Who Was The Bigger Idiot Responsible For This Crash On I-55?
On I-55 Near Bolingbrook. Chicago and Chicago highways need more traffic tickets. We’re almost as bad as New Jersey. from r/chicago
In some very unsurprising news, there are some idiots on Illinois highways.
**DISCLAIMER**
I did some research and I'm pretty sure there were no major injuries resulted from this crash. Now let's get to some blame.
Obviously both of these people are bad drivers but who was worse? Let's go to the tape.
OUR CONTESTANTS:
Behind door number one we have a white Jeep (referred to for the rest of this blog as WJ) and behind door number 2 is a white sedan (WS for now on.)
THE SETUP:
When we first meet the two vehicles, WJ enters the frame traveling at a speed that seems consistent with the vehicle ahead of it. If you go back and look, the smaller blue-ish coupe looks to be going as fast as WJ.
Then, almost simultaneously, the WS enters the frame and WJ slams on the brakes suddenly. This causes WS to swerve and then lose control leading to the crash.
THE UNKNOWNS:
- We don't know if the WJ and blue-ish coupe were going an appropriate speed for the left lane. Are they doing 66 or 76 over there? Big difference.
- What happened before this? Was WS tailgaiting for awhile? Was WS barrelling down the highway at 90 MPH? Another big factor.
WHAT EVERYONE ABSOLUTELY DID WRONG:
- WS was going too fast. Even without the "brake check" from WJ, WS was closing in at a dangerous rate of acceleration.
- WJ doing a brake check in that situation, even if WS was being an idiotic jerk behind him, is WILDLY dangerous and I'm sure every driving instructor would strongly advise against it.
THE VERDICT:
They're both pretty big idiots. I'm going to officially lean towards WJ taking home first place. While WS was driving at worst erratically and overly aggressive, WJ's actions were dangerously pointed at a single victim.
THE PUNISHMENT:
This is one of those rare cases where I believe Karma took care of everything. Everybody totaled their cars and probably received a few moving violations. The only people I really feel bad for is everyone whose commute was interrupted by these idiots.
THE LESSON:
Don't be an idiot when you're driving.
Thank you.