Μake us preferred on Google A tanker truck driver has been identified and brought in for questioning after a widely circulated video showed him making a dangerous overtaking maneuver on a provincial road near Lake Plastiras, in central Greece, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with a motorcyclist.
The tanker veered into the opposite lane to overtake a car while negotiating a blind curve, forcing the motorcyclist traveling in the opposite direction to slow down and make a split-second evasive maneuver to the right. The incident was captured on video and has triggered widespread reactions on social media.
In comments to a television newscast, the motorcyclist said he saw the truck approaching in the opposite lane and realized the driver was attempting to overtake a slower-moving car on the curve. He estimated the tanker was traveling at about 80 kph on a downhill stretch of road.
“I slowed down and made a small maneuver to the right, avoiding him at the last moment,” he said, adding that he narrowly escaped being killed. He said he posted the video to encourage other drivers to be more cautious on the road.
Speaking to another television station, the motorcyclist said he had little room to maneuver and believed he would not have been able to avoid the tanker had he been driving a car.
Authorities subsequently launched an investigation after the video was posted online because the location of the incident was initially unknown. Police subsequently established that it had occurred in the Lake Plastiras area and identified the tanker driver, who was located in Thessaloniki and brought to the police HQ in the city.
A criminal case is being filed against him for dangerous driving under, while relevant traffic code violations are also being reviewed.
