
Here’s a cautionary tale of how sometimes a front-facing camera in a truck does not reveal both sides of a story. And, if you are being vilified as a bad guy online, it may be helpful to have a camera in your truck.
A video of a recent close call on Hwy. 11 between Nipigon and Orient Bay in northern Ontario went viral when a head-on collision between transport trucks was narrowly avoided.

The dashcam footage from a truck shows another truck passing a commercial vehicle over solid double yellow lines on a curve on the single-lane roadway at highway speed. The driver of the truck from where the video was recorded, quickly applied the brakes allowing the passing truck to squeeze through and avoiding a head-on collision.
Online abuse
The truck that crossed into oncoming traffic was identified as belonging to SSP Group of Companies. The online reaction was quick and brutal.
Words like “reckless driving”, “Paki”, “should be deported”, “take his licence away”, “brown guys who can’t speak English”, “Jeets” and other abuse flowed in comment sections on social media.
That’s when SSP decided to release the dashcam footage from its own truck, Sam Vashist, the group’s CEO told TruckNews.com.

SSP’s video shows their vehicle approaching a curve in the roadway at highway speed, when a driver slowly maneuvers their truck onto the highway from the shoulder, seemingly without checking to see if traffic was approaching.

The SSP driver moves into the oncoming lane to avoid crashing into the back of the trailer that entered the roadway. You can see the oncoming truck slowing down, allowing the SSP vehicle to return to the proper lane and avoiding a head-on collision.

Vashist said that even if his driver — who was hauling cars — applied the brakes, they wouldn’t have stopped before hitting the truck or sliding into a ditch on the side of the highway. He also noted that the truck that pulled onto the roadway was not in a parking spot but on the shoulder just before a curve. Vashist said they had not contacted the company whose truck pulled onto the highway.
Winter driving training
Before every winter, SSP conducts a winter driving course for all its drivers, no matter how experienced they are, Vashist said. Company trucks are equipped with telematics that provide driving scores that drivers can access, and which help improve their driving techniques. The vehicles are also fitted with forward- and inward-facing cameras.
“Through rigorous training, our drivers learn to stay calm, make quick decisions, and manage high-pressure scenarios with precision,” SSP said in a LinkedIn post. “This level of preparation ensures they can navigate even the most shocking, uncontrollable situations safely, putting safety first every time.”
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