They decided they weren’t waiting, and they almost paid for it.
Middlesex County driver and Redditor /u/ajuice01 shared headshaking dashcam footage from earlier in January (Jan 12, 2026) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing an impatient driver, fed up with waiting for a red light, just going for it and finding out almost immediatly why that was a bad idea.
Check out the dashcam footage embedded below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
The night red light run happened at the intersection of Willow St. and Lowell St. (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As the dashcam shows, OP is stopped on Willow St in the middle of the night, around 8 PM.
In front of him is a driver in a Honda Civic, also waiting.
Apparently, the lights are timed too long for their liking, as the driver in the Civic just…goes despite not having a clear view of cross traffic.
Well, they find out why that’s a bad idea almost immediatly as a driver with the right of way appears from the left and slows to avoid hitting the bird-brained driver.
OP gets an assist for the near miss, too, for flashing his high beams to warn said cross traffic.
“Clearly states’ No turn on red’, nothing about going straight. /s,” the top comment from /u/suciosunday sarcastically reads.
“You are correct! I see cars turn right on red there all the time too. It’s a dangerous turn on a 35mph street with a blind corner. Never seen someone go straight tho…,” /u/OP replied.
“What a jacka*. Glad the other car didn’t get hit,” /u/NeighborhoodVirtual4 added.
In Reading, Massachusetts (and statewide), running a red light as a traffic violation typically results in a fine around $100 – $150 and 2 points added to your driving record for a first offense. Accumulating points can affect your license status and insurance, and fines may increase for subsequent offenses. (drivinglaws.org)
