This guy’s daughter’s dashcam captured the exact moment a lawn-mowing tractor caused this light pole to topple on 570.
Presumed Lakeland, FL resident and Redditor /r/LiberaiBiblicisms uploaded video footage from his daughter’s dashcam to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing the heart pumping moment a light pole literally toppled over and fell right in front of his daughter’s car.
Check out the footage for yourself below.
[OC] Idiots in tractors count? My daughter almost wrecked today because of a lawn-mowing tractor on the side of a parkway.
byu/LiberaIBiblicisms inIdiotsInCars
As mentioned, the incident took place on the Polk Parkway (aka SR 570) in Lakeland, FL right before the Polk State College exit (exit 10 and exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As OP’s daughter’s dashcam shows, she’s driving in the middle lane of Polk Parkway, going at a reasonable 68 MPH.
No one expects an entire light pole to topple over, but in the distance we can see a light pole next to a guard rail tetter and actually topple over onto the highway.
OP’s daughter slams on her brakes and comes within feet of the falling pole.
We can see the lamp fixture shatter into thousands of tiny pieces across the road.
The guilty party, a tractor driver towing a mower, can be seen off the side of the road realizing what he did, climbing over the barrier, and pulling the light pole out of the way.
Thankfully, a police officer arrives on the scene to assess the situation and control traffic.
As quickly as it happened, the situation resolves itself just as fast.
The tractor driver safely pulls the light pole completely out of the way and picks up any large pieces of light pole that can cause a road hazard.
OP’s daighter, including the rest of the traffic behind her, continues on.
“She did good seeing it and stopping. I was so afraid somebody would hit her from behind. Too many people don’t pay attention.,” /u/Lonely-Greybeard commented.
“Crazy stuff happens. Glad she was alert and safe,” /u/Spavolka added.
“Yikes. Good on your daughter stopping in time and not getting hit,” /u/JackFunk replied.
As other Redditors commented, OP’s daughter did an exemplary job showcasing how to drive defensively and what to do in these types of situations.
It’s scary to think what would’ve happened if she was not fully paying attention, like so many drivers out there aren’t doing.
