Wondering why this dashcam owner was honking at him, this confused driver resorted to anger and flipping off their fellow driver.
Multnomah County-area driver and Redditor /u/Grandayyy1 shared headshaking dashcam footage from earlier in May (May 5, 2026) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing a Portland driver, exiting a McDonald’s parking lot onto this busy street, resorting to blocking traffic as they navigated a fairly simple left turn.
Check out the dashcam footage embedded below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
The incident happened along the 2800 block of SE Powell Blvd as drivers exited this McDonald’s Parking Lot (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As the dashcam shows, OP is headed westbound down SE Powell Blvd towards the 99.
As he approaches the intersection with 28th, a driver exiting the McDonald’s, attempting to turn left, resorts to blocking his right-of-way as they wait for a gap in traffic to turn into.
There is, however, a center left turn lane, which drivers attempting to turn along Powell are free to enter as long as it’s safe to do so, to easily complete their turns.
For everyone who says “it’s illegal to use the middle turn lane to merge from a left turn” please reference section Two-way special left turn lane from the Oregon DMV website,” OP Clarified in the comments.
The Oregon DMV as it pertains to two-way left turn lanes,
“You may turn from a side street or driveway into a two–way left turn lane. You must stop to wait for traffic to clear before moving into the lane to your right. Make sure the left turn lane is clear in both directions before entering the lane. It is illegal to use these lanes to speed up and merge with traffic or for passing cars to access a turn lane at an intersection.”
“No, you don’t sometimes have to do that on busy roads. Sometimes you have to turn right then find a way to turn around that doesn’t involve blocking traffic,” /u/KajuNator added.
“Or you know, use the middle lane the way it was designed for busy roads like this, so you don’t have to wait for opposing lanes of traffic to be clear at the same time,” /u/cckkaa replied, in agreement with OP.
In Oregon, failing to use a two-way left-turn lane (center turn lane) properly or blocking right-of-way while making a left turn is typically treated as a traffic infraction (often a Class B or Class C infraction depending on the exact charge). Fines usually land in the range of roughly $200–$400 once base fine and court fees are included. Oregon does not use a traditional driver “points” system, but the violation can still show up on your driving record and affect insurance rates.
