“I was in fact trying to merge over when safely able to,” says the dashcam owner.
If you need another reason to invest in a dashcam, Redditor /u/handsomeclooney’s video should be reason enough.
The dashcam owner took to Reddit’s Idiots In Cars Subreddit, sharing recent footage showing how a Jeep Wrangler driver on Route 1 in Elizabeth, NJ stopped in the middle of a busy highway to confront OP over alleged left lane drama that happened a couple hundred feet back.
Check out the unprovoked madness unfold in his video below.
What this video doesn’t show is how HandsomeClooney, and presumably the Jeep Wrangler driver, were both stopped at the intersection of East Jersey St. and Spring St a couple hundred feet from the incident.
Here’s the Google Maps link and a screenshot (below) of the intersection in question.
This is important as both HC and the Wrangler driver were starting from a dead stop, explaining HC’s slow speed.
In addition, the speed limit here is 40 MPH (64 kmh) which further explains why he looks like he’s driving so slow.
He’s not doing that on purpose, it’s literally the speed limit.
“Happened to me,” HC comments. “I didn’t hear him but I wasn’t taking the chance to listen. No prior road rage, no aggression, haven’t even made eye contact with him. He just randomly pulled in front of me and stopped. Extraordinarily strange.”
One of the more popular comments on HC’s thread called him out for left lane hogging, in other words, he was deliberately going slow to anger any driver behind him.
“I attempted to merge when given the right amount of distance in the middle lane so I don’t blatantly cut someone off,” he explains. “Defensive driving also tells you that you merge over when it’s safe to do so. There wasn’t a safe distance between two cars in the middle lane which is why I delayed a bit.”
Another Redditor commented how the Wrangler driver’s dilated eyes suggested he might’ve been on something which HC provided this frightening screenshot.
This entire situation is one unfortunate case of miscommunication, the driver in the Jeep Wrangler felt slighted and boxed in by HC’s slow driving when, in fact, HC was just trying to merge.
HC did everything correctly in this situation.
According to the KCR Law Firm, two of the best tactics when presented with road rage are to
- Attempt to get out of the way of the other driver as safe as possible and,
- Do not look at or acknowledge the enraged driver
Clearly, that Jeep driver should’ve dealt with his anger differently. Stopping in the middle of the road and confronting other drivers is not a healthy way to cope with this situation.
According to NJ US Courts, the base fine for parking in the middle of the highway is $54.
There seems to be no fines or jail time attached to this kind of road rage, as long as no injuries, bodily harm (or death) occurred.
As mentioned, if you’re on the fence about getting a dashcam, this is your sign.
They’re affordable and, in this case, provide valuable evidence just in case you have to show proof to insurance or the authorities.