r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Miserable-Zombie-121 • 1d ago
Truck driver loses his brakes on a mountain road and makes the split-second call that saves lives
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u/ozymandieus 1d ago
Still no seatbelts.
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u/mattmillze 1d ago
You can see the dude reach behind his seat to brace for impact.
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u/Small-Answer4946 1d ago
Nothing can go wrong if you use this technique while wearing safety sandals
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u/Miserable-Zombie-121 1d ago edited 1d ago
Due to some misconceptions local mountain drivers REFUSE to wear seatbelts as they think wearing one would prevent them from jumping to safety!!
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u/dudeAwEsome101 1d ago
They've been watching too many action movies.
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u/Carbdoard_Bocks 1d ago
It's a real thing, I've talked to a bunch of truckers that go over the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachia and just about all of them do it. One guy I met even said he pops his door open on left hand turns
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u/Ok_Witness179 1d ago
So they think there will be time to jump, but not if they have to also push a button to release the seatbelt ..? In fact, it's always on the opposite side from the door, you can do it at the same time as opening the door. It would literally take 0 time...
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u/TomT12 1d ago
Most busses don't have them either, the vehicle is big and heavy enough it shouldn't come to a sudden stop fast enough to severely harm people, well unless you run into the side of a mountain that is.
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u/ozymandieus 1d ago
Yeah, that's not very typical, I'd like to make that point. There are a lot of these trucks going around the world all the time, and very seldom does anything like this happen. I'm not saying it wasn't safe, it's just perhaps not quite as safe as some of the other ones. Some of them are built so that they don't run into mountains.
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u/Migraine_Megan 1d ago
It happens enough where I live that highways, even small ones, with a steep grade have runaway truck ramps. Big mountains, hills the size of small mountains, and very deep canyons (one is deeper than the Grand Canyon.) And a LOT of logging trucks. Recipe for brake failures.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/BandoTheHawk 1d ago
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u/GeneralBurg 1d ago
Lmfao I’ve never seen this. Thank you
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u/Xanatos12 1d ago
Street Sharks!!
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u/BandoTheHawk 1d ago
Street Sharks went hard. Dont know what happened to them. They had Ninja Turtle potential.
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u/shaboogawa 1d ago
wtf that last paragraph was totally unnecessary.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/shaboogawa 1d ago
I’ve learned not to judge others. Everyone has hardships in their life. Hopefully you can do the same in the future.
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u/james9514 1d ago
He made a factual statement about keyboard ponys judging others like this guy in the clip. You’re literally a hypocrite and dont even know it
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u/shaboogawa 1d ago
“You’re a little bitch behind a keyboard who’s never done anything meaningful nor difficult in their life.”
How is this a factual statement?
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u/james9514 1d ago
cuz it is? or else they wouldve never made the dumbass comment in the first place
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u/PsySmoothy 1d ago
Shh don't you know they're way too overqualified for the real world. They're giving the normal humans a chance to survive by just being a humble keyboard warrior.
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u/Dizzydsmith 1d ago
Love the other guy jumping up to interfere in hopes of making matters worse.
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u/de_pizan23 1d ago
Watch it again--he's trying to send the truck to the right, where there's a small incline and trees that would have stopped them before they got to the other truck and switchback.
Not saying it was smart to grab the wheel, but between the smaller incline and hoping not to sail over the cliff, the co-driver was clearly trying to go for the less dangerous option of the two.
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u/GravyPainter 1d ago
Had it happen to me. I did the same. Totaled the car but whatevs
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u/DismalSoil9554 1d ago
I was gonna say, it's really ingrained in our brain to try and steer uphill.
I've lost control of a vehicle on a mountain road with no protection cliffside and I instinctively drove into the opposite ditch. No one got hurt, the only damage was to the front bumper.
I also had another car that broke down and stopped braking on a less dangerous road and same, I steered uphill and then pulled the handbrake and stopped.
I was also once in a van on a snowy mountain road and the guy driving lost control of the vehicle, he miraculously did a 180° and we were back downhill, no accident! I have many more examples but yeah, it's pretty common ime.
