A driver in a Toyota Sienna was caught on dashcam dangerously passing semis using the emergency shoulder.
Calhoun County commuter and Redditor /u/isoaclue shared headshaking dashcam footage from I-94 from earlier in October (Oct 1, 2025) to the /r/dashcam subreddit showing a driver in a Toyota Sienna using the emergency shoulder to pass semi truck drivers with fully loaded trailers.
Here’s the clip making the rounds on /r/dashcam embedded below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
[A229 Pro] Passing semi trucks repeatedly in the median/shoulder is OK right?
byu/isoaclue inDashcam
As mentioned, the incident happened on Interstate 94, starting in Battle Creek and heading towards Climax, MI (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As the dashcam shows, OP is driving along I-94 in the fast lane.
In the rear view, you can make out a driver in a minivan chopping it up on the two-lane interstate.
Suddenly, in a bid to get past a whole semi-truck with a loaded trailer (18-wheeler), the driver in the van hops on the emergency shoulder and passes the semi.
Only meant for emergency stops, the shoulder is a dangerous place to drive through.
Not built for driving with limited space and no one expecting you to be there, it’s a dangerous spot to drive through, not to mention it’s often littered with debris, exposing you to a blowout situation.
If that dangerous pass wasn’t enough, the Toyota Sienna driver does it again, this time plowing through a gore point, not meant for driving through, to get past another semi.
“Didn’t notice him until he blew past us. It’s harder to make out if you’re not on a bigger screen, but he did it again on the left side at least twice before we lost sight of him. Hopefully, the police got him. I was able to give them a plate #.”
Even though you might have a legitimate emergency, it’s still against the law to use the emergency shoulder for anything other than stopping. However, a judge or officer may not charge you as such, but it’s up to their discretion.
The safer and legal move is to call 911. Explain the emergency, and dispatchers can sometimes send help or even alert troopers to clear a route.
“If you like risking blowing out your tires on shoulder debris,” the top comment from /u/Individdy reads.
“I can’t figure out the mindset of this kind of driver. On one hand, so self-important that they will do anything to pass, and on the other hand, they place no value on their own life when taking risks like that,” /u/Area51Resident added.
In Michigan, passing another vehicle by driving on the emergency (breakdown) shoulder is illegal and considered a civil infraction. This violation is typically charged under MCL 257.637, which prohibits overtaking and passing on the right by leaving the main-traveled portion of the roadway, including the shoulder.
Violators are subject to a $140 fine before fees and three points on their record.
