
It’s difficult to scroll through social media these days without seeing the results of a tractor-trailer crash, or dash cam footage of another terrifying near miss.
Are the roads really this unsafe? Or is the ubiquity of such clips the result of the fact everyone has a dash cam, and an impulsive urge to share their experiences with the world? It’s likely a combination of both.

Nonetheless, during a recent visit to X, I saw a clip from a popular account that showed frightening footage of a near head-on collision between two tractor-trailers in Northern Ontario.
The footage came from the dash cam of a tractor-trailer driven by an alert driver on Hwy. 11 between Nipigon and Orient Bay, Ont. The driver slowed down and pulled to the right to avoid colliding with an oncoming tractor-trailer that appeared to be passing on a curve with a solid yellow.
The eye-catching livery of SSP Group of Companies was clearly visible on the side of the trailer as it flashed by, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision. Like many others who saw the clip, I jumped to conclusions. Driver was in a hurry? Driver was frustrated? Driver was under pressure to get the load delivered on an impossible schedule? Driver had been held up by bad weather or a breakdown and was now making up for lost time?
Blame and shame
It didn’t matter. The driver was wrong. Passing on a solid yellow on that two-lane stretch of highway was unacceptable under any circumstances. Shame on him. And shame on SSP Group.
But…wait. Not long after, on LinkedIn, I saw footage of the same incident from a very different angle, which told a very different story. SSP countered the viral video with dash cam footage from its own tractor.
It clearly showed a truck that was disabled on the shoulder pulling back onto the road, seemingly without noticing the SSP unit approaching from behind. The SSP driver reacted quickly to avoid a certain collision.
You can read a more complete breakdown of the incident here.
There will be armchair safety managers who, from the comfort of their offices, will question the driver’s split-second decision to enter an oncoming lane rather than steering into the ditch or into the rear of the tractor-trailer that had invaded his space.
Either decision would’ve resulted in a certain crash and high chance of injury to the SSP driver. I’m not here to judge. I learned my lesson to not jump to conclusions when I watched the first clip of the incident.
What the second clip from within the SSP truck clearly showed, was that the SSP driver who initially appeared to be at fault, did not cause the circumstances that led to the near miss. His quick reaction, in fact, almost certainly prevented a serious wreck from occurring.
Take back the narrative
To the credit of SSP, it presented its own dash cam footage that countered the viral video without laying blame. Instead, it used it as a teaching moment, to educate viewers on the company’s safety programs and driver training initiatives.
“At SSP, we don’t just prepare our drivers — we equip them to handle the most unexpected and dangerous situations with expertise and professionalism,” the company wrote on its LinkedIn feed, in a message accompanying its video. “Through rigorous training, our drivers learn to stay calm, make quick decisions, and manage high-pressure scenarios with precision. This level of preparation ensures they can navigate even the most shocking, uncontrollable situations safely, putting safety first every time.”
It ended with a call to action, an invitation for anyone to call the company at any time if they’d like to learn more about how SSP ensures safe driving. Well done.
Dash cams are everywhere. Few collisions, near misses or egregiously dangerous driving behaviors will go uncaptured and unshared. We must all keep in mind that one clip doesn’t tell the entire story, and avoid jumping to conclusions. And if you’re a safety manager or fleet owner, remember too not to let someone else’s dash cam tell your story.
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