One of the things taught in driver’s education classes around the nation is that when traveling on the highway and missing an exit, do not back up. Instead, continue with traffic to the next exit and find a way around. This will avoid unnecessary danger to travelers and the occupants of the vehicle that missed the turn as well as the other vehicles on the roadway. The driver of the video below apparently was a little too impatient to continue driving to the next exit.

What we have here is a driver that knew enough not to do a U-turn and not to back up into traffic when he missed his exit. Instead, however, he was confident enough in the size of his Suzuki Jimny to try something different. He attempted to drive across a pedestrian overpass. Yes, he tried to cross the highway by climbing the stairs and driving the length of the footbridge to the other side. In this technological age, it is no surprise that somebody was there to record a video of the attempt for posterity.

Police saw it happening

Somehow, while this was happening, the attention of the authorities was also attained. It is hard to tell by the video if the vehicle made it to the other side, or found himself unable to turn and had to descend on the backside. But, the driver’s luck had already run out. By the time the driver reached the landing on one side of the bridge, or the other, a uniformed member of the police met with the driver. 

According to the captions in the video, when the driver was questioned about his excursion, he said his mind had gone blank. Well, the ticket was not blank. The officer wrote him a citation and deducted points from the driver’s license.

Weight problems

The captions go on to explain that the weight limit of the footbridge is 1,000 kg, or approximately 2,200 lbs. After a little online research, it can easily be determined that the curb weight of the Jimny is 1,090 kg, or approximately 2,400 lbs. The driver was very lucky not to have caused a catastrophic failure over the highway during his attempt at crossing. If that had happened, saving time by not driving to the next exit would have been a moot point. 

Another video has popped up on Youtube that appears to have more details. It claims this happened April 5th in Xinjiang, China. However, that second video is on a channel with only six subscribers, so take that information with a grain of salt.

Don’t even think about it

Missing an exit can be disheartening, especially if time is of the essence. However, it is not worth it to do an illegal U-Turn, or back up in oncoming traffic, or to cross a pedestrian bridge. It should not need to be said, but it will be anyway. Do not attempt this. The consequences can be catastrophic and possibly fatal. Imagine somebody having to explain to family members, Well, he missed his exit and decided to cross the pedestrian bridge with his SUV.