A truck driver captured a heart-stopping moment on a South African road at night when a fellow trucker, seemingly dozing off, drove contra-flow into oncoming traffic.
The chilling 2 minute 9 seconds video shows a blue side tipper interlink driving on the wrong side of the road and continuing to drive straight on the oncoming lane. It’s pitch dark and the road is quiet — until headlights from an oncoming car suddenly appear, directly in the path of the truck.
The driver filming from behind immediately realises the danger. In a frantic attempt to get the sleeping trucker’s attention, he hoots repeatedly and flashes his lights. But the sleepy driver remains unaware, blindly continuing into the danger zone.
What follows is a terrifying near miss — the oncoming vehicle swerves onto the shoulder at the very last second, avoiding a deadly head-on crash by mere metres.
Finally, as if jolted awake by the danger, the blue truck driver corrects his path and flashes his hazards in a sheepish apology.
Watch: Wide Awake Danger: Why Haven’t We Passed Laws to Combat Driver Fatigue?
By pure grace, this incident didn’t end in tragedy.
Unfortunately, this is just one of many close calls that happen on our roads daily, most of which never make it to the public eye due to a lack of footage.
Driver fatigue remains one of the most serious threats in long-distance trucking, especially at night. It’s high time this issue gets the attention it deserves.
Watch the video below and share to raise awareness — one second of sleep behind the wheel is all it takes to destroy lives.
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