There is nothing more universally frustrating than sitting motionless in a massive line of traffic while the adjacent lane sits wide open. Most of us just sigh, turn up the radio, and accept our fate. However, one Australian driver recently decided to take matters into his own hands, using a highly controversial but fully-legal loophole to bypass a massive queue of cars.
In a newly viral dashcam video captioned “Completely legal traffic hack,” the driver shows us exactly how a little bit of outside-the-box thinking at a roundabout can save you a massive amount of time.
The reel starts with the driver cruising down the wide-open right lane of a multi-lane road. Meanwhile, the left lane is backed up to a standstill with dozens of cars waiting to proceed through an upcoming roundabout.
“Look at ’em imbeciles,” the driver jokes as he cruised past the gridlock. “They were lining up for about 200 meters. I’m gonna show you a hack, okay?”
Instead of merging into the back of the massive line, the driver stays in the empty right lane and enters the roundabout. Because roundabouts are designed for continuous flow, he simply uses the inner lane to do a nearly full 360-degree loop. By completing the circle, he effectively bypasses the entire 200-meter line of waiting cars and exits onto the exact same road the left-lane traffic was waiting for.
“I’ve Beaten the Matrix, Mate”
“I’m a f***ing genius when it comes to road rules,” he boasts to the camera while turning. “Watch this… I’ve f***ing beaten the matrix, mate!”
But Is It Actually Legal?
The driver boldly claims this maneuver is a “completely legal traffic hack,” and depending on local traffic laws, he is usually, technically, right.
In most jurisdictions including Australia, the UK, and the US, it is generally legal to make a full circle or a U-turn at a roundabout, provided you enter from the correct lane, yield to traffic already in the circle, and use your turn signals appropriately to exit. Because the driver used a legitimate traffic lane to enter the roundabout and adhered to the flow of the circle, he didn’t technically break any road rules.
However, while it might be legal, it is a massive gray area when it comes to driving etiquette. Exploiting the right lane to jump a queue of dozens of waiting drivers is a surefire way to induce road rage. It’s a clever maneuver that does technically beat the Matrix, but you might lose a few karma points and get a few aggressive honks from horns in the process.
