Watch: SUV plows into barrier toward President Trump’s motorcade in Alabama

A presidential security detail has to prepare strategies to defend one of the most powerful government officials in the world against technologically-advanced and well-planned threats. This includes elite-level military attacks, domestic or foreign terrorists, or a mentally-deranged individual with no real overarching political motivations beyond just killing the president.

However, as a recent video shows, it’s difficult to defend against a little distracted driving.

In this footage captured on Saturday, a Jeep Liberty careens into steel cables dividing lanes of Alabama’s I-85 precisely as the President Trump’s motorcade travels the opposite direction. If the cable barrier hadn’t held, this SUV would have likely crossed into the oncoming lane at exactly the right moment to collide with vehicles in the middle of the motorcade.

While details regarding the incident remain sparse, it’s standard for the Secret Service and local law enforcement to clear the route traveled by the presidential motorcade. In this instance, traffic on the other side of the interstate seems to have been left alone. The driver of the SUV reportedly claimed he swerved to avoid a vehicle you can’t see in the footage that stopped ahead of him to watch the motorcade pass by.

Also, here’s pictures of the damage sustained. pic.twitter.com/Jfg9WMiYvQ

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— DataDebunk 🇺🇸⌛ (@DataDebunk) March 10, 2019

It seems entirely likely this incident was the result of nothing more than motorists rubber-necking as the Presidential Limo and its associated convoy rolled by at full steam in the other direction, but the lack of malice doesn’t undermine the potential threat posed by an out-of-control SUV. A head-on collision at highway speeds could potentially be lethal for any occupants in an armored limousine, just as it would be for someone traveling in a non-armored car. As many have said before, it’s not the speed that kills you—it’s the sudden stop.