Almost got in a car accident last night on the freeway. Did I do the right thing?

[Schfifty Five]

So it's 11PM and I'm on a 4 lane freeway going about 70 in the 3rd lane. A car to my left (4th lane) signals for about .25 seconds and decides to switch lane right into me. I made a knee jerk reaction and swerved into the 2nd lane with no time to check if the 2nd lane was clear. If it wasn't clear, I would have initiated an accident with a car to my right...

What is the right thing to do for my best interest?

If I let the car hit me, I wouldn't be liable. But I can risk my car spinning or causing severe injury to myself.

If I had changed lane AND hit a car, I would probably be held liable while the car that started the whole thing changes lane successfully and goes free into the night.

I've seen such an example where this prick was changing lanes and cutting people off like 5 times a minute and caused an accident while he drove off into the night.

Were you driving side by side w/ that guy for a while?

Or did he just zoom up next to you and cut you off?

If it's the first, then now you know it's never a good idea to be driving right next to anyone in the next lane.

Not only does this block traffic, but crap like what happened to you can occur.

 

[JEDI]

You reacted quickly to avoid an obvious accident. Only change I would consider is scanning your mirrors more to know what is around you. On a busy freeway it sometimes isn't a sure thing with cars shifts lanes in your blind spots but it helps.

yeah. every once in a while i look to see what kind of traffic is on my left and right.

i dont know how this became habit, but it made lane switching much easier because i can anticipate when to switch lanes earlier.

and probably would have been good in OPs case.

 

[JEDI]

I had a teenage girl do this to me, except I couldn't swerve because next to the right lane was a wall. I slammed on my breaks as I saw her coming and she literally ran over the front of my car(she's driving an suv and I'm driving a compact). After we pull over and she jumps out of her car and tells me she thought I saw her. No shit I saw her, I saw her run right over my car. But me being a nice person and raised to be a gentlemen I don't give her shit. She then proceeds to tell me that at least her car wasn't damaged and asked whether she could leave. Bad idea for her, my girlfriend was in the passenger seat and now she was out of the car and she had no qualms about giving this girl hell. There was smoke coming out of her ears at this point. She proceeded to berate this girl until she started sobbing, telling her what a spoiled brat she was and how stupid she was etc. After my gf's tirade we got back in the car to wait for the cops and we could here her sobbing into her cell phone telling her mommy how mean this lady was to her and how none of this was her fault.

yeah right.

so did the girl's insurance pay for everything.

or did the girl deny being at fault, and you had to waste time/effort to get things straight?

 

[zokudu]

so did the girl's insurance pay for everything.

or did the girl deny being at fault, and you had to waste time/effort to get things straight?

Yea I'm interested in the results of the story too

 

[MJinZ]

You reacted quickly to avoid an obvious accident. Only change I would consider is scanning your mirrors more to know what is around you. On a busy freeway it sometimes isn't a sure thing with cars shifts lanes in your blind spots but it helps.

This, you should always *know* what cars are around you.

 

[MJinZ]

I think you should be constantly aware of what is around your car. I constantly scan my mirrors to know what is beside and behind me. That way, in the event of a situation, I actually have information to make a smart decision.

You could have very easily killed a motorcycle rider or caused an even worse accident than would have happened to you.

I agree, however, keep in mind that everyone has a brain and eyes on the road, even the motorcycle rider to your right or left and behind.

I know when I am in a vehicle and a witness to a dangerous situation, I maneuver away or brake and go towards proper contingencies. Also, there should be no reason why you would want to be driving next to someone in the next lane when all 4 lanes are open.

The reason the douche-bag did a failed lane change was most likely because:

1) The OP was not visible (lights, whatever) - that would be OP's fault
2) But most likely, the OP was in a blind spot and the left-laner failed to check his spot and was unaware of his surroundings, assuming that there were fewer cars on the road at night, it would be a fine maneuver.

 

[disappoint]

You did the wrong thing, you drove along in someone's blind spot. You also did the same thing he did, switched lanes without looking to see if it's clear.

 

[MJinZ]

You did the wrong thing, you drove along in someone's blind spot. You also did the same thing he did, switched lanes without looking to see if it's clear.

If he stayed there for longer than a few seconds, that would have been pretty stupid.

You're usually always in someone's blind-spot though.

 

[Perknose]

You never thought to hit the break, put on your high beam and hold down your horn?

There are very few valid reasons to use your breaks on the free way.

breaks[/B] as I saw her coming...

Semi-literacy: A communicable disease? :$

 

[BudAshes]

so did the girl's insurance pay for everything.

or did the girl deny being at fault, and you had to waste time/effort to get things straight?

We called the police gave a report and I grabbed a witness who was right there and pulled over(thank you good Samaritans), so her insurance paid for everything including a rental car. There was no wiggle room for her to get out of responsibility.

 

[jinduy]

i wasn't driving along next to the guy for an extended period of time. i was going faster than him and in the middle of passing him when suddenly he decided to turn into me. i think the dude was probably going like 60 while i was going 65-70.

