It’s infuriating enough to deal with other inconsiderate drivers’ glaring headlights at night, but a laser-pointer prank is a serious threat to one’s life. And one unfortunate soul driving at night in northern Georgia encountered such a prankster while out on a night run with their friend. “Someone was shining a laser pointer directly into my eyes while driving at night,” the driver complained on Reddit’s r/mildlyinfuriating. And the top comment reflects a lot of the comment section’s reaction perfectly: “Mildly infuriating? This is actually life-threatening.”
Obviously, shining a laser at an aircraft or a police officer is most definitely illegal. Shining a powerful laser at another person would have its own consequences, depending on the context. But aiming one directly at the eyes of an oncoming driver at night to blind them? That’s a risk on someone else’s life, and in this case, it would appear the perpetrator is doing it as a joke on unsuspecting oncoming traffic. According to the poster, the laser-pointing individual was riding in a Porsche Macan with license plate covered with a piece of paper.
They did end up calling 9-1-1, and police were sent out to look for the prankster. Unfortunately, even though no one was injured in an accident, the Georgian and their friend might have suffered some damage to their eyes due to the power of the laser shining at them. “Lasers can cause permanent retinal damage – including blindness,” explains one user. And according to another, “it’s green, making it a class 3 laser, which is dangerous even at long distances.” And the poster stated that both they and their friend had problems with their vision after the incident.
OP said they’d visit an optometrist to check their eyes, as the laser could have done permanent damage to their eyes. Hopefully, the police catch and charge whoever’s responsible; as one commenter says, “And this isn’t just mildly irritating, it’s majorly dangerous.”
