We have all been there. Driving down a four-lane highway, just trying to get to our destination, when two semi-trucks decide to make life difficult for everyone behind them by blocking both lanes. We often ask ourselves, out loud and many times not so politely, “Why doesn’t the driver of the semi-truck in the passing lane just speed up or slow down and get back into the right lane?”
Well, one unknown driver slash hero recently found himself in such a situation. Sick of the two semi-trucks hogging both lanes of the highway, he decided to risk it all and get petty revenge on them to the cheers of thousands on TikTok.
In a TikTok video posted by user @lochardcraig that has gone viral thanks to the mystery driver’s maneuvers, the driver can be seen driving into the breakdown lane on the right, accelerating past the semi-trucks. He then cuts back in front of them into the passing lane, and drives at a pace that forces the semi-truck in the passing lane to make a decision.
Because of our hero’s slow speed, the semi-truck in the left lane merges back into the right lane, opening up the passing lane for everyone behind them.
“Whoever this is, I’d like to thank you for your service,” the caption on the TikTok video reads. Based on many of the comments and the over 38,000 likes, drivers everywhere seem to share this sentiment.
“I’m a truck driver and approve!” one viewer commented.
“Not all heroes wear capes,” read another comment.
“I wanna shake that guys hand,” said another viewer.
Is what the driver did legal?
While much appreciated, what the driver of the car did to get the semi-trucks to break up their blockade of the highway may not technically be legal.
First of all, law enforcement usually frowns upon driving in the breakdown lane to pass cars on the highway. Second, as Guessing Headlights points out, “The slow-roll blocking tactic itself also lands in a legal gray area.”
However, most states also have laws that prohibit people from just camping out in the passing lane. This is especially true for semi-trucks in some states, so in this case, since no one got hurt, two wrongs ended up making a right. It’s just not advisable.