If it wasn’t for OP’s defensive driving, this situation could’ve turned out a lot worse.
If you need yet another reminder to get a dashcam and stay on your toes behind the wheel even if you’re on a relatively drama free-looking bit of road, Redditor /u/firechkn34’s got a great example.
The presumed Marylander uploaded dashcam footage earlier yesterday (Apr 18, 2023) showing him driving in Gaithersburg when he almost T-Boned a woman in a Ford Explorer after she failed to give him the right-of-way despite her stop sign.
Check out the video for yourself below.
Blind women pulls out right in front of me.
by u/firechkn34 in IdiotsInCars
The near miss happened at the T-intersection of Damascus Rd. and Long Corner Rd. (link to the exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As OP’s video shows, he’s travelling on 108 (aka Damascus Rd) near the road’s speed limit of 50 MPH. He slows as the car in front of him makes a left turn onto Long Corner Rd.
Unbeknownst to the woman in the newer model Ford Explorer waiting to make a left from Long Corner Rd, OP’s behind the car he was following.
She just assumes no one’s there.
And, if she DID see OP, she wrongly assumed he’d turn, too.
Thankfully, OP had the presence of mind to hit the brakes in anticipation of the woman to not get out of the way fast enough.
His intuition was right as she just about stops in front of OP’s car, OP swerving out of the way.
While this woman is 100 percent in the wrong, there are some noteworthy points about this intersection.
As keen-eyed Redditors pointed out, the stop sign is far too far from the actual intersection.
A measure on Google Maps shows that the sign is a good 45 feet away from Damascus Rd.
Foliage to the left also blocks visibility of cars approaching, so drivers must be very careful making left or right turns.
A Redditor familiar with that area corroborates this turn’s notoriety.
“I know that turn all too well, says /u/FuriousGeorge2488 It was part of my daily commute for years. It’s one of those corners, that you need to inch up on until the front of your car is on the 50 mph road; to see if it is safe to make the turn… It also doesn’t help there’s steep hill on the right side. And a high bank on the left. This type of thing would happen at least every two weeks on my daily commute.
People wouldn’t estimate the speed of the traffic correctly or wouldn’t take the time to double-check and then this would happen.”
Most advice for blind intersection’s, like advice from Best Online Traffic School say that the best practice for these situations is to “inch forward slowly until you can see clearly.” There’s nothing more wrong than driving blindly into an intersection.
And, speaking for drivers on the other side of this situation, stay aware and, as mentioned, get a dashcam ASAP.
In Germantown you cannot proceed when the light turns green. You must look both ways or risk being killed. Speeds are out of control, redlight running is common, people are driving very aggressive and constantly on cell phones. The police are no where to be found and these drivers know it. Thanks County Council.