It looks like the driver in the van was trying to catch up to a vehicle in front of the dashcam owner.
Presumed Austin, TX resident and Redditor /u/The3vadnBlur posted up dashcam footage to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing the surprising moment from earlier this week (Jan 9, 2024) showing a driver in a full-size Chevrolet Cargo Van threading the needle between collapsible barriers and a car already in the Express Lane to exact some kind of road rage.
Check out the van driver’s dangerous manuever below.
[oc] Someone was in a rush this morning
byu/The3vadnBlur inIdiotsInCars
The incident happened on the N MoPac Expressway in Austin, TX just before the Windsor Rd. exit (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As OP’s video shows, he’s driving along in the single Express Lane of the N Mopac Expy.
To the right of him are barrier attenuators separating Express Lane traffic from regular traffic.
All of a sudden, a full size cargo van takes advantage of the growing, half-a-lane space that opened up between the lane barriers and the double white line.
It’s a tight squeeze, but the driver in the van overtakes OP.
As to a motive, one Redditor pointed out that it might be road rage, the driver in the van doing everything they could to overtake another car.
“It feels like the van and the silver SUV have something going on. As soon as the van shot past, the KIA accelerated like it was trying to keep up,” /u/GuildensternLives pointed out.
Thankfully, as far as the video is concerned, nothing comes of this van driver’s dangerous maneuver.
“Some people will do the craziest s**t to save a few seconds,” /u/IamExsist_real commented.
“Stayed up all night playing Gran Turismo and forgot where he was,” /u/AdmiralBofa humorously replied.
In my opinion, this is reckless driving.
In Austin, reckless driving is subject to at least a $200 fine, possible jail time, points on your record, and other surcharges that will make this misdemeanor a costly one.
OP did everything right and did his best not to engage with this wack-o.
Here’s yet another data point to drive defensively at all times, and to get a dashcam if you haven’t already.
