WATCH: suspicious roadblock

[corydodt]

No. Dangerous to others.

Step 1: Someone stops because they think the road cones are legally placed
Step 2: three seconds later, a sleepy driver driving at highway speeds plows into the stopped driver, killing them.

[jcmcgowan]

Sorry, but I still don’t entirely believe the “out of gas” story. He appeared to have the cones setup in a way that was designed to force someone to stop. The spacing of the two cones and then he stood next to one cone and tried to determine which way the oncoming auto would try to bypass the cones. He started to step toward the shoulder and then when the car moved slightly to go between the cones he stepped in that direction, almost directly in the path of the car. He was definitely being bold and trying to force a stoppage. He’s fortunate the driver didn’t run him down.

[aeon]

Given that arrangement of car, cones and suspicious looking individual I’d have gunned it for the gap and never spoken to him.

[siloxane]

@redesigned

highly unlikely story that he had two full sized safety pylons

I’m guessing he didn’t have the cones with him, but rather just grabbed them from the side of the road. At the start of the video, the driver passes similar cones near an on-ramp before coming upon the stopped car.

But yeah, regardless, really dangerous and sketchy situation.

[shaddack]

@jcmcgowan

He was definitely being bold and trying to force a stoppage.

A not-asked-yet question is, how long was he waiting there and how desperate he was. This does not sound like a first-choice to do.

[jsroberts]

From my computer, I’m willing to believe that people had been passing him for the past while and he tried an extreme solution to avoid being stuck on the road all night. If I were with a group like the guy in the video, I’d probably tell him that I’d call for help and that he should clear the road. If I were by myself (especially if I were a woman) I would do what I could to get out of the situation as fast and safely as possible.

@bizmail_public

There is a common sense protocol everyone is should have learned in driver’s ed : pull off to the side of the road as far as practically possible, turn on the blinkers, raise the hood to signal “mechanical trouble”, and STAY IN or NEAR the car.

In the UK at least, you get out of the car on the passenger side and try to get a barrier or embankment between you and the motorway.

[IronEdithKidd]

Dash cams are your friend whether or not you’re in Russia or China. A large sheet of glass flying at my car while driving home from the ice rink one night last summer convinced me to get one. Cheap, reliable, and oddly, cut down on the frequency of weird shit happening in front of me on the road. (Coincidence on the last bit, but I’m good with it.)

[bizmail_public]

I completely agree – nothing in this video speaks to this man’s intent.

All one needs to know is that his actions were incredibly unsafe. Mostly to himself. A reasonable initial reaction to any unsafe situation, which this most certainly was, is to remove oneself from the situation. Don’t make matters worse.

But we still have an obligation to help our fellow humans, however they appear. To me, driving away and using my cell phone to summon properly trained and properly equipped help (eg a tow truck) would be the preferred course of action.

p…s. I find it completely plausible that he was drunk driving, got the cones from a nearby site, and made a series of incredibly poor decisions. In that case, summoning the Highway Patrol without stopping is the optimal course of action for most people. If you have experience dealing with alcohol-addled people in inherently dangerous circumstances, perhaps you would have made the world a better place by stopping to help. God Bless You.