highway 401 traffic

Video shows the lengths people will go to escape brutal Highway 401 traffic

Brutal traffic is the norm on Highway 401's chaotic stretch through the Greater Toronto Area, and motorists will go to great lengths to escape the highway's constant gridlock, even if it means breaking the rules of the road.

A shocking video making the rounds shows drivers testing their vehicles' off-road capabilities to escape Highway 401 traffic near Dixie Road. At least four vehicles can be seen openly violating traffic laws in the clip, pulling off the slow-moving highway and onto an adjacent road.

If this stunt looks familiar to you, that's because the exact same thing happened a few months earlier just a short distance away, when a procession of scofflaw drivers was recorded ditching a queue on a clogged Highway 401/Highway 410 interchange by driving over a grassy hill.

People are reacting to this latest example of motorists having no patience on Ontario's only highway bad enough to have a television show about it.

While there were no police in sight, the drivers captured flouting traffic laws in the clip are receiving some blowback from annoyed Twitter users.

Of the four vehicles spotted on this makeshift 401 off-ramp, three were SUVs whose drivers got to flex their four-wheel-drive capabilities.

There are some pretty obvious risks with off-roading a makeshift highway off-ramp. Aside from the danger, drivers caught pulling this kind of stunt may face several fines.

So you're probably better off risking being late than facing the costly or potentially fatal alternatives.

Lead photo by

@401_da_sarpanch


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Here are all the 2025 statutory holidays in Canada

Huge stretch of TTC subway spanning 11 stations closed for the next 2 weekends

Most people in Toronto now think that the city is moving in the wrong direction

11 million Canada Post parcels now undelivered ahead of Black Friday

Busy Toronto street kicks off major makeover set to wrap in 2025

Here's how much money you could save during Canada's GST holiday

Huge changes planned to 'transform' a major Toronto street

Canadians working in certain fields can expect a big pay bump in 2025