Drivers spotted taking illegal shortcut to escape Highway 401 near Toronto

Motorists were spotted taking an illegal exit to flee from Highway 401 gridlock on Monday morning after a massive truck crash shut down the busy artery in both directions through Ajax for several hours.

The collision occurred at approximately 8:45 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of the 401 near Lake Ridge Road in Ajax, forcing a full closure of a portion of highway that backed up traffic for kilometres in each direction.

A shocked motorist captured a video showing at least eight impatient drivers lining up to make an illegal U-turn into oncoming highway traffic via a break in the dividers separating the eastbound and westbound lanes.

Drivers pulling illegal U-turn to escape closed stretch of Highway 401😳 #Toronto #TorontoDriving #Hwy401 - 📹 zackroams / IG pic.twitter.com/uWS47C3xZE

— blogTO (@blogTO) October 24, 2023

It should go without saying that merging with oncoming highway traffic via a U-turn is highly illegal, and the drivers seen in this clip could be on the hook for charges under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act.

According to section 153 of the Act, "Where a highway has been designated for the use of one-way traffic only and official signs have been erected accordingly, vehicles and street cars shall be driven only in the direction so designated."

Section 156 of the Act states that "Where a highway is divided into two separate roadways, no person shall operate or drive a vehicle or lead, ride or drive an animal, from one roadway to the other roadway except where a crossing is provided."

Impatient drivers have been caught pulling this move many times in just the last several months to escape the clutches of Highway 401 traffic.

Back in April, a queue of cars were seen ditching highway gridlock by driving over a grassy hill to merge with Highway 401 from Highway 410.

A similar video emerged this past July when motorists were spotted testing out their off-roading capabilities to escape traffic on Highway 401 near Dixie Road.

Most recently, a video captured in August shows drivers pulling U-turns to escape the busy collectors' lanes of the 401 near Yonge.