Head-on collisions at that speed don’t often end well
Redditor Camman97 is thanking his lucky stars he camped out in the lane 2 instead of the fast lane. According to a video he posted up on /r/Houston and /r/IdiotsInCars earlier yesterday (Dec. 5,2020) a wrong way driver sped past him on I-45 just after the 610 interchange while he was travelling at 70 MPH on his commute to work around 5:30 AM the previous day. Caught on dash cam, several commenters noted how quick it happened and how bad it could’ve turned out.
Check out the video below and see if you could’ve reacted quick enough if you were travelling in the left-most lane.
This happened to me on the way to work this morning. Wrong way driver. from r/IdiotsInCars
Thankfully, as mentioned, this happened in the wee hours of the morning where traffic is the lightest.
Here’s where they crossed paths on maps below.
As you can see, I-45 is a fairly straight length of freeway. In the early hours it’s all too easy to get complacent, zone out, and not pay attention. Camman mentions that,
“I had some people flying pass me not too long before this. I’m glad they avoided it which ever way they did.”
Although Camman doesn’t give an official reason, more than likely this other driver was drunk, on a controlled substance, or unfit to drive.
Redditor Stonehanderson pointed something we don’t normally think about.
A reminder that the left lane is the most dangerous one to be in late night/early morning. Drunk drivers almost always go in their “right” lane.
CaMman says although he didn’t report it to police, he’s sure someone eventually did. He did pass his videos along to the proper authorities and hopes that local law enforcement can find it useful finding this guy.
A quick online search on Google and social media reveals no Houston local authorities or other witnesses posting about this incident, so I’m going to assume this wrong way driver made a safe exit without causing harm to himself or others. The search did reveal some other incidents in Houston with wrong way drivers, some ended OK while the majority did not.
It’s cliche to “expect the unexpected” but it’s especially true when we’re driving. We, as drivers, must stay vigilant, aware, and ready to react at all times.
