VIDEO shows the moment a reckless driver almost causes a fatal crash by overtaking on double white lines while ignoring two warning signs and wet weather.
The impatient motorist pays no notice to “slow” and “hidden dip” markings and commits to the overtake on a blind crest.
A head-on crash with a vehicle coming in the opposite direction is avoided by a few feet, and spray is throw up as the car swerves out of the way.
The 20-second clip was filmed in Northern Ireland on July 30 but has only just emerged. The driver who filmed the incident said it was the worst they had seen in 30 years of motoring.
The footage begins with the vehicle, which appears to be a Toyota Previa, driving closely behind another car down Magheraknock Road, Ballynahinch.
The grey car sticks to closely behind the one in front, as multiple vehicles pass on the side of the small but busy winding road.
Despite the clear road markings telling road users to remain at a slow speed, and a visible warning sign of an upcoming dip in the road, the impatient driver decides to ignore them and makes their move once oncoming traffic has passed.
The driver then indicates and swings out into the road, ignoring the double white lines in the centre.
Moments later a black car can be seen at the crest of the hill ahead, but the oblivious driver puts their foot down and forces the car forward.
The oncoming driver flashes their lights as a warning, as the driver of the grey car skids back into the left side of the road – missing a head on collision by mere seconds.
The car behind is forced to hit the brakes as the grey vehicle skids, sending surface water streaming across the road.
The driver of the vehicle that captured the incident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “In 30 years of driving it was one of the worst examples of overtaking I have ever seen. The driver of the car seemed oblivious to the white lines and the danger he put everyone in.
“If the car in front of me had not realised what was happening and braked to allow the idiot to pull back in I dread to think of what would have happened.”
Simon Williams, a spokesman for the RAC, said: “Thank goodness a potentially fatal accident was avoided, albeit by the narrowest of margins. Double white lines are there for very good reason and flagrantly disregarding them puts lives at risk.
“This footage should act as a lesson to any driver in a rush who thinks that road markings don’t apply to them, they’re playing Russian roulette with theirs and other people’s lives.”
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said that the incident captured in the footage had not been reported to them.
