The boneheaded move was caught on dashcam
Redditor /u/ThatOneGuy4523 shared dashcam footage from earlier last year (Oct, 2023) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing the boneheaded moment a driver on the 605 in Pico, Rivera, CA unsafely merged back into traffic right in front of the cop that just pulled them over.
OP reportedly said that, right after, they got pulled over, again!
Check out his dashcam video below.
[Oc] This is a big yikes from me
byu/ThatOneGuy4253 inIdiotsInCars
The incident occurred on the 605 near the border of Whittier and Pico Rivera just before the Beverly Blvd. exit (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
“Happened back in October and was one of the dumbest, funniest moments I caught on my cam,” OP captioned his dashcam video.
As OP’s dashcam video shows, he’s creeping along the 605 in what looks like the middle of the night (around 11 PM if his dashcam is to be believed.)
OP passes a traffic stop, the red and blue lights of a police car naturally attracting nosey drivers to slow.
Right as he passes the police officer’s vehicle, OP and the car in front of him have to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting a car that’s unsafely merging back into traffic.
The driver in question just got pulled over.
“Guy pulled out after his traffic stop was finished right in front of the guy in front of me and got pulled over right after being let go,” the rest of OP’s caption reads.
In California, merging unsafely back into traffic is arguably a violation of Vehicle Code § 22107 CVC which governs unsafe lane changes.
According to Shouse Law, the base fine for violating CVC 22107 is $238.
And, it looks like that driver didn’t signal, too, which is subject to one point on their record, too.
“A motorist who does not signal also receives one point on his DMV driving record. “
Who knows what they initially got pulled over for but that driver’s definitely had one bad day.
“Wow, to get two tickets from same cop in a matter minutes…cop probably hung back after 2nd ticket for more fun,” /u/EcoKller commented.
“Where I live you need to slow down & move over a lane if there’s a stopped emergency vehicle on the shoulder,” /u/ArguingWithMoron added.
“This is one reason you move over 1 lane with lights flashing in emergency lane. Tow truck, cop, fire truck, whatever,” /u/Truckerslife411 replied.
It’s understandable to have your nerves frazzled after getting pulled over, but that’s no excuse to then pull another bad driving maneuver.
The commenters also brought up a valuable point, while it’s the responsibility of the car merging back into traffic to do so safely, it would behoove you to move over one lane, the law or not, when approaching emergency vehicles.
And yes, since 2007 in California, motorists must move over one lane when approaching emergency vehicles from behind. If a lane change is not possible, they must slow.
