WRONG WAY MOTORWAY INCIDENTS

There has been an increased number of reports, in several articles, of traffic incidents caused by drivers driving the wrong way on motorways in the UK. There has, however, already been a response from National Highways to this news saying that the reports are unconfirmed and are a result of the 'wrong way' code being entered, rather than confirmed incidents.

"Rather, the data provided shows where a staff member in a regional operations centre has used the closure code for ‘an oncoming vehicle’, in the relevant system, which means an oncoming vehicle was reported to have been involved in some way."

The data on these incidents was gleaned from a freedom of information notice request from the Press Association news agency and appears to highlight an increase of 13 per cent in these incidents in the last year. This would make the number of wrong way reports up to 900 in the last twelve months. Although unverified, these are scarily high figures, if the reports are based on genuine incidents.

An increase in the number of ‘wrong way’ incidents on UK motorways seems rather bizarre, as mistaking a motorway exit off-road for a slip road entry route might, on the face of it, seem difficult! Perhaps concentrating on a sat nav or being misdirected may be a cause.

Whether or not the figures quoted are actually as high as stated, this news has prompted motoring groups to ask the government to take steps to ensure that these dangerous mistakes are less likely to happen. One suggestion has been to use sensors on slip roads which could tell if a vehicle was travelling in the wrong direction. If so they could trigger a warning sign to let the driver know that they were going the wrong way, although trying to turn round or reverse on a slip road seems pretty dangerous too! The idea is that traffic travelling on the motorway in the right direction would also get a warning about what they were about to meet, coming the wrong way towards them! However this would be an expensive system to install and maintain, so who knows if any government would try and bring it in.

The National Highways Agency says that where incidents of wrong way driving are reported, they take immediate safety precautions such as lowering the speed limit to 20mph and warning other drivers of the danger.

Drivers are asked to call 999 if they see someone driving the wrong way so that safety measures can be implemented as soon as possible.

What do you think about this - is it something you have ever come across before, or even witnessed yourself? We'd be interested to hear about it if so. Let us know at: [email protected] or drop us a message on Facebook.