In a viral TikTok video, a truck driver warns users about the dangers of cutting off a semi-truck in traffic.
“Everytime you go to cut off a truck, I hope you’re willing to die behind this 80,000 lb death machine,” the text overlay reads.
The trucker, Rieke Smiley (user @_hmrieke), says that when trucks are cut off by other cars, truck drivers are often unable to control what happens.
“All we can do is try to stop. We can’t choose where the truck, trailer, or the load goes. Maybe it’ll crack your skull or go through your spine… Make better choices,” Smiley wrote via text on the video.
In 2019, there were over 500,000 accidents involving semi-trucks, including those resulting in property damage, injuries, or fatalities, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The TikToker notes this statistic in her caption.
“I watch all of y’all in disbelief. And most of the time there’s a car seat in the back,” she said. “It’s serious man. There’s close to 500,000 truck accidents a year & it’s not always the trucker’s fault. Even before I started trucking I was considerate to everybody on the road.”
The video garnered over 200,000 views, and several users shared their fears of trucks in the comments.
“If you Google what a car looks like after you would never do it again,” one user said.
“This is why I make sure to give truckers plenty of space before getting in front of them… not worth the risk,” said another.
“I’m terrified of semis.. i have to either slow way down or go faster even if they’re in the lane next to me bc i feel like they’ll fall on me 😅,” a third user said.
However, several others warned about their experiences with uncareful truck drivers.
“idk what’s up with truck drivers lately but i have almost got hit by them like 10 times this year bc they don’t look and merge into my lane,” one user said.
“How about when truckers play lane hopping when no on is even on front of them,” said another.
Smiley responded, suggesting that truck drivers rarely switch lanes without a valid reason. “If we’re lane hopping there’s probably a reason. We either see something you can’t or the pavement is bad,” she said.
“There’s careless truckers as well that will keep speeding behind u till u move bc if not u will be the one gone,” another user said.
The TikToker agreed with the user in a comment, noting that some truck drivers are not as careful as they should be. “Facts. There’s a ton of a$$hole truck drivers, they do the same thing to me. The best thing to do is stay away from trucks period,” she said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Smiley via TikTok comment.
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