This all could’ve been avoided with proper late change technique.
Redditor and presumed Michigan resident /u/GoodSir42 shared dashcam footage to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing a clueless Dodge Ram truck driver in Detroit taking multiple lane changes at one time, causing him to broadside a car, forcing it off the road.
The Reddit thread is linked here, the video is posted below and there’s a copy/mirror linked here.
2023.5.15 Forced off the road
The accident happened on the 39 (Southfield Freeway) right on Exit 8 headed towards Warren Ave (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
The video shows a Blue Dodge Ram truck travelling in the fast lane when he decides to take multiple lane changes to, what looks like, take exit 8 that runs parallel to the freeway.
Unbeknownst to him, there’s a white Chrysler 200 travelling faster than the speed of traffic in the right-most lane.
It looks like the driver of the 200 slows to anticipate the Ram driver, but it’s a little too late, the Ram driver slams into the side of the 200, forcing the 200 driver to move right and into the freeway exit.
“I think the truck realized that was their exit and tried cutting 3 lanes to make it without looking and rammed the car and realized their mistake when they heard the crunch,” /u/FalinGSumo puts it.
While the rules of the road state you must signal, check your mirrors, and then your blind spots before changing for each and every lane, the key takeaway is, regardless if it’s one lane or multiple, to check if there are no cars in or driving into the lane you want to change.
This Ram driver might’ve looked once, but clearly didn’t look again or checked his blind spots.
Do Dodge Ram drivers just have bad driving habits?
A recent study by Insurify in 2021 suggests so, ranking Ram 2500 drivers as the worst offenders when it comes to DUIs.
Perhaps Ram drivers think they’re larger than everything on the road, therefore the rules of the road don’t apply to them as smaller cars, like that 200, will bend to their will.
Large car or not, the rules apply fairly across the spectrum of cars, from a Mitsubishi Mirage to a Chevrolet Suburban.