Dashcam captures terrifying moment road-raging truck attempts to force car off road: 'Dangerous to everyone'

A frightening dashcam clip circulating on YouTube is yet another example of an unfortunate reality some electric vehicle drivers say they face on the road: harassment that quickly escalates into dangerous behavior. 

The video, posted by Wham Baam Teslacam (@WhamBaamTeslacam), shows 20-year-old Tesla driver Kyler navigating a routine highway merge when another driver appears to take offense. At one point, the enraged driver tells Kyler to pull over so they can "handle this like men." 

In the dashcam footage, narrated by a local news broadcaster, Kyler activated his turn signal as a semi-truck entered the highway. A pickup-truck driver in the adjacent lane then sped up, seemingly attempting to block the merge. Kyler judged the gap correctly and merged anyway.

However, this harmless act appeared to anger the pickup driver. What followed was far more alarming than a simple horn blast or rude gesture.

The pickup driver tailgated Kyler's Tesla, pulled alongside him while yelling, and made hand gestures before repeatedly attempting to push the Tesla off the highway. At one point, the pickup moved in front of Kyler and brake-checked him, then blocked multiple attempts to pass.

Even after the pickup driver threatened to fight Kyler, Kyler wisely stayed in his car and continued driving until the pickup eventually exited the highway.

Unfortunately, the harassment of EV drivers has become increasingly common amid a heated political landscape. Studies and firsthand accounts suggest that incidents like these can discourage people from switching away from gas-powered vehicles.

That hesitation matters because electric vehicles are a critical tool for reducing transportation pollution, which is one of the largest sources of climate-warming pollution.

While critics of EVs often point to battery manufacturing or mining as reasons to dismiss them, research consistently shows that even EVs with the "dirtiest" batteries still produce less pollution over their lifetimes than gas cars.

Mining for battery materials has environmental costs, but it's important to remember that the world extracts billions of tons of fossil fuels every year.

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Commenters reacting to the video were quick to call out the danger.

"That kind of behavior should not go unpunished; it's dangerous to everyone on the road," one wrote.

Another YouTube user added: "One day it's going to catch up with this pickup driver, and he's gonna end up in handcuffs."

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