Driver in Ford F-250 didn’t want to re-route and almost caused their own crash as a result.
Cook County driver and Redditor /u/Elmtucky shared headshaking dashcam footage from the 294 from earlier in July (July 26, 2026) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing the boneheaded moment a driver in their Ford F-250 opted to hop back onto the busy interstate from an exit and through a gore point, almost causing their own t-bone collision.
Check out the near miss below with the original Reddit thread linked here.
The incident happened on I-294 at Exit 40 towards the 90 Toll Road and 190 West towards O’Hare and River Rd. (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As the dashcam shows, OP is headed northbound on I-294 towards Milwaukee when he takes Exit 40 towards the I-90 Toll Road.
As he’s exiting, some doofus in the leftmost off-ramp exit decides he’s in the wrong exit and, instead of re-routing, foolishly decides to hop across the gore point and rejoin 294 traffic.
But, with OP, with the right of way, coming through, he almost gets t-boned, an accident which would’ve been of no fault but their own.
Thankfully, OP has the presence of mind to emergency brake, honk, and swerve into the gore point behind the doofus driver.
The driver can be seen getting his way, rejoining 294 traffic, but at what cost? Almost causing an accident?
According to Google Maps, re-routing by taking the 190, then the 294, and taking the nearest exit to head the other way would’ve added, at most, no more than 6 miles and less than 10 minutes in ideal conditions.
“That was not the car I was expecting. Good save OP.,” the top comment from /u/SpringSings95 reads.
“I drive this exact route every week or so, and honestly I’ve never seen anything too crazy there. Glad you were vigilant enough to avoid hitting that sunbass, OP,” /u/KOWguy added.
“A good driver will miss their exit from time to time. A bad driver never misses it,” /u/TheHipsterBandit quoted and oft-quoted quote of this subreddit.
In Rosemont, Illinois, driving through a gore point (the striped triangular area separating an exit ramp from the main lanes) to re-enter traffic could be cited as an improper lane usage or similar Illinois Vehicle Code violation, depending on the circumstances. The fine is typically around $164, and many Illinois moving violations carry no points unless specifically assigned; the exact point impact depends on the offense charged. (law.cornell.edu)
If the maneuver created a dangerous situation or crash, additional charges (such as careless driving/failure to reduce speed) could increase penalties. (law.cornell.edu)
