Re-routing would’ve added less than 3 miles to his drive, but he decided to risk a dangerous maneuver instead.
Cleveland-area commuter and Redditor /u/Danpool13 shared headshaking dashcam footage from earlier in January (Jan 20, 2026) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing the headshaking moment this semi driver decided to risk a multi-car pileup to make their exit at the last second instead of just re-routing.
Check out the harebrained decision and how it played out below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
The incident occurred southbound on I-71, just before the interchange with OH-176 South, heading towards Parma (Exact location on Google Maps linked here).
As the dashcam shows, OP is driving southbound on I-71.
Just before the interchange towards Exit 246 and OH-176 to the left, OP notices a driver in an 18-wheeler in the far right lane slowly making his way towards that aforementioned exit.
In other words, he realized that, if he stayed in the right lane, he was going to miss his exit onto OH-176.
But, from where he is to the interchange, he has to cross a gore point, which drivers are explicitly prohibited from driving through.
The semi almost comes to a complete stop but gets its way, making its way onto the exit towards 176.
Meanwhile, cars at freeway speed on the left and right are whizzing by, an overall dangerous situation to be in and around.
Thankfully, nothing came of the incident, and everyone emerged unscathed.
I looked up how long it would take to re-route towards 176 from a half mile into the 71; had that semi driver just kept going, it would be an additional 2.4 miles.
In other words, he should’ve just rerouted.
“That’s entirely unacceptable behavior and should elicit the same ticket as if they were going the same amount over the posted limit that they were going under the minimum speed, which is probably 40. This should be a felony “speeding” ticket. There’s no valid reason for their behavior,” the top comment from /u/appa-ate-momo reads.
“You’re telling me even I can get a CDL? Sounds like a recession indicator,” /u/OK-Regret6212 replied with comedic effect.
In Ohio, doing an unsafe lane change or otherwise failing to stay within your lane — including crossing a gore point or into a solid line area — is treated as a marked-lane violation under state traffic law, which is typically a minor misdemeanor with a fine (often around $115–$150) and results in 2 points on your driving record. (LegalClarity)
Those points matter because accumulating 12 or more within two years triggers an automatic license suspension (plus possible remedial training and fees). (LegalClarity)
