---
title: "Watch This Semi-Truck Driver Stop Short and Save a Child’s Life"
description: "Give this man a medal, and tell your kids to look both ways."
date: "2017-11-16"
modified: "2017-11-16"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/16158/watch-this-semi-truck-driver-stop-short-and-save-a-childs-life"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Trucks"
  - "Watch This"
tags:
  - "Dash Cam"
  - "norway"
  - "safety"
  - "Semi Truck"
  - "Tractor Trailer"
---

# Watch This Semi-Truck Driver Stop Short and Save a Child’s Life

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/11/23550960_1552178994827681_8144367640094386682_o.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Volvo's [famous obsession with safety](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/11264/volvo-wins-award-for-traffic-safety-from-nhtsa>) doesn't end with its passenger cars, as the company's ubiquitous (in Europe, at least) semi-trucks [are also equipped](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/12396/volvo-semi-trucks-to-receive-semi-autonomous-features-and-apple-carplay>) with a suite of driver-assist features including automatic emergency braking. But [this video,](<https://youtu.be/cJ4qhLNYKf4?t=22s>) which has been making the rounds this week, doesn't show the system save a child's life as others have suggested. According to an investigation by Volvo and the trucking company, what you're about to see is some God-level reaction time on the part of the driver.

The dash cam footage, taken from another truck, follows a bus through a rural area in southern Norway as it stops to let off a group of children. The kids initially gather on the shoulder of the narrow two-lane road at the back corner of the bus, but suddenly two of them sprint across the road without looking—right into the path of an oncoming semi in the opposite lane.

The driver in the camera truck sounds his horn to warn them, but it appears to be too late. One of the kids ends up directly in front of the semi, but the driver *instantly* slams on his brakes, and the child is able to stumble wildly forward and barely avoid getting squashed as truck slides to a stop. In the slow-motion replay at the end, you can see the Volvo FH got within a foot of them. If you're a parent, consider showing this to your children to press home the importance of stopping to look both ways when crossing the street.

https://youtube.com/embed/cJ4qhLNYKf4

The YouTube video title, along with [several headlines](<https://www.carscoops.com/2017/11/watch-volvos-automatic-braking-system.html>) this week, credit Volvo's automatic emergency braking system with saving the kid's life. And that's a fair conclusion, given how quickly the truck was able to stop. However, [an investigation between Kreiss and Volvo](<https://www.facebook.com/kreiss.lv/photos/a.196308170414777.48171.196306993748228/1553689701343277/?type=3>) showed that the system, which is more designed for stopped or slowed cars on the highway, never registered the "small-height child." The incredible save was "100 percent human reaction," in the words of the report, though we think "superhuman" is a better descriptor here.

Kreiss [also posted on Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/kreiss.lv/photos/a.196308170414777.48171.196306993748228/1552178994827681/?type=3>) that it will be giving the driver, a "competent and experienced" employee, an award for his actions.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)