn up the volume on your computer and listen to the screeching of the 211's tyres!! It is extremely loud and that is due to the tyres gripping the tarmac.

I am not ruling out the fact this 'might' be an accident but I do not accept the truck driver would not be aware and even if he were deaf and blind, which I doubt is probable, he will also have to have no sense of smell as the pong of burning rubber will very quickly have been apparent. Everything, but everything is just 'strange'

I commend the car driver and admire the skill he is demonstrating in keeping the car perfectly placed, but how many car drivers have we seen wearing crash helmets on their daily commute?

Regards
John the doubter

 

[BIGjoe]

I could understand if the 211 driver was to either floor the throttle, engage reverse and floor the throttle, or stomp on the brakes out of sheer terror. We are talking about a huge lorry, allegedly unexpectedly clipping the rear quarter of a car. Instead of reacting in a panic, or survival mode this car driver that allegedly has a crash helmet on reacts by keeping the car in exactly the centreline of the truck by very skillful, gentle use of the throttle. Sorry, but I just don't buy it.

I've seen it happen once, and I've seen the aftermath several times where the drivers have left the vehicles where they came to rest whilst waiting for the Police, once a car is across the front of a truck its not going anywhere, whether the driver is a stuntman or not, they stick like glue because of the friction created by the truck pushing against the car.

Regarding the physics, I accept that the 211 weighs under 2 tonnes and I accept that you could possibly move the car on a level road, but how much energy will it take to move the thing sideways? Of course that large lorry with its possible load is very heavy and forward momentum will assist in moving the car, but please turn up the volume on your computer and listen to the screeching of the 211's tyres!! It is extremely loud and that is due to the tyres gripping the tarmac.

The contact area of the four cars tyre would not amount to more than two of the truck tyres, and anyone who's driven a truck when a brake chamber has blown on a trailer, and locked one set of wheels will vouch that the resistance offered is marginal, and only the sight of smoke in the mirrors, or the air pressure heading downwards is a clue something is wrong.

I am not ruling out the fact this 'might' be an accident but I do not accept the truck driver would not be aware and even if he were deaf and blind, which I doubt is probable, he will also have to have no sense of smell as the pong of burning rubber will very quickly have been apparent. Everything, but everything is just 'strange'

I think he was aware, but probably experienced enough to know that an emergency stop in a confined space, driving a heavy vehicle with a car stuck to his bumper, in the outside lane of a busy motorway wasn't in his best interests.

 

[chriswt]

Seems like a set up to me.

oh and all the usual intellectual, well written and constructive comment on youtube that go with every clip!!!!