Watch driver use ’roundabout slingshot’ move to dodge massive queue of traffic – but motorists are divided
A DRIVER has been praised after revealing a secret “slingshot” tactic to beat massive traffic jam – though other motorists are unhappy about it.
Footage shared on TikTok shows how to swerve a lengthy queue of cars at a busy roundabout in East Yorkshire.
The driver is seen nipping into an inside lane and completing a full circuit before racing off at the first exit.
They leave behind in their wake a long line of vehicles which had been in front on the initial approach to the junction in Hull.
The 22-second clip shared by TikToker Shaun Jobber, or @jobbertok, has the caption “Love the old roundabout slingshot”.
It has now been watched more than 2.1million times, attracting more than 95,000 “likes”.
Impressed viewers have offered comments calling the move “such a good idea” and “genius”.
One admirer wrote: “Every time I do this I start telling myself out loud I’m the smartest guy on the road.”
Another posted, “I actually love doing this and seeing everyone get annoyed”, while it was also said: “I also do this at roundabouts and wonder why no one else does it.”
But a commenter admitted, “I always feel like a criminal”, while another responded: “I’ve been one of the chumps sitting in traffic oblivious to the slingshots taking place next to me.”
And there were also critics, including one viewer who labelled the move “dangerous”.
Another sceptic warned the anti-congestion measure could “create the same problem if everyone does it”.
There were also concerns about spreading the word, with one viewer joking: “I’m glad this manoeuvre has a name, but this is secret knowledge that shouldn’t be shared.”
The advice comes as congestion trapped furious shoppers at a major city shopping centre elsewhere in northern England for hours, forcing many to abandon their cars in frustration.
There have also been complaints from homeowners about lengthy traffic queues caused by “the UK’s cheapest petrol station”, in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands.
The TikToker from Newcastle, who used to work as for a leading UK insurer, decided to use his experience as a motor insurance claim handler to inform drivers in a bid to prevent unnecessary traffic jams.
He called other drivers “stupid” after overtaking 20 queuing cars in June,
He has also shared footage of the moment an SUV smashed into a parked car, almost ripping the driver’s door clean off.
There have been other examples motorists using a “roundabout slingshot” trick to avoid morning traffic, while a video of a car driver losing control on a wet roundabout went viral on social media.