Dashcam captures close call between speeding cars on Edmonton freeway

After capturing footage of two vehicles racing down Whitemud Drive Saturday, an Edmonton driver is drumming up awareness about the dangers of being reckless on the road.

The video was captured by a driver named Brian.  He asked that Global News refrain from using his last name.

His son was sitting in the front passenger seat at the time. The two were headed west on Whitemud Drive at 156 Street at around 4:15 p.m. on Saturday.

“It’s been a real eyeopener to be able to look at that over and over and to realize, ‘Wow – that was close,'” he told Global News.

In the video, two vehicles can be seen speeding down the freeway. They then attempt to switch into the centre lane at the same time – narrowly avoiding one another – before swerving through traffic.

“My first thought was, ‘I’m going to have to hit the brakes,'” Brian said. “But I also realized that if they had hit, it wouldn’t have just been a bump. And then you’re thinking, ‘Where would I have gone?’ Would I go off to the side? I was ready to step on the brake but I had cars behind me as well.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "My first thought was, 'I'm going to have to hit the brakes,'" Brian said. "But I also realized that if they had hit, it wouldn't have just been a bump. And then you're thinking, 'Where would I have gone?' Would I go off to the side? I was ready to step on the brake but I had cars behind me as well."

Edmonton Police Service Const. Dane McGuckin said this type of behaviour happens often on Edmonton roads.

“It’s not just on the long weekends when you have the increased traffic volumes,” he said. “It’s all the time that we have some individuals that simply choose to drive dangerously.”

McGuckin said based on the footage he saw, the actions of the drivers would warrant a careless driving charge.

“It’s not a mistake. They are choosing to drive that way. They’re speeding, they’re changing lanes aggressively and recklessly. And that’s what I would be laying if we came into contact with those drivers.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's not a mistake. They are choosing to drive that way. They're speeding, they're changing lanes aggressively and recklessly. And that's what I would be laying if we came into contact with those drivers."

Dashcam footage like what Brian captured can be a valuable tool for police, McGuckin said.

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If police have an unobstructed view of the licence plate, and the letters and numbers are discernible, they can run that through information systems and potentially come back with a match.

The constable applauds Brian for his actions, maintaining both his lane and the posted speed limit. As for the drivers of the speeding cars, he said they are incredibly lucky.

“We have a maximum posted speed limit. The maximum is the maximum. It’s not 10 kilometres over.”