Stupidity is often born of frustration. Such was the case on Highway 401 in Mississauga in mid-April. Exasperated drivers cut across a large patch of grass to escape heavy congestion on Highway 410 and merge into the more attractive congestion of Highway 401. Not one, not two, but many drivers took the shortcut; a steady stream rolled across what appeared to be a worn trail. The clip went viral, though it was incorrectly labeled as taking place in Brampton.
These are the “Fail Blazers.” They may think their shortcut is smart move, but a lot could go wrong. Take the 401 gang. Faced by dystopic congestion they remedied the problem by going off-roading and then merging onto the world’s busiest highway.
And they aren’t the first to leap between highways in this area. The shortcut they took looked well-travelled, like a rustic trail settlers roll wagons over in a western movie. The aerial map on Google shows many paths criss-crossing the grass where the 410 and 401 meet.
So, where is the harm in avoiding some traffic?
Let’s go down the list: severe crashes causing death and injury, automobiles flipping as they attempt the journey from pavement to grassy knoll and rocks fired like projectiles by tires as they drive off-road. “We see drivers do this when traffic is not moving,” says Ontario Provincial Police Sergeant Kerry Schmidt. “We don’t want people trying to merge off a patch of grass or a muddy ditch. It’s dangerous.”
The Fail Blazers may argue their shortcut was justified, because none of those calamities occurred when they made the trek across the great prairie that separates Highway 410 from 401. This is the logic of someone still coming to grips with the concept of cause and effect. The fact an event did not occur does not mean it could not have occurred or that it can’t occur in the future. The fact you have not been struck by lightening is not proof that you will never be struck by lightning. Fail Blazers are the kind of people who, after drinking bleach and not dying, would go on Twitter and declare that drinking bleach is not fatal.
What the 401 gang did was a violation of Section 156 of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, “Moving from roadway to roadway on divided highways.” It states that “Where a highway is divided into two separate roadways, no person shall operate or drive a vehicle...from one roadway to the other roadway except where a crossing is provided.”
They might also be charged under Section 154 for failing to drive in marked lane on a highway. Both offenses come with an $110 fine ($120 in a community zone) and up to three demerit points.
More than two violations of any sort can lead to a charge of careless driving. This comes with up to a $2,000 fine, up to six months in jail and a suspended license.
In 2020, an instructor and student from the New Method Driving School was caught by the OPP while attempting to do a U-turn across a bullnose median. They were given a warning.
While a Fail Blazer’s solution is flawed, the temptation to take an illegal shortcut is understandable.
Driving is an exercise in bitter exasperation.
Hellscape. That’s the word that comes to mind when trying to describe what it is like driving in and around Toronto, specifically on the 400-series highways. It is atrocious and getting worse. It’s a combination of danger and boredom that is rare in the world. The drivers are eager to commit any offense if it will save them a few minutes, and this nihilistic fervour is exacerbated by hours and hours stuck in stand-still congestion.
After 30 or 60 minutes stuck on the highway watching your life force seep out with the exhaust fumes, most of us are tempted to join the Fail Blazer ranks and take the illegal dirt path that will free us from our torment.
Stay strong fellow motorists. It may look like a shortcut, but it could end in an crash that cuts short your journey. Better to be late than to be in an ambulance. Don’t be a Fail Blazer. No matter how bad the traffic gets.
Andrew Clark