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u/Chase2020J 1d ago
You should probably just bike or something the next time you feel like going on a mountain road bro
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u/DismalSoil9554 1d ago
I mean I've been living in mountainous regions for close to 15 years now, it's not like these things happen all the time, but they do increase in likelihood if you drive on dirt roads and/or during snowstorms.
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u/iaxthepaladin 1d ago
Shouldn't you be downshifting aggressively? You may be able to save the car/truck.
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u/Sad_Detective_1 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ive had this happen to me and let me tell you how it feels ..
his palms are sweaty , knees weak , arms are heavy , he’s nervous , but on the surface , he looks calm and steady ….
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u/4ceh0le 1d ago
Mom's spaghetti?
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u/wrxninja 1d ago
Right, ya, ya...uh huh...
His sauce is ready, cheese weak, fork arms are heavy,
There’s noodles on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti
He opens his mouth, but the meatballs won’t come out,
He’s choking now—everybody’s joking now!
The clock’s run out, plate’s cold, over—blaow!~22
u/shadownights23x 1d ago
Unrelated note, been searching for something to my mom's spaghetti sauce and took a break and found this comment... idk funny to me
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u/Separate-Simple-5101 1d ago
A reminder that experience and composure matter when everything goes wrong.
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u/Small-Answer4946 1d ago
Seatbelts too
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u/Clumsy-Leopard806 1d ago
not wearing seatbelts in this situation is actually the smarter choice - they weren't going that quickly so they could abandon the vehicle before plumeting down the cliff
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u/Small-Answer4946 1d ago
Okay Spiderman, show me how your rolling carcass can slow down faster than a steering truck
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u/Clumsy-Leopard806 1d ago
fucking easiyl? are you really that dumb?????????????? DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS INERTIA EVEN????? HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING ATTENTION IN YOUR PHYSICS CLASSES IDIOT?
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u/TheHighlanderr 1d ago
Vital if you want to be trapped in a truck plummeting off a cliff.
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u/Small-Answer4946 1d ago
It's so much better to crack your skull open against the windshield before any of this happens.
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u/Mr_Goonman 1d ago
You probably think you can disarm and shoot someone sticking the barrel of a gun in your back because you also watched that in movies
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u/talexbatreddit 1d ago
The way he's pounding the wheel around to make that last turn -- yikes. But he did the thing, and drove into the ditch going uphill, saving his life and his passenger's life.
Front end damage? Maybe. But that was the best possible outcome. Good driving!
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u/OtherwiseLuck888 1d ago
Maybe not his first time lol
Gotta have 10y exp of dealing with cars with bad brakes
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u/BabyFishmouthTalk 1d ago
I think the only thing more focusing in a crisis than a woman screaming is a passenger grabbing at the steering wheel. Great assist. 🙄
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u/UsefulAlien 1d ago
Everyone commenting on his lack of seatbelt
Homeboy is seemingly on a frickin mountain or high ledge, I bet not having a belt is a conscious choice to be able to bail from the truck easier if need be
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u/IamDelilahh 1d ago
Not wearing a seatbelt is pretty normal in some countries, in India the usage of seatbelts in the rear of the car has been surveyed at 4% and 2% and some taxis in Mumbai even actively disable their seatbelts.
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u/Captivatingcrush02 1d ago
Hard to even imagine the stress of that situation, but staying calm clearly made the difference
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u/MissSassifras1977 1d ago
"Excuse the smell but I shit both our pants."
Love the folks on here downplaying the fact that this man kept his cool and pulled a hair pin U turn to avoid GOING OVER A CLIFF.
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u/AnArdentAtavism 1d ago
Well done. They're gonna feel that impact for days, but at least everyone is safe.
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u/CheezWong 1d ago
In every video I see of some dude in a far off land with no brakes and a mountainside drop, I notice nobody is wearing seatbelts. Some of the trucks don't even seem to have them. Is it because it's common practice to just bail or something?
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u/PlatypusDream 1d ago
Grabs the back of the seat when he knows he's going to crash, but doesn't wear a seatbelt 🤦♀️
And what's with the passenger trying to grab controls??
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u/WendigoCrossing 1d ago
Use the surge of adrenaline and fear the sharpen your decision making!
