This driver in Helena on a solo road trip had to make a split decision, to swerve to avoid this left turner or risk going into oncoming traffic.
Solo roadtripper and Redditor /u/l_spartico_l shared headshaking dashcam footage from earlier in June (June 2, 2024) from Helena, MT to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing a left turner, turning onto US-12, fail to yield his right of way and almost causing his own T-bone collision.
Check out the dashcam footage below.
Leaving Helena omw to Whitefish, MT from Austin, TX on a solo roadtrip [OC]
byu/l_spartico_l inIdiotsInCars
As mentioned, the incident happened in Helena, MT on US-12 near the intersection with Old Broadwater Ln (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As OP’s title says, he was on a solo road trip on his way to Austin, TX, and passing through Helena, MT.
At this T-intersection, he sees this driver in a Toyota Tacoma about to turn left but isn’t sure if he’s going to turn or not.
“I saw him (the driver in the Tacoma) start to poke out and thought maybe I was in his blind spot on the right.”
But, as the video shows, the driver in the Tacoma failed to yield and instead turned anyway.
To avoid T-boning the Tacoma driver, OP goes into the oncoming lane.
“I switched to the left lane so he had a clear view. Guess I forgot to turn off my invisibility cloak again.”
In hindsight, those in the comments suggested that OP probably should’ve turned right, slotting behind the Tacoma driver, instead.
“To avoid somebody you have to turn behind them. It’s counterintuitive because we instinctively want to turn away from danger. But your turn away from them puts you squarely in their path. Turning right might have been the better option, that puts you behind them,” /u/Randomfactoid42 suggested.
The tour bus driver, seeing OP swerve into oncoming traffic and head right towards him, slows and drives into the breakdown lane, giving OP space.
Thankfully, the situation resolves itself, OP threading the needle between the driver in the Tacoma and the tour bus.
“I would have lost my s***. That guy was just sitting there forever and didn’t go until either you or the bus was going to hit him,” /u/_jump_yossarian commented.
“I drive this route for work pretty often. I think the mix of high-speed and rural drivers makes for some pretty common dangerous situations. Still love the drive though,” /u/Carbonozone added.
Drivers pulling into intersections, out of driveways, and into oncoming traffic is a recurring theme, blogging about these dashcam videos.
Although I should’ve known, this was the first time I heard to swerve right and slot behind the driver falling to yield.
It’s good advice I hope to never have to use it anytime soon.
OP also demonstrates the importance of not speeding.
By going at a reasonable speed and driving defensively, he was able to slow down and make a judgment call, even though it wasn’t completely the right one.
When we don’t speed around, we give our future selves time to react.