 

[bobdole369]

What is the right thing to do for my best interest?

Sharply hit the brakes.

 

[spidey07]

In the future, don't drive in people's blinds spots or this will happen over and over again.

Oh, and don't pass on the right or this will happen over and over again.

 

[alkemyst]

You are always responsible for avoiding an accident if possible. That said I can't blame anyone for giving back a bit of suspense to some fucker cutting off others.

It's popular here for 4x4's to block on ramps by pacing traffic trying to get on. You will see 3-4 rednecks lining up and doing it together. They also pull 2-3+ across all traffic lanes then drive like 15mph under the limit and act like they are all having a private party.

Then you have the asshats with train horns going after sports cars.

Can't say what I have done has been safe, but I am sure I have made a few rethink their pranks.

 

[Xcobra]

LOL I love how everyone is on the check your mirrors, brake, blah blah blah. I want to see you in a situation like this to see what your first reaction is. Then again, it's ATOT where everyone is perfect.

 

[sandorski]

Sharply hit the brakes.

Or crank the Brakes to full.

 

[sandorski]

LOL I love how everyone is on the check your mirrors, brake, blah blah blah. I want to see you in a situation like this to see what your first reaction is. Then again, it's ATOT where everyone is perfect.

Those are the correct answers.

 

[Narmer]

LOL I love how everyone is on the check your mirrors, brake, blah blah blah. I want to see you in a situation like this to see what your first reaction is. Then again, it's ATOT where everyone is perfect.

I know. I made the same mistake as the OP last year. Like him I was lucky no one was to the right of me. I've been conscious of checking before going but when you have to make a decision like that it's better to think about it now so that it gets into your subconscious. Now is that time. As others have said it is best for the OP to simply brake.

 

[spidey07]

LOL I love how everyone is on the check your mirrors, brake, blah blah blah. I want to see you in a situation like this to see what your first reaction is. Then again, it's ATOT where everyone is perfect.

Seeing that I drive on the interstate 160 miles each and everyday it's more about ANTICIPATING other vehicles moves.

1) Don't pass on the right, period. Just don't. You have to assume that when you do the vehicle on the left will come into your lane without warning.
2) If you do decide to stupidly decide to pass on the right you had better be prepared for what would happen if they move into your lane, because they ARE going to come into your lane because they don't expect you to be passing them on the right. This entails you have a plan for what to do should they do so. Can I safely move into the right lane?, I already am aware of the vehicles around me. Can I safely brake hard without being rear-ended, I am already aware of the vehicles to my front, my behind to my right and to my left.
3) You must ALWAYS assume when you are in another vehicles blind spot they cannot see you and WILL move into your lane. Don't put your vehicle's blind spot and if you must, get the fuck outta there.

Anticipate other drivers stupidity and be prepared, it could save your life.

 

[JD50]

You don't swerve blindly into another lane, you brake and let the guy in front of you then furiously honk your horn, flash your high beams, and scream out obscenities. My wife would've done what you did.

 

[JD50]

LOL I love how everyone is on the check your mirrors, brake, blah blah blah. I want to see you in a situation like this to see what your first reaction is. Then again, it's ATOT where everyone is perfect.

My first reaction is to hit my brakes because I know how to drive.

 

[Xcobra]

Seeing that I drive on the interstate 160 miles each and everyday it's more about ANTICIPATING other vehicles moves.

1) Don't pass on the right, period. Just don't. You have to assume that when you do the vehicle on the left will come into your lane without warning.
2) If you do decide to stupidly decide to pass on the right you had better be prepared for what would happen if they move into your lane, because they ARE going to come into your lane because they don't expect you to be passing them on the right. This entails you have a plan for what to do should they do so. Can I safely move into the right lane?, I already am aware of the vehicles around me. Can I safely brake hard without being rear-ended, I am already aware of the vehicles to my front, my behind to my right and to my left.
3) You must ALWAYS assume when you are in another vehicles blind spot they cannot see you and WILL move into your lane. Don't put your vehicle's blind spot and if you must, get the fuck outta there.

Anticipate other drivers stupidity and be prepared, it could save your life.

Oh don't get me wrong. I pretty much do all of the above. But in a situation like that, you have less than a second to make a decision. I agree with everyone's answers. My point being that not all will react the "correct" way.

I did the same thing about two weeks ago; some douchebag with a huge 4x4 truck did not see my car, was totally not in his blind spot and almost hit me. I'm guessing it was because he was driving a freaking huge truck and probably didn't see my tiny corolla. Luckily for me as well, there was no one on the 2nd lane (out of 4 lanes). As much as I know you have to lookout for dumbasses, it infuriates me that people that oblivious are out there driving.

 

[rudeguy]

here in MI...we would have PIT'd the guy.

 

[Xcobra]

My first reaction is to hit my brakes because I know how to drive.

Of course it is.

 

[JD50]

Of course it is.

I spent 3 years commuting 90 miles each way on I95, this kind of thing happened more than once. Guess what? I braked. If I swerved into the other lane I would've caused a multiple car pileup.