Executing a proper lane change shouldn’t be all that difficult, assuming it’s done with a little patience and situational awareness. Unfortunately, it looks as though the driver behind the wheel of the Chevy Malibu featured in the following video had neither.
Coming to us from reddit, the video is less than 30 seconds long, but gives us a clear example of what not to do when merging with traffic.
The video was captured by a series of cameras mounted in an adjacent vehicle, and includes a view both behind and ahead. Per the dash cam info readout, the incident occurred on Mach 22nd, 2023, while the comments section identifies the setting as a highway in northern Austin, Texas.
The opening section of the video shows the front-facing camera, where we see traffic lining up along the rightmost lanes. The car ahead of the dash cam vehicle brakes to merge right, causing the dash cam vehicle to slow down as well. Suddenly, we see a Chevy Malibu burst into view in an adjacent lane, the sedan swerving and lurching side to side as it trades paint with a Mazda crossover occupying the same lane.
The second half of the video provides a clearer picture of what happened. As we look out across the rear of the dash cam vehicle, we see the Chevy Malibu accelerate from a merging lane, crossing a solid white line to enter the same lane as the dash cam vehicle. No turn signal is seen. As the Chevy Malibu rapidly approaches the dash cam vehicle, we see it shift to the left again – right into the Mazda crossover.
The Mazda doesn’t have much time to react, but somehow, both vehicles squeeze by on the left of the dash cam vehicle. According to the comments, the dash cam vehicle was undamaged in the incident, which is wild considering just how close the Chevy Malibu got.
Indeed, this incident definitely could have ended much worse for all parties involved. Watch it for yourself right here:
Had this happen this morning. Both front and back cam footage included
by u/SierraFlynn in IdiotsInCars
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Comments
“Well officer, it was one of them racin’ deals. My Chevy Malibu was runnin’ strong and I feel we had the car to win. The Mazda squeezed me and I lost aero and we rubbed some paint. It’s not the first time he tried that move, he’s done it to others, too. Cause he’s a dope, a driver who doesn’t belong up here where the big boys are. Do I expect a fine? Probably. But I hope Nascar reviews what he did and they’ll look more into what he’s out here doin’, too……..”
What an idiot driver.
That wasn’t an accident, that was stupid aggressive driving. People like that should be required to attend a defensive driving class and pass a test to retain their license.
That’s why cars have mirrors. Geez!
Gertrude Stein wrote, “A rose is a rose is a rose.” Which in the case of the driver here……. simply means, “Stupid is Stupid is Stupid.” No matter how many mirrors, LDW’s or any other kind of advanced warning system they may have…..
While I’m still not totally buying AV technology, this video is certainly an argument in the ‘for’ category.