[Robert DeLong]

While that is true, don’t put your feet on the dashboard, the real issue here was the boyfriend following to close to the truck he ran into. Had he followed a safe distance behind, none of this would have occurred.

[meatloaf]

When you consider how much farther a semi takes to stop compared to a car, the young man should have been able to stop. Along with following too close, he probably wasn’t paying attention.

[Does so]

I guess the girls can put their feet out the window instead.

Most cars today have brakes that pulsate, yet allow steering around obstructions: "slam and swerve" is today's key to avoiding collisions.

[cuban leaf]

While that is true, don’t put your feet on the dashboard, the real issue here was the boyfriend following to close to the truck he ran into. Had he followed a safe distance behind, none of this would have occurred.

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Based on the damage, I don’t think following too close is the issue here. I suspect he just didn’t see it until it was too late. Following too close does not cause that kind of damage. In fact, the closer you are, the less damage will be inflicted. Imagine you were only one inch off his bumper and he slammed on his brakes and you didn’t even brake. It wouldn’t cause that kind of damage.

I don’t think the boy frantically tried to avoid hitting it in the way we infer from the article. I think he looked up from his phone, his girlfriend, the cows on the side of the road, or whatever, and say an almost stopped truck rear end approaching and he was able to panic for a split second as he slammed into it. He could have been 20 car lengths behind it and that would actually explain this damage better.