The driver of the gas tanker truck involved in an altercation with a bus on the Beitbridge – Masvingo highway has spoken out publicly about the incident which went viral on social media.
In the video, a bus is seen overtaking a gas tanker truck on a very narrow road.
A car approaches on the oncoming lane forcing the bus driver to swerve off to the right shoulder of the road allowing the car to pass between him and the truck.
Immediately after it passes, the visibly enraged bus driver re-enters the road and cuts accross the front of the gas tanker and blocks it.
Both vehicles stop and some people can be seen exiting the bus and go towards the truck.
According to the truck driver, the bus passengers were berating him for not moving left to allow the bus to overtake.
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“The road is too narrow, as seen in the video. I was travelling at about 45km/h due to the poor road condition. You can’t simply swerve off the road when transporting gas, a crash could be catastrophic,” the driver explained to SA Trucker.
He mentioned that the road’s edges were too sharp, requiring a significant reduction in speed to safely move left.
The video has been a subject of heated debate on social media as users look at what could have gone wrong and what each driver could have done to avoid the situation.
Some say the truck driver should have reduced his speed to allow the bus to pass while some blame the bus driver for overtaking unsafely.
Despite the debate, analyzing the sequence of events reveals that the bus driver’s impatience primarily caused the scenario.
Had he waited for a safe opportunity to overtake, the incident likely wouldn’t have occurred.
On the side of the truck driver, defensive driving calls for a driver to treat every other driver as they are crazy, the bus driver in this instance, meaning you should not fight with them but rather let them pass.
In this case, the truck driver’s decision to maintain a steady speed and direction, instead of abruptly braking or swerving, was a sensible choice given the clear road ahead and the hazardous nature of his cargo. What’s your take?
