Merging etiquette breaks down when the driver with the right of way speeds up so they don’t get passed.
East Coast resident and Redditor /u/idontknowanything0 shared scary dashcam footage from South Carolina showing the shocking moment a driver in a Ford Crown Victoria attempting to merge in front of another car is blocked, loses control and ends up on their roof.
/u/idontknowanything0’s thread and video is linked below. NSFW for language.
[OC] Car flips right infront of me on the highway. NSFW for language
byu/idontknowanything0 inIdiotsInCars
As mentioned, the accident happened on I-77 in Ridgeway, South Carolina just before Exit 32 (Peach Road Ridgeway) exact location on Google Maps linked here.
As OP’s video shows, they’re driving along in lane number one.
“We were driving from North Carolina to South,” OP clarifies.
1000 ft back was this sign saying that the truck lane was ending.
It’s hard to make out on a smartphone, but we can see a grey Ford Crown Victoria in the truck lane (lane #3) speed up to get past an SUV in lane #2 as both their lanes rapidly merge together.
The driver in the SUV, not wanting to get passed, speeds up, unbeknownst to the Crown Victoria driver.
The Crown Victoria driver, not seeing the SUV in their blind spot, ends up almost hitting the SUV, causing them to swerve, overcorrect, and lose control.
The Crown Victoria driver slams into the barrier to their right and ricochets, hitting the other barrier on the other side before flipping on their roof.
“The car merging should have slowed down and got behind the vehicle already in the lane. Instead they just veered over and then lost control. The person merging does not have the right of way and is supposed to yield,” /u/BernieTheDachschund points out.
“The SUV intentionally closed the gap,” /u/_jump_yossarian also points out.
“You can see the SUV behind the white sedan then speeds up even though there was a giant sign warning that the right lane would end. You’re right that the car merging doesn’t have right of way, but the SUV driver caused this accident by driving like a total a***ole and trying to block the merge.“
You’ll be glad to know the driver in the Crown Vic eventually made it out, OK.
“We called 911 and the person turned out okay, thankfully.”
It seems to be an American thing, but we hate it when another driver gets “one over us” by passing us.
Courtesy goes a long way in driving, and it would do the world a lot of good to let go of our egos and take the high road.
Yes, that Crown Victoria driver should’ve merged correctly, but two wrongs don’t make it right, either.
Speeding up to prevent a merge makes that other SUV driver just as culpable in this situation.
