He's dead, Jim

Yes

 

I'm sorry this happened to you- poor truck is still just a baby.
I must say though, your dual dash cam thing is very smart, and it looks like it will certainly pay off. I hope that there is no frame damage, and that they fix it right. Best of luck.

 

Impressive cameras.

One thing, though.

If I am reading the data correctly, it appears to show a rapid drop in speed from 69 to 58 mph immediately before the impact. Looking at the passing scenery it appears you were, in fact, maintaining a constant speed and the indication of slowing is wrong. But if this ever did end up in litigation, the attorney for the Volvo's insurance company would undoubtedly argue that the indicated speeds should be presumed to be correct and that the Volvo would have safely made the lane change had you not suddenly and needlessly slowed. (That is not my perception, but give the attorney this evidence and that is what he would argue.) I have no idea how accurately the speed is determined by the built in GPS, but I assume the indicated speed reflects some averaging -- I note that it appears to be showing 13 mph when you had first come to a stop on the shoulder. Anyone who has a dashcam set to record the speed should probably be prepared to explain why the number shown for speed may not be accurate.

 

Still...the person behind is always at fault

 

Volvo failed to control the speed of his vehicle to avoid a collision tho... Insurance co will still put him at fault

 

In NC the driver in the rear is considered at fault no matter what. Even if someone did slam on brakes it is not considered a legit excuse. Guy in the back would automatically receive a ticket for "Failure to reduce speed in order to avoid a collision."

 

I reviewed this cam almost 2 years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bUQ1CmJ8jw

i still use this cam but an updated version. i would recommend getting the DR650S-2CH as opposed to the DR650GW-2CH. it has the new wifi module (some of the GW's have them but only the ones manufactured after april 2015 which you might not know for sure) which allows blackvue cloud. cloud allows the camera to connect to a wifi hotspot (older models only connected to your phone as a host, the newer GW's and S models can connect to a host router/hotspot instead) and can allow you to get notifications if the truck is impacted, you can even monitor live video if someone else is driving it. might be creepy to some people but they target small business owners with fleets. i really just like the idea of getting a notification on my phone if someone hits my car in a parking lot, but i am too cheap to pay for a wireless hotspot for my vehicle.
I did a brief overview of blackvue cloud here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMKick1k0Jk

I would also recommend checking out the thinkware F770 which is a newer model with full 1080p front and rear, where this blackvue is only 720p in the rear. Check out the review i just did recently here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdf66owUsgo

 

I have the same dashcam. Sucks that happened OP but glad everyone is okay

 

"Suddenly and needlessly" is an inaccurate interpretation of the situation.

The video may not show this very well, but traffic did indeed start to slow down in front of me, so yes, I was decelerating at the time of impact. Could I have sped up and given him enough room to get over? Possibly.. Not a lot of time to make that call and I did not want to risk potentially rear ending the vehicle in front of me. (Edit: As we all know, this vehicle doesn't have the smoothest acceleration/deceleration) I wasn't slamming on my brakes by any means - I don't really recall if I hit my brakes or just took my foot off the gas.

 

Unless the person in front of you doesnt have working brake lights (not staying that happened here but it's the exception to the rule)

 

or when you hit someone in front of you because someone behind you rear ended you so hard they pushed you into another car.

 

True to an extent, believe it or not I was in my ex girlfriend's car when she was rear ended and pushed into the one in front of her, the car in front of her's insurance company successfully claimed she was partially at fault for being stopped too close.

 

maybe it varies by state, but i would fight that to the end. my mom was rear ended and pushed slammed into another car two winters ago. she told the insurance company of the guy whose car she hit and said she had dashcam footage, they didnt even ask to see it, they just said ok and went after the guy who hit her. she didnt have to pay a dime.

heres video of it:

https://youtu.be/JP79joVCBWI?list=PLwGHh-N2la8nfztJyL6p1Lw1x_V_hA3ZN

 

e

You have done too much recon for plaintiff atorneys...

 

This was attempted by my insurance, but the ask to the person in front was did you feel one or two hits by my car in back, when person said one, end of story, guy in my rear was 100% to blame.

 

Yikes..and this deserves an ass beating

 

Update:

Body shop has finished the autopsy. No frame damage was found. No damage to suspension. Estimate is about $8500 and 3 weeks of time to repair.

 

$8500!!!!!

 

Hope you get a rental thrown into the deal and a little "extra" for your aggravation and suffering...!!