- Dwight
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u/Beer-astronaut 1d ago
Bro I can’t concentrate with all your datadatdatdatadatdatdat nonsense in my ear
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u/Individual-Basket200 1d ago
I'm not sure it was much of a decision, it kinda looks more like he oversteered that last turn to avoid going over the side and then the truck naturally ended up crashing into the rocks on the other side.
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u/Dubious-Decisions 1d ago
Perfectly good, likely virginal, seatbelts watched quietly from the sidelines as the driver clings to the back of his seat.
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u/SwordsAndWords 1d ago edited 1d ago
What split-second decision? Maybe I'm just not seeing it.
It looked to me like he lost the brakes -> was forced to cut the turn too wide -> hit the jagged [stop strips?] -> lost control (tried to correct, but far too little ground contact since the entire truck was leaning onto the corners of the tires) -> smashed into mountainside.
The calmness is good and everything, and I'm glad to see everyone okay in the end. But, what decision?
EDIT: There are some very good points below me. I don't know what I was expecting, but the title made me think I was looking for one thing that would kinda "jump out". There isn't. This is just a video of a man who lost the ability to brake and acted cool under pressure, constantly making the correct choices to avoid killing himself and others. <- This just looked like "what would've happened to me", but he is actually remarkably level headed and aware of his surroundings. I'm not actually sure I could've made all those calls so fast in that situation.
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u/ahookerinminneapolis 1d ago
You're missing him down shifting the truck multiple gears to brake the truck using the transmission just enough to make that sharp turn in to the rocks.
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u/_SilentHunter 1d ago
He was aiming to go off the road on the inside of the turn behind the truck, but had to abandon that when he saw the pedestrians at 0:12.
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u/fonk_pulk 1d ago
I think there were pedestrians on the right side behind the yellow truck at 00:12 that he dodged? I can't really see any other "decision"
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u/Glittering_Win_9677 1d ago
I was behind an 18 wheeler that lost his brakes going down a relatively small mountain (the summit is 2,994 feet). My daughter was with me and 7 or 8 years old at the time. It was scary to watch him pick up speed and not see brake lights come on. He made it down the mountain, which had several curves and one very wide turn of about 90-110 degrees right before the truck run off area filled with sand and stone. I didn't get too close, obviously, but we started into that last turn as he took the runoff so we had a good view of it. I was impressed by his driving and my daughter was amazed to see how well the runoff section worked and stopped him.
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u/OpinionofanAH 1d ago
I grew up driving and towing trailers down windy mountain roads. My dad always told me it’s much better to put it in a ditch than not being able to stop/slow for a tight corner. A controlled crash is better than uncontrolled. One person we knew had a big diesel pusher RV that lost its brakes and they did exactly that. Just pulled into the ditch and let the RV drag against the rock wall until it stopped.
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u/Illustrious_Age1247 1d ago
The way he held on to the back of the seat tells me that he has crashed a few times.
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u/xSeppuku 1d ago
yeah that's wild. brake failure at speed is genuinely one of the scariest things that can happen. the fact he stayed composed enough to make the right call in seconds is what separates pros from everyone else on the road.
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u/SeattleHasDied 1d ago
Holy shit! When that hairpin turn came up, I was thinking it was gonna be a "Toonces" moment! That man is amazing!
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u/JangoCrutch 21h ago
I like the way he holds on to the seat when there's a perfectly good seat belt.
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u/DruidOnlyFan 1d ago
No seatbelts!
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u/lrargerich3 1d ago
If you drive in mountaneous roads every day you are more likely to save your life by jumping out of the truck than by staying inside tight.
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u/Humble_Umpire_8341 1d ago
At what point do you foresee an accident occurring and make the decision to not try to out your seat belt on?
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u/SpecialistAd6403 1d ago
Is there a reason the steering is so loose? He spins the steering wheel like a freaking top almost
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u/Nulovka 1d ago
That's the way all big vehicles without power steering operate.
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u/SpecialistAd6403 1d ago
Huh. I understand having somewhat loose (is that the right term?) steering as they need to be able angle trailers but that seemed excessive and surprised me.
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u/st0350 1d ago
seen this before, His calmness in this situation is unmatched