The internet is divided over new footage of a cheeky young driver trying to cut in front of other cars during the peak-hour rush on Friday morning, sparking not only a road-rage dispute but also an internet debate as to whether she was just being cheeky or actually breaking the road rules.
The Sydney P-plater is captured on dash-cam footage driving along an empty parking lane trying to sneak in front of other drivers at traffic lights in Auburn. The footage shows that the driver of a silver Toyota isn’t having a bar of the pushy manoeuvre and accelerates forward – attempting to stop the driver from merging while giving them a piece of their mind. The driver waves his fist at the young woman driver before the two cars collide, after which she jumps out to take a picture of the damage.
The footage, which was shared on the 7News Facebook page, has sparked debate among viewers, who are divided over whose side they’re on. It seems people are split over whether you should be polite and wait your turn to merge, or be polite and let another driver in.
Many viewers took the side of the silver Toyota, saying the young woman “got what she deserved”. “Unfortunately, a lot of drivers think their blinkers are forcefields and by putting them on they think they can go wherever they want,” commented one user.
Another wrote, “It was completely unnecessary for the P-plater to try an illegal merge, instead she should’ve done what anyone with half a brain would do and continue straight and find somewhere legal and safe to U-turn and get her back to the turn she originally wanted. This is proof that common sense is getting a lot less common!!!”
Others said the silver Toyota was completely out of order for his reaction, saying he should have simply let the young female driver in. “Typical Auburn – it would be a crime to assist someone who may be lost or merging,” one user wrote.
One more sympathetic user commented, “Perhaps she wanted to turn right and didn’t realise the far left lane wouldn’t permit her to turn right (she’s new on the road so probably still learning about lanes etc) – hence the last minute merge? As frustrating as it may be, it was absolutely unnecessary for the silver car to do what they did. People have zero patience for each other on the road, it’s ridiculous.”
“The reason that the P-plater can get in is because there’s a large enough gap. The attitude of the driver on the silver car is very bad and you should give way to other driver whenever safe, especially to L- and P-platers,” another said. “If everyone has that low level of patience and tolerance, accidents are going to happen everywhere. Pretty sure the silver car is responsible for the damage.”
Others said it wasn’t an issue of being polite, but simply following the road rules, which would leave the young P-plater at fault.
“She crossed an unbroken line, so she broke road rules! Perhaps she needs to lose her licence for a while and re-learn the rules,” one woman reminded people. Another added, “Solid white line means no merging!!!! Drives me crazy when someone merges on a solid white line.”