The Prius made a right turn in front of a vehicle that’s practically 13x times its weight. #BigAltimaEnergy
Presumed Colorado resident and Redditor /u/Durtzo posted up some shocking dashcam footage from Denver showing the asinine moment a driver in a Prius decided to make a right turn into a shopping center right in front of an approaching RTD bus.
Check out the shocking, harebrained moment below.
She almost won a prize for that turn. [oc]
byu/Durtzo inIdiotsInCars
The near miss happened on the 300 block of S Broadway near its intersection with W. Nevada Pl (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
In the dashcam video, we see OP exiting this Denver shopping center.
OP stops and waits for a break in traffic.
All of a sudden, we see a driver in a Toyota Prius make a right turn into the shopping center across the path of an approaching RTD articulated (bendy) bus.
The bus comes within inches of T-boning the rear quarter panel of the Prius.
Priuses are around 3,000 pounds while articulated, bendy buses weight around 40,000 pounds. Physics is not in that Prius’s favor.
“The Prius actually turned from an inner lane THROUGH a bus and turn only lane…”
Here’s an overhead shot of this area. The lane to the right of the red line is a dedicated bus lane and turn lane combination.
The right thing to do was probably to safely overtake or slot behind the bus before turning right.
As /u/SdVeau pointed out,
“I hope she sees this and feels stupid. I also hope that it would make her feel even more stupid knowing there’s another turn into the same shopping center 250ft further down. One where there was ample time to signal and slow down for…”
The turn lane 250 feet further down in question.
“That Prius driver deserves a license suspension,” /u/fishuponfishc commented.
“Well, looks like not much has changed with drivers on this section of Broadway, maybe just Denver in general. Used to bike to work using the bike lane on this road and always had issues with drivers and generally just saw a lot of f***ery from so many situations. Glad everyone made it through that close call ok,” /u/Patient_Town1719 added.
According to Shouse Law, this is arguably an unsafe lane change, subject to a civil fine of up to $100 before fees and 4 whole points on your record.
Taking driving risks like this is not only plain dumb, it’s unnecessary.
It’s always a good practice to slow down, rethink your next move, and to not force a turn when it’s not safe.
For defensive drivers (not that Prius) this is another reason to have a dashcam running at all times behind the wheel.
