Continuity mistake: When David Mann is at the cafe, the waitress brings over his sandwich and water. He immediately drinks all of the water, yet when the shot changes to above the table, of him looking at his sandwich, the glass of water is completely full again.
Suggested correction: There is an empty glass next to the full glass.
The mistake is valid. David drank all his water before getting his food and asked the waitress for another glass of water and aspirin. She then brought him the food, aspirin, and 2nd glass of water. He drinks all the water after taking the aspirin and sets the empty glass down. In the next shot he's holding a glass with water. There should be two empty glasses.
Continuity mistake: After the incident where the truck driver told David Mann to pass, when there was a car coming the other way, watch the rear view mirror, it changes angles in the following shots.
Continuity mistake: Mann's '71 Plymouth Valiant has the ignition slot in the steering column. But in one insert shot of his speedometer as he races the truck at 100 mph, an older model's dashboard ignition slot is visible - with no key in it. (01:10:00)
Other mistake: While in Chuck's Cafe, a creepy shadow of a woman enters the camera view and it seems that she is playing the jukebox. No music ever plays in the place. (00:32:00)
Continuity mistake: When David drives away from the petrol station near the start of the film, you will see the truck catch up with him in the next scene. Take a look at Davids parcel shelf in his car when you see the truck fly round the bend, and you will notice a white baseball cap and a pair of sun glasses on it. They were not there before and also not there for the rest of the film. (00:14:20)
Visible crew/equipment: Near the end of the film, while Dennis Weaver is finally starting to get a good lead on the truck, the top of director Steven Spielberg's head is visible in the reflection of the back seat in the rear-view mirror.
Continuity mistake: When David has the accident and crashes his car against the fences, he steps out of it and closes the door, but when he comes back to go on his own way, the car door is inexplicably open. (00:26:49 - 00:42:52)
Visible crew/equipment: Visible camera on the right side (near the tail lamp) of Mann's Plymouth (before the Chuck's Cafe scenes). (00:22:20)
Revealing mistake: At the reptile farm, the phone booth Mann uses to try and call for help has no phone lines attached to it, above or below ground (you can see that there are no underground wires when the truck mows the booth down). It's definitely not a wireless/radio telephone, either. There should be lines running to it, but there are none. (00:57:00)
Visible crew/equipment: When Mann's car spins out on the gravel and comes to rest facing the truck, you can briefly glimpse the cameraman (purported to be Steven Spielberg himself) crouching in the back seat. (01:04:25)
Continuity mistake: In the first scenes when Weaver first encountered the truck he is pictured in various states of seatbelt wearing. In some scenes it's down and across, in others nothing.
Continuity mistake: Towards the end of the movie where David begins to take advantage over the truck driver, and he turns on right towards the climb also breaking the cartels and fences, the weather changes in two shots: it's cloudy before and sunny immediately after.
Continuity mistake: After the truck tried to make David's car hit by the train dabbing it from behind, the car has a dent on the right rear light, but in a following scene, the dent has vanished. (00:53:09 - 00:54:30)
Continuity mistake: Visible on the theatrical release. After David has overtaken the truck, you can see from the interior shot that David has his seat belt on. A few seconds later in the external shot David is no longer wearing his seat belt. (00:08:10)
Continuity mistake: When David returns on his way after sleeping, he first wears his glasses in a shot, but when he suddenly brakes after seeing the truck stopped on the side of the highway, his glasses are gone. (01:03:07)
Continuity mistake: Throughout the movie, there is a family picture that disappears and reappears on the driver's side sun visor.
Continuity mistake: While David is sitting at the table in Chuck's Cafe, the ashtray is unused, but moves around the table several times. Cutlery changes position too, in two different shots.
