A video showing a driver brake checking a heavy truck on a freeway in Wisconsin last week sparked a conversation about road rage and risky driving maneuvers.
The dashcam video, which was posted on October 18, shows an SUV cutting directly in front of a heavy-duty concrete pouring truck and slamming on the brakes. The concrete pouring truck then locks up its brakes and lays down a long stretch of rubber as it tries to avoid demolishing the aggressive SUV.
Fox 6 showed the video to John Mueller, a driving instructor at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, WI, to get his insight on the dangers of brake checking.
"Oh my gosh. That's life and death right there," he told the station. "You've really got to think about what it takes to stop a vehicle of that size. How many feet per second you're really traveling at 60 miles-per-hour, which is about 90 feet every second."
Mueller said hazardous conditions such as rain or snow just compound the problem. Slippery roads reduce a truck's stopping ability, making brake checking even more dangerous. Sergeant Luke Newman of the Wisconsin State Patrol also weighed in on the video, stating that he understands why drivers lash out, but it's still a terrible idea.
"People get frustrated. There's a little bit of road rage going on. They think 'I'm going to show this guy' and hit their brakes in front of them. That is a very bad idea."
Road rage is always a bad idea, and it can become very dangerous very quickly. This driver was lucky. According to AAA, Aggressive driving accounts for more than half of all traffic fatalities.
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The dashcam video, which was posted on October 18, shows an SUV cutting directly in front of a heavy-duty concrete pouring truck and slamming on the brakes. The concrete pouring truck then locks up its brakes and lays down a long stretch of rubber as it tries to avoid demolishing the aggressive SUV.
Fox 6 showed the video to John Mueller, a driving instructor at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, WI, to get his insight on the dangers of brake checking.
"Oh my gosh. That's life and death right there," he told the station. "You've really got to think about what it takes to stop a vehicle of that size. How many feet per second you're really traveling at 60 miles-per-hour, which is about 90 feet every second."
Mueller said hazardous conditions such as rain or snow just compound the problem. Slippery roads reduce a truck's stopping ability, making brake checking even more dangerous. Sergeant Luke Newman of the Wisconsin State Patrol also weighed in on the video, stating that he understands why drivers lash out, but it's still a terrible idea.
"People get frustrated. There's a little bit of road rage going on. They think 'I'm going to show this guy' and hit their brakes in front of them. That is a very bad idea."
Road rage is always a bad idea, and it can become very dangerous very quickly. This driver was lucky. According to AAA, Aggressive driving accounts for more than half of all traffic fatalities.
Related Video:
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