Video shows the lengths people will go to escape brutal Highway 401 traffic
Brutal traffic is the norm on Highway 401's chaotic stretch through the Greater Toronto Area, and motorists will go to great lengths to escape the highway's constant gridlock, even if it means breaking the rules of the road.
A shocking video making the rounds shows drivers testing their vehicles' off-road capabilities to escape Highway 401 traffic near Dixie Road. At least four vehicles can be seen openly violating traffic laws in the clip, pulling off the slow-moving highway and onto an adjacent road.
Shortcuts On Hwy401 Near Dixie.
— 401_da_sarpanch (@401_da_sarpanch) July 16, 2023
.#Hwy401 #Toronto #Mississauga #ONHwys #traffic #RoadSafety #shortcut #drivesafe #patience #TruckDriver #trucking pic.twitter.com/ACwFG4iX1z
If this stunt looks familiar to you, that's because the exact same thing happened a few months earlier just a short distance away, when a procession of scofflaw drivers was recorded ditching a queue on a clogged Highway 401/Highway 410 interchange by driving over a grassy hill.
Video shows how drivers will do just about anything to escape Toronto traffic https://t.co/bXRN3zK136 #Toronto
— blogTO (@blogTO) April 17, 2023
People are reacting to this latest example of motorists having no patience on Ontario's only highway bad enough to have a television show about it.
Damn I gotta update my Google Maps.
— John Lazater (@LazaterJohn) July 16, 2023
While there were no police in sight, the drivers captured flouting traffic laws in the clip are receiving some blowback from annoyed Twitter users.
— Skippy 1055 (@skippy1055) July 17, 2023
Of the four vehicles spotted on this makeshift 401 off-ramp, three were SUVs whose drivers got to flex their four-wheel-drive capabilities.
Why all wheel drive is important in the GTA
— Neil Haw (@Haw_Neil44) July 17, 2023
There are some pretty obvious risks with off-roading a makeshift highway off-ramp. Aside from the danger, drivers caught pulling this kind of stunt may face several fines.
So you're probably better off risking being late than facing the costly or potentially fatal alternatives.
