Dash cam catches ‘the most Bay Area crash ever’ outside Facebook HQ

A dash camera video of a rear-end collision involving two cars near Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park sparked a lively Reddit discussion about the incompetence of Bay Area drivers.

One Reddit user called it “the most Bay Area crash I’ve ever seen.”

The footage taken earlier this week at California Route 84 and Willow Road shows a white compact caught in slow-moving traffic attempting to cross three lanes of traffic in order to make a right at Willow. But before it reaches the intersection a fast-moving sedan plows into its rear.

The majority of comments faulted the white car for dangerously merging from the slow-moving queue into fast-traffic lanes.
 
“I guess I’ll just cut over four lanes of traffic without looking. Because I need to go right here…” is how one commenter put it.

“This is why I got a dashcam, for when a car attempts to cross 3 lanes from 0 in a 45 zone meaning cars are most likely going 55,” wrote another.

But others thought the gray car that rear-ended the lane crosser was going too fast and probably would be held at least partly liable for damages. In that stretch of CR 84, the speed limit ranges from 50 to 55 mph.

Many Reddit users complained about both the skills and manners of Bay Area drivers, calling them the worst in the country. It wasn’t unanimous: Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles and Honolulu received votes for exceeding the Bay Area in driver ineptitude. Even Delaware drivers got a mention.

The post, which garnered more than 300 comments, veered off on various tangents, including the need for better public transit to ease automobile congestion and onerous commutes, especially Hayward/Fremont to the South Bay. BART should be a complete loop around the Bay, wrote one frustrated commuter.

Mike Moffitt is an SFGATE Digital Reporter. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @Mike_at_SFGate