“It's impossible, something like that can't happen” » What would have happened

One of the three survivors of the terrible accident on the European Road E70, near the town of Lugojel, in which a minibus with 10 people ran head-on into an oncoming truck, said that the accident was caused by a malfunction of the lane keeping assistance system.

“The driver could no longer control the steering wheel during the overtaking due to the lane change assistance system,” one of the injured PAOK fans allegedly told Greek doctor Dimitris Koukoulas in an interview with ERT.

Titi Aur, according to the testimony of the PAOK fan who survived the accident: “It is impossible to blame the system”

Contacted by GSP.ro, defensive driving expert Titi Aur dismantled the Greek's theory, explaining why there are extremely small chances that the system had an error.

“My opinion is that it can't be. I mean, it can't be because of this. Lane Keeping Assist is primarily built to keep you in your lane, not throw you into it. Second, it's canceled and stops working when you signal left or right. You told the system «I want to cross the line. I am aware and that is what I want. I cancel you and I want to go over, I want to overcome».

Then, this system is designed to warn you and, if it is set to the maximum version, to pull the steering wheel a little, possibly to brake. That is if it is certain that you leave the lane. But the car, as we saw, was between the lanes. And the system had no way of deciding whether to go left or right.

When the system kicks in, it just vibrates the steering wheel a little and just pulls you a little to the right side. That is, if you go to the right, it pulls you left. And vice versa. But not with more force than the driver can pull. Which means, from my point of view, that 0.01% probability that the system was at fault is only if it “crazy” the system.

That is, it did not take into account that the driver signaled, which means that the system had to be canceled. And he made a wrong and strange decision, which is to pull to the left, even though the car was on the line. But he had no reason to pull left. So he would have made an abnormal decision, which is not in his “brain”. And he got a supernatural force, that is, he pulled hard on the steering wheel. And the driver wanted to pull to the right, like it was normal, but the system said «No. I force and go where you don't want». Three impossible conditions would have to happen. That is, not taking into account the signals, making a wrong decision and forcing more than the driver. Which, from my point of view, is impossible”said Titi Aur for GSP.ro.

Titi Aur: “There is no logical explanation for what happened”

He went on and explained what might have happened.

“There is no logical explanation for what happened. There are only variants, from my point of view.

Or he was harmed at that moment. Maybe he had an illness, maybe a stroke, cardiac arrest, maybe a diabetic crisis, whatever. And the left hand, being on the wheel, pulled to the left. Or, although unlikely, but possible, it was a strong distraction in the car. Maybe there was a fight, maybe there were discussions as possible between the ardent supporters. Maybe it was also about alcohol, not the driver, but the passengers. And then the driver entered that debate. He may have thought he was done overtaking and entered the debate, or he may have looked left or right.

He was in constant aggression. He was overtaking, he was angry that he was sitting between the trucks, he was in a hurry. As he had just finished an overtaking, I don't think he was sitting with his phone in his hand. It's more likely that he got into an argument with the people in the car and didn't realize he was going left. And the one next to him wasn't paying attention either. It would have been a gesture of return, of braking. But he went without any restraint in the TIR, returning the other way. He had come back more than half a car into his lane, then went into the opposite direction. What is inexplicable!

But the story with the support system I don't think is possible. Only 0.01%. But that would spark a technically complicated story. Many cars have this system. And they want involvement in the autonomous car, which drives itself. It would be very bad if that happened. I know the system is not that strong. It has a small force. And when you pull the steering wheel, the system fails. He is not meant to fight with the driver. It supports you when you're not paying attention. It corrects you a bit, vibrates and keeps you in your lane. They don't fight you. And he didn't have to be active because the driver had signaled.”

Titi Aur put her villa in Bârlad up for sale

“He was in permanent aggression”

Then he continued with the explanations.

“Some also say: 'Why did he signal left?'. My opinion, from a psychological point of view, is that he was in a permanent state of aggression. He signaled left when he overtook, signaled right when he returned to his lane and immediately signaled left, because he was preparing to overtake the following.

He was the type of driver who drives down the highway with his left turn signal on, in the second lane. That is: “Give it up, because I want to pass!”. I think that's the explanation. He didn't signal that “I want to get into the truck”, Titi Aur said.

We live in a jungle in Romania. We are on the 1st place in Europe for the number of victims on the roads. The car is a weapon. What is the car when it's out of control? A weapon! You kill people with some beasts. Be careful when you're behind the wheel! You have a gun in your hand. If you don't know how to control it, you can kill people. The authorities should look at the fact that 3 people die every day due to accidents. There are many tragedies and almost nothing is done. And there are many solutions, in the area of ​​education and coercion. Let's do something!

– Titi Aur

VIDEO | Attention, images with strong emotional impact! Drama in Romania: a minibus with fans of PAOK Thessaloniki, involved in an accident with seven dead and three injured