Motorway designers are facing urgent calls to significantly enhance safety measures following a 30% rise in reported wrong-way driving incidents across England's road network over the past four years. The RAC Foundation issued a stark warning after figures from National Highways revealed 947 incidents involving "oncoming vehicles" were reported on motorways in the 12 months leading up to 11th May. This marks a substantial increase from the 729 incidents recorded during the same period four years prior, equating to an average of 18 such occurrences every week.
The data, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, compiles reports of wrong-way driving submitted to National Highways' operations centres from various sources, including police, traffic officers, and the public. While the most recent annual total represents a slight decrease from the 974 incidents reported in the preceding 12 months, the overall trend remains a significant cause for concern, prompting motoring organisations to demand action.
The grave consequences of such incidents were tragically highlighted by recent fatalities. On 17th April, two male drivers died in a head-on collision on the M90 near Kinross, Perth and Kinross, involving a 44-year-old driving in the wrong direction and a 20-year-old in the other vehicle. Last October, a man in his 50s also died after driving the wrong way on the M6 near Charnock Richard services in Lancashire, with the driver and passenger of the car he struck sustaining serious injuries.
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, emphasised the nightmare scenario of driving the wrong way onto a motorway. He stated that the near-1,000 incidents in the past year were chilling and underscored the need for highway engineers to "up their game" to prevent drivers from mistaking off-ramps for slip roads. Gooding suggested solutions could involve re-configuring junctions or implementing technology such as slip-road sensors that trigger roadside warnings or in-vehicle alerts.
AA president Edmund King attributed most wrong-way driving incidents to "driver impairment including by drink, drugs and fatigue." He explained that mistakes often occur at night, in poor weather, when drivers are confused, or when they are "blindly following their sat nav and take the instructions of 'third on the right' literally." King noted that while some might assume tourists are the main culprits, impaired local drivers are more frequently involved. He also mentioned rare, deliberate cases where drivers attempt to evade police.
A National Highways spokesperson stated that safety is their top priority, with every report of an oncoming vehicle triggering an immediate response, including roadside signals and reduced speed limits. They cautioned that the figures might include unconfirmed reports, stressing that confirmed incidents of wrong-way driving on motorways remain rare, but every report is treated seriously and acted on quickly.