In what appears to be a case of distracted driving a Prius driver locked up their brakes on the highway and made a swift exit soon after
3 hours ago
Accidents happen all of the time but it’s rare that a person takes themselves out without touching anything else on the road at all. Yet somehow, one Prius owner miraculously managed to pull off such a trick and it was all caught on a dashcam. Let’s break down the video and try to figure out what happened and how to avoid it.
In a video shared on Reddit, apparently from March 19, 2024, judging by the timestamp, a Toyota Prius is seen in lane two of a divided two-lane highway. It’s ahead of the dashcam-equipped car, which is traveling in lane one and gradually catching up to the Prius. As the dashcam car approaches, a Jeep moves from lane one to lane two, obstructing the view of the Prius.
As the Toyota reappears, its turn signal indicates an intention to merge into lane one. For whatever reason, the driver appears to hesitate and then suddenly notices another car that they’re approaching just ahead in lane two. That’s when the Prius’ brake lights come on and the chaos begins. The rear passenger-side brake caliper seems to lock up, smoke billows from the tire and the car jolts left.
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It crosses into lane one quickly and the driver somehow saves it from hitting the barrier but in the process sends the car back to the right. They correct it again but it’s too late. They slide off of the roadway and into the ditch sending dirt and debris flying into the air. According to the poster, they managed to not only keep things ‘wheels down’ but to drive away only moments later.
Video Reddit
It’s impossible to say for sure what caused the accident, but there are a few possibilities. First, it looks as though the Prius driver didn’t account for how quickly they were closing on the car in lane two.
Secondly, when they applied the brakes, the ABS should’ve prevented the rear brake from locking up the way it did. Perhaps the braking system was faulty, the caliper failed in some way, or the driver accidentally activated the emergency brake.
Either way, kudos to the dashcam-wielding driver who captured this footage. Not only were they paying enough attention to avoid the swerving Toyota, but they didn’t overreact either. When the chaos began, they simply slowed down and let it happen safely ahead of them.