The driver maintains he thought their signaling to turn left onto N Johnson Bench Rd meant they wanted him to pass.
A camper and Redditor /u/BeNice-ThisTime shared headshaking dashcam footage from earlier in November (Nov 8, 2025) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing a driver in a ’90s Ford Ranger making the bonehead mistake on State Route 12 that OP and his friend signaling in front of him before they turned left was his cue for him to overtake them.
Check out his mistake and the ensuing crash below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
The incident happened on State Route 12 at the intersection with N Johnson Bench Rd, which crosses the Canyon Bike Trail (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
“Rural Utah, a few days ago. I’m following the van to a campsite down the gravel road. Saw the (Ford) Ranger behind us, and signalled early so they would understand we were turning (you can hear my signal if you listen close,” OP clarified.
Suddenly, the driver in the Ranger, as mentioned, takes this as them wanting him to pass, which he attempts to do.
The Ranger does his best to avoid a crash, but since he’s not exactly in a sports car, he clips the van, sending him into the bike trail’s stormwater channel.
“After the collision, the Ranger driver said she saw both our left signals, but thought we were pulling over to the right to let her pass.”
“She then repeated that story for the responding Trooper.”
Thankfully, OP doesn’t mention anyone getting seriously injured or even hurt.
However, the driver did cause thousands in damage, which, I’m sure, their respective insurances will sort out in due time.
This is wild to me. I used to drive commercially on the West Coast and nah. Turning on your 4 ways was essentially ‘go around’ but never ever did I or anyone I know take that as, ‘it’s clear to pass, go ahead and gun it without looking first’,” one of the top comments from /u/Lilllyshins reads.
“Left was always left. Right was always right. No matter what, your ass is your own, so don’t tell anyone it’s safe. And don’t you let anyone else tell you it’s safe either, use your eyes and sense. Follow the road laws as written. Otherwise… gestures at the crumpled remains …that.”
In Utah, overtaking a vehicle turning left in front of you and causing a crash can be considered improper passing, which carries 50 points on your driving record. Fines vary by court, but the maneuver violates Utah Code § 41‑6a‑705 and § 41‑6a‑903 requiring drivers to pass safely and yield the right-of-way. (Utah Code)
