This driver in a Toyota Tundra failed to change lanes safely resulting in his truck effectively being totaled.
Long haul trucker and Redditor /u/Maison-Haus shared truly headshaking dashcam semi footage to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit from earlier this September showing the hare-brained moment a driver in a full-sized Toyota Tundra on the 210 in Pasadena failed to change lanes properly resulting in him getting sideswiped by a semi-truck, roping in another driver in a semi-truck and trailer in the process.
Check out his dashcam footage below.
[oc] who needs to shoulder check anyways
byu/Maison-Haus inIdiotsInCars
The incident happened on the 210 in Pasadena, CA just before the 26B exit onto Los Robles Ave (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As his dashcam footage shows, /u/Maison-Haus is in Lane #4.
To the right of OP, a driver in a white Toyota Tundra truck can be seen in Lane #5 caught behind slower-moving traffic.
Suddenly, without signaling the Tundra driver changes lanes right into the path of OP.
Many in the comments chalk his actions up to distracted driving or simply not paying attention.
The Tundra clips the front of OP, forcing OP to veer into Lane #3.
Unfortunately, another semi-truck driver is approaching fast in Lane #3, doesn’t have time to move, and forces OP to side-swipe the entire length of that semi, too.
That second semi then careens into the front bumper of the Tundra, ripping his front end into smithereens.
OP doesn’t provide much detail but says the Tundra driver didn’t take responsibility for his actions and might’ve lied to the police.
“Yeah, he made some lame excuse to the cop about lane merging prior. Fortunately, the dashcam was present. It will be interesting to see the police report in about a week or so,” /u/Maison-Haus clarified.
“The second semi-busting up his front end was the post-credits scene I needed today,” /u/Chrisinthesth commented.
“Notice how late he brakes. Definitely phone, or narcolepsy,” /u/TheStoicNihilist hypothesized.
“Looked like the idiot had already slowed down behind traffic, then decided to speed back up (or at least keep rolling) without checking on the cars ahead. My guess would be looking down at a phone because he thought traffic was continuing to move. Great reaction by the black car who saw the idiot coming and got over to the shoulder and (I think) avoided any damage,” /u/KBHoleN1 added.
It looks like this might be a case of distracted driving because the alternate theory, failing to change lanes properly, seems less likely given the dashcam video evidence.
Driving requires our full attention at all times, no ifs, ands, or buts.
In regards to changing lanes safely, I’d say it goes without saying but, today, that’s not the case.
Checking your mirrors and blind spots by looking over your shoulder is a must, even if you think you’re sure there’s not traffic behind you.
I’ve traveled on that freeway for years. Sure, he might have been distracted and should suffer the consequences if that’s true. However, I’ve witnessed moves like that by people who aren’t on their phones. They simply don’t want to inch along in heavy traffic. They assume they can dart out from behind the slow traffic, overestimating acceleration of their vehicle and because they deserve to not be stuck like the rest of us. It’s an attitude problem more than anything else. I see it at Metro train crossings in Pasadena when yahoos try to beat the descending arm when the train’s coming. There have been several train vs car accidents in the last few years. People just don’t want to wait for their turn anymore because their time is too important.