One way but wrong way

[Bper]

Wrong way driving on the motorways is up 13%. This is alarming. Has anyone experienced this? National Highways figures show 872 incidents involving oncoming vehicles were reported on England’s motorways in the year to the 19th June.

That is up from 770 during the previous 12 months, and represents an average of more than 16 every week.

[Cyker]

Funny you should say that, had this last week...  

But from what I saw it was just a BMW that had lit up its rears in the wet and spun into the side barrier on the off-ramp further up, coming to rest facing the wrong way on the hard shoulder on the offramp! (Very lucky, as that's one of the few places they hadn't eliminated the hard shoulder on this stretch!)

 

[Big_D]

Has it got something to do with drivers coming from abroad, who are used to driving on the other side of the road??

I must admit that the last time I drove in France, I turned the wrong way at the first roundabout I encountered.

[Roy124]

Once, pre-satnav, I was negotiating a roundabout on the A15 crossing over the M180.  The whole complex was wooded.  I was not familiar with the road and turned left, as intