Why, if you can’t see clearly if there’s oncoming traffic in the other lanes, you don’t go.
Presumed Bammer and Redditor /r/SublimePanic posted up shocking dashcam footage from Madison/Huntsville, AL to the /r/IdiotsinCars subreddit from May 8, 2024 showing a driver assuming in the worst way that an intersection is clear to make a left turn, only to end up getting T-boned by a massive SUV who had the right of way.
Check out the dashcam footage below.
Guy not paying attention makes a blind left turn into oncoming traffic [OC]
byu/Sublimepanic inIdiotsInCars
The accident happened at the intersection of Madison Blvd. and Slaughter Rd. in Huntsville, AL (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As you can see in OP’s video, although he has the green light, traffic has backed up enough on Madison Road that he’d block the intersection if he entered.
Opting to stop, a driver in a Ford Focus ready to make a left turn on the opposite side incorrectly yields, assuming that there isn’t traffic coming in the opposite direction from the open lane.
The unfortunate happens and the driver in the Focus gets T-boned by a large, Infiniti QX80 SUV headed through the intersection with the right of way.
Weighing at close to three tons, twice the weight of the Ford Focus, the hit is violent.
The Focus spins a good 270 degrees, likely totaled, with the Infiniti QX80 suffering severe front end damage.
No word what injuries were sustained by either driver or passengers.
From the looks of things, the Focus driver was driving solo with no passengers.
The Focus airbags immediately went off and, after the hit, the front driver/passenger compartment appears to be mostly intact.
“This **** drives me nuts.”One lane is stopped, so that means everyone in the other lane has to yield to me!”,” /u/appa-ate-mom frustratingly commented.
“Looks like they were using the white SUV turning right as their indication to go, but went at the speed of ****ing smell,” /u/ChizzleFug added.
“If you can’t see that all lanes are clear, then you don’t go!,” /u/amdcal sagely added.
As mentioned, this is why it’s important to make sure there’s no cross traffic when entering a busy intersection.
Best practices when entering a blind intersection is not to if you’re not 100 percent sure.
However, if you feel like you can safely inch your way out to get a better look to make absolutely sure no cross traffic is present, do that instead.
What you don’t want to do is what this driver in a Focus did, blindly charging out.
In my opinion, it looks like no serious injury occurred here, but this could’ve played out differently.
