This goofball driver insisted on getting in front of another driver before the two lanes on SR 912 filtered down into one, but lost control and took out a traffic barrel instead.
Lake County-area commuter and Redditor /u/a_wack shared headshaking dashcam footage from State Road 912 from earlier this June (June 22, 2026) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing a driver in their Chevrolet Malibu insisting on cutting in front of another driver as two lanes merged down into one instead of yielding, resulting in them losing control and taking out a traffic barrel.
Check out what could’ve been a disastrous accident below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
The incident happened on SR 912 along Cline Ave as two lanes filtered down into one because of an ongoing resurfacing project between U.S. 12 and south of 15th Ave (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As the dashcam shows, OP is driving north on SR 912 towards East Chicago.
As linked above, there is ongoing work on this road, which has necessitated IN DOT to filter down two lanes into one.
Signage warns drivers accordingly, requiring them to yield to one another.
This driver in a beige Chevrolet Malibu had no intention of slowing down and took a gamble to get ahead of another driver in a Honda Accord before his lane joined another.
Speeding, he approaches the merge point of no return, realizes the other driver doesn’t see him fast-approaching, and realizes he’s run out of space.
The driver in the Malibu slams on his brakes, sending a cloud of tire smoke into the air.
The reckless driver overcorrects, loses control, and takes out a traffic barrel before re-orienting himself, heading straight.
Thankfully, the other driver in the Accord next to them avoids a side swipe collision, and the Malibu driver eventually rejoins, albeit getting his way, in front of the said Accord, although not how he planned.
“Ahh, he decided to do a “f***ing dumba**,” the top comment from /u/Malnurthered_Snay reads.
“Just mowed down a barrel, it the sign, and took off again,” /u/nak00010101 added.
“He had somewhere REALLLLLLYYYYYYY important to be.”
“Like making it to the bar to see the start of the game.”
“Sigh. Is YIELD really that difficult of a concept to comprehend??,” /u/fuzzy-lint asked.
“What makes it better was he came from behind me, drove in between cones to get around me, and then proceeded with this lovely display. I was genuinely curious how it would play out, and it did not disappoint, especially since he didn’t take the other car out,” OP replied.
In Indiana, a driver forcing a merge when two lanes become one could be cited for unsafe lane movement or failure to yield, which typically carries 4 points on their driving record if convicted. Fines vary by court and county (including Lake County) and often range from roughly $100–$300+ after fees, but can increase if the driving was considered careless or actually caused a crash. (Government of Indiana)
