diff --git a/samples/common/sampleOptions.cpp b/samples/common/sampleOptions.cpp
index 2ea4df9a..2e10ce85 100644
--- a/samples/common/sampleOptions.cpp
+++ b/samples/common/sampleOptions.cpp
@@ -1434,6 +1434,11 @@ void BuildOptions::parse(Arguments& arguments)
     if (getAndDelOption(arguments, "--saveEngine", engine))
     {
         save = true;
+        // Validate that the engine file path is writable before doing expensive work
+        if (!canWriteFile(engine))
+        {
+            throw std::invalid_argument(std::string("Cannot write engine file to path: ") + engine);
+        }
     }
     if (load && save)
     {
diff --git a/samples/common/sampleUtils.cpp b/samples/common/sampleUtils.cpp
index 1ffcc546..921759a8 100644
--- a/samples/common/sampleUtils.cpp
+++ b/samples/common/sampleUtils.cpp
@@ -775,4 +775,34 @@ std::vector<std::string> sanitizeArgv(int32_t argc, char** argv)
     return sanitizedArgs;
 }
 
+bool canWriteFile(std::string const& path)
+{
+    namespace fs = std::filesystem;
+    fs::path p(path);
+    fs::path dir = p.has_parent_path() ? p.parent_path() : fs::current_path();
+
+    // Check if the directory exists and is a directory
+    if (!fs::exists(dir) || !fs::is_directory(dir))
+    {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    // Try to create a temporary file to test write permissions
+    fs::path const tempFilePath = dir / ".writetest.tmp";
+    std::ofstream test(tempFilePath.string(), std::ios::out | std::ios::trunc);
+    if (!test.is_open())
+    {
+        return false;
+    }
+    test << "test";
+    bool const ok = test.good();
+    test.close();
+
+    // Clean up the temporary file
+    std::error_code ec;
+    fs::remove(tempFilePath, ec);
+
+    return ok;
+}
+
 } // namespace sample
diff --git a/samples/common/sampleUtils.h b/samples/common/sampleUtils.h
index 65cb6774..645c1e41 100644
--- a/samples/common/sampleUtils.h
+++ b/samples/common/sampleUtils.h
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 #ifndef TRT_SAMPLE_UTILS_H
 #define TRT_SAMPLE_UTILS_H
 
+#include <filesystem>
 #include <fstream>
 #include <iostream>
 #include <memory>
@@ -175,6 +176,11 @@ std::string sanitizeRemoteAutoTuningConfig(const std::string& config);
 //! @return Vector of sanitized argument strings
 std::vector<std::string> sanitizeArgv(int32_t argc, char** argv);
 
+//! Check if a file path is writable by testing write access to the parent directory
+//! @param path The file path to check
+//! @return true if the path is writable, false otherwise
+bool canWriteFile(std::string const& path);
+
 } // namespace sample
 
 #endif // TRT_SAMPLE_UTILS_H