What happens when a BMW wants to merge in front of a Mercedes, but the Mercedes thinks the space in front of it is a birthright?
So-Cal commuter and Redditor /u/Randismaximus shared headshaking dashcam footage playing out behind him from earlier this week (Jan 27, 2026) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit, showing a driver in a Mercedes refusing to let a driver in a BMW merge in front of him, almost ending with one of them smashing into a road sign at the end of a gore point.
Check out the unnecessary situation play out below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
The incident happened on CA-67 shortly after cars crossed the intersection with Mapleview (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As this screenshot shortly before the linked location above shows, cars entering this part of CA-67 in the right lane are instructed not to pass at a certain point.
At that point, cars must have either merged in front of or behind the vehicle in front of them.
A driver in a BMW behind OP really wants to get in front of a Mercedes and speeds up to do so, but is, of course, blocked by the Mercedes driver who wants the BMW to slot behind them.
They both approach a gore point with a road sign at the end of it, and the Mercedes driver gets his way with the BMW driver “forced” to slot behind him to avoid getting into a head-on with said sign.
Thankfully, nothing comes of this except reinforcing both drivers’ bad driving habits
“Both are idiots, the one could have slowed down 2 miles and got behind, not a big deal,” a top comment from /u/FauxGw2 reads.
“True, one was just a bit more of an idiot. Both stubborn,” OP replied.
“This is why the zipper merge will never take hold in the US,” /u/joshhan accurately added.
In California, forcing someone not to merge or cutting in dangerously (e.g., driving through a gore area or weaving side‑by‑side on a single‑lane road) is usually cited as an unsafe driving maneuver, which is an infraction with a typical fine around ~$238 plus court fees and adds 1 point on your DMV record. (shouselaw.com)
Whether it’s called an unsafe lane change or another unsafe driving maneuver, the fine and points are generally the same—1 point on your record. Accumulating multiple points (e.g., 4 in 12 months) can lead to license action, and tickets often increase insurance rates. (dmv.org)
