SALEM, Va. – A local driver says a long-haul trucker tried to run him off the road during a road rage incident on Interstate 81 this week that was captured on dash cam video.
“I was in fear for my life, I was scared, I was mad and angry all at the same time because I was almost killed,” Steve Stover told 10 News.
His dash cam captured the driver of an 18-wheeler swerving at high speeds down I-81 near Salem and Roanoke County Monday evening.
“I go to try to pass him and he starts weaving all over the road so that I can’t get past him,” Stover said. “I finally got an available spot and I hit the gas as fast I could and got around him.”
Stover wasn’t hurt but is still pretty shaken. He later reported the incident to the Virginia State Police and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“Dash cams should come built into cars automatically,” he said. “It’s not that expensive. It not only saves you. It saves everybody around you. That way nobody can lie. Video does not lie.”
Criminologist and former police officer Dr. Tod Burke agrees the growing use of dash cams by drivers is a good thing because they capture incidents as they happen.
“What I would also suggest is with the dash cam, you don’t need to have the commentary, that goes along with it, but at the same time, if the commentary is there, it may aid in helping in the investigation, as to the type of vehicle, the direction of travel and so forth,” Burke said.
Burke also said after seeing the video, both sides should have taken steps to de-escalate.
“If necessary, pull off the highway, pull off the road and then contact the police,” he said.
Stover said he might have done things differently if given another chance but also feels he might have caused more problems by slowing down since a line of cars and trucks were behind him.
“I don’t know. This was a scary situation. I think maybe this time you should fall back and let this guy go,” he said. “But again on 81, when you start slowing down, you bottleneck traffic behind you, so I could have created another accident by doing that.”
As for the driver in the incident, we reached out to the company - SNL Trucking out of Illinois. The owner told 10 News the driver was terminated on Wednesday. He said the driver should have been the bigger person in the situation as he is the one who supposed to be the professional driver.