Best advice from Houston Criminal Attorney - Is it legal to drive through a roadblock?

Best advice from a Houston Criminal Attorney is no! But its not so simple. Take a look at this. Best Houston Criminal Defense Attorney

Houston Criminal Attorney - Is it legal to drive through a roadblock?

Jeep Wrangler Incident: A Legal Breakdown from Your Team at Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys PLLC

A video circulating online recently grabbed our attention here at Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys PLLC, and it’s sparked a lively debate about road safety, legal limits, and what happens when tempers flare behind the wheel. The footage shows a Jeep Wrangler driving past a man holding a stop sign, clad in a reflective jacket, who appears to be directing traffic—possibly linked to roadwork, with electric trucks visible in the background. The man is right up against the Jeep’s grille as it creeps forward and then accelerates past him. It’s a charged moment, and it’s got us asking: What’s legal here, and what’s on the line?

Who’s in Charge—and Who’s at Risk?

“Is this legal?” my partner Luis Baez asked when we sat down to dig into this. As I see it, it all hinges on who that guy with the stop sign is and what happened before the camera started rolling. We’ve handled cases like this before—clients blocked from their own property by someone who’s not a police officer, just a worker waving a handheld stop sign. I’ve gotten charges dismissed in those situations, where the driver had every right to proceed. But legality isn’t the only concern here: the Jeep’s movement was reckless enough that it could’ve ended badly. If that worker’s foot got caught the wrong way, those tires could’ve rolled over him in an instant, and we’d be looking at a murder charge, not just a traffic spat.

Luis nodded, pointing out how the driver’s acceleration at the end could land them in serious trouble—think aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the Jeep itself being the weapon. “Road rage has been a hot topic around Houston lately,” he added, “and with minor incidents turning into major ones more often, I could see this getting charged as a felony.” Drawing from my time as chief of the intake division in Harris County, I’ve seen how these cases get handled. We’d pick one charge—the one we could prove with the highest penalty—and in this case, it’d likely be aggravated assault. From there, it’s up to a defense attorney (like us) to argue it down if the initial charge feels too heavy.

A Stop Sign—or a Suggestion?

What about that stop sign? Could the driver get a ticket for blowing past it? I’m not so sure. “It’s not planted in the ground,” I said. “I don’t know if it meets the legal requirements for a stop sign.” Luis agreed—it’s a gray area. If the worker didn’t have the authority to block the road, the driver might not have been obligated to stop. But flip the script: if that worker was illegally obstructing the road and touched the Jeep, he could be the one facing charges—maybe criminal mischief or assault by threat. Without the full story, it’s tough to call.

Speaking of the full story, we both noticed the video starts mid-action. “He’s already touching the car,” I pointed out. “Something happened before this.” Luis chimed in: “The person filming had to pull out their phone, unlock it, and hit record—something sparked this.” That missing context could change everything. Was the driver fleeing a threat, or was the worker trying to protect someone? We don’t know yet, but it’s a reminder that what looks like one narrative on the surface can unravel into something else entirely.

Risky Moves on Both Sides

One thing we both agreed on: standing that close to a moving Jeep is a bold move. “Unless someone’s life was on the line, there’s no way I’d get that close to the front of a vehicle,” I said. Luis nodded: “Either he thought he was saving someone, or he’s a hothead too.” It’s a standoff where neither side backed down until the Jeep peeled off—a recipe for disaster that, thankfully, didn’t fully boil over.

Your Take Matters

We’re tossing this one out to you—what do you think? If you’ve got the rest of the video, share it with us. If you think we’re off base, let us know in the comments. And if you agree, we’d love to hear that too. Cases like this are why we do what we do at Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys PLLC—digging into the details, challenging the assumptions, and fighting for the real story. Next time you’re stuck at a roadwork blockade or facing a charge that doesn’t add up, give us a call. We’ll see you through it.