(11-01-2025, 07:27 AM)Olive Wrote: I watched that video clip in horror. I wonder if the driver was properly licensed? The company owning the truck isn't exactly renowned for its integrity. A few years ago there was a big scandal about corruption in several Waikato branches of VTNZ whereby some officials were selling licences, particularly heavy truck licenses. Every time I see a badly behaved truck I wonder about the capability of the driver.This report in the Herald includes the speed of the vehicle whose dashcam was recording the incident (which the TV footage chose to crop out at the crucial time). I can totally understand the truckie's frustration with a slow car in the 'passing lane' doing around 45kph as the truck was trying to maintain momentum on a long uphill climb. Once the truck loses that momentum it becomes a real grind for them as they juggle between low gears. The overtaken car is just fortunate that the truck didn't choose to overtake them on the left, as I would have done in the same situation (though in rewatching the video the truck being overtaken by both of them would have prevented this).
We've seen some horrible truck driving when driving back from Auckland late at night - articulated trucks driving in convoys and having fun by overtaking one another on narrow country roads.
My observation is that the truck travelling at speed came upon a car hogging the passing lane who failed to move over or accelerate when the truck started filling his rear vision mirror (possibly also warning the car with a horn blast but no audio on the dashcam video) so was forced to decide whether to brake and lose his uphill momentum or use his speed to overtake, admittedly with some risk involved. Also the front pillar and speed recorded by the dashcam would suggest it was in another truck which the J-Swap truck was just completing an overtaking move on so what added risk was then presented if the overtaking truck chose to stay behind the white car? Cut in short on the other truck or be beside it as the passing lane finished?
Having travelled that road many times I know that similar situations aren't uncommon and that the behaviour of light vehicles is often very inconsiderate and frequently dangerous to other road users and particular heavy vehicles.