This doofus thought taking a trailer onto the interstate with an unsecured mattress would work out. It didn’t.
Gloucester County-area driver and Redditor /u/Flat_Philosophy_7539 shared headshaking dashcam footage from earlier this April (Apr 26, 2026) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing the terrifying moment a mattress flew out of this guy’s tow-along trailer, out onto I-295, almost causing a disastrous multi-car collision.
Check out the dashcam video below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
The incident happened on I-295 just before Exit 17 towards Gibbstown via CR 680 (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As the dashcam shows, OP is in the fast lane, headed westbound down I-295 towards the aforementioned intersection.
In front of him is a driver towing a utility trailer, inside of which is what looks like a full-size King Mattress ( almost square), which typically measures more than 6’x6′ and can weigh between 130-80 pounds.
With the wind buffeting the unsecured load, the inevitable happens, and the mattress comes flopping and flying out.
It flies through the air and lands, smack dab, in the middle of the emergency shoulder, but not before flying within a few feet of OP’s front bumper.
“This happened yesterday, the timestamp on the video is wrong. The car pulled over on the right is a police officer too but I guess he didn’t see it since he stayed pulled over,” OP clarified in the comments.
“No license plate on the trailer, too, huh,” one of the top comments from /u/knouqs reads.
“I mean, really, if you are going to be a dumba**, you might as well go all the way! To that, though, I’m surprised the driver didn’t see the mattress fly and decide to swerve immediately to the left lane to catch it.”
“That was an absolute best-case scenario with how that thing flew out and where it ended up. That could have been so much worse,” /u/TheW83 pointed out.
In New Jersey, an unsecured load is typically a traffic violation under N.J.S.A. 39:4-77.1, and can carry fines ranging from about $50 to $200 for a first offense, plus potential court costs. If the debris causes damage or a hazard (like a mattress entering live traffic), penalties and fines can increase significantly. It usually does not carry points, unless it’s tied to more serious negligent or reckless driving charges.
