A driver in an early 2000s Ford F-150 slalomed between three cars in busy MD 197 traffic, and it was all caught on dashcam.
Marylander and Redditor /u/secretjf shared head-shaking dashcam footage from Laurel, MD from earlier this August (Aug 3, 2024) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing a driver in an early 2000s Ford F-150 swerving recklessly around at least three vehicles just to save himself a few seconds.
Check out the dashcam footage below.
I suppose saving a few seconds is worth the risk to this guy. [OC]
byu/secretjf inIdiotsInCars
The incident happened in Laurel on MD 197 just as the 197 transitions into Laurel -Bowie Rd. (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As OP’s dashcam footage shows, he’s driving at the speed of traffic around 35 MPH around a good amount of traffic in the middle of the day.
The speed limit in this area is 45 MPH.
Suddenly, a driver in a gold Ford F-150 aggressively approaches from behind on the left, cuts off OP, weaves through traffic, and immediately cuts off a blue Toyota RAV-4 in lane #1, before cutting off yet another driver in the OP’s lane (#2)
The F-150 disappears out of view and we can only imagine they kept driving aggressively down the road.
This was not the first time OP encountered this reckless driver that day.
“He passed me a while ago, and I didn’t notice until this happened that I had passed him again. He had a modified muffler, so I heard him pass aggressively the first time, but that last time I didn’t even notice until he did what he did,” /u/secretjf commented.
Risk your own life? That’s your choice I guess. Risk the lives of everyone around you? Not acceptable. That would be a “license lost permanently” if I was dishing out punishment. Not even for punishment, but for the greater good,” /u/AptoticFox added.
“The issue I have more than anything is that this guy is a horrible driver, swinging the tail of a truck while passing lanes is a good way to lose traction or flip, jerking the steering wheel is basically, a suicide/murder pass,” /u/supsupman1001 replied.
In Maryland, unsafe lane changes are part of MD’s Move Over Law.
Violating this part of the law is a misdemeanor subject to a $110 fine and one point on your record for every violation.
” If the violation causes a crash, the fine is $150 and three points. If there is a death or serious injury, the fine is $750 and three points.”
As mentioned by other Redditors, drivers like this have little disregard for their own safety, let alone the safety of those around them.
In these situations, it’s best to not engage and to safely distance yourselves from them as soon as possible.
If you can safely do so, noting their license plate and getting a general description of the vehicle and driver might be useful if you call the appropriate authorities.
In Maryland, the Highway Safety Office recommends calling 9-1-1 or #77 to report speeding and aggressive drivers.
“drivers like this have little disregard”
Who edits this stuff? The word here should be “regard.”
They have his/her tag number. They could throw the book at them. Reckless driving will get them at least five points/suspension. Do you think anything will happen? I hope so, but doubt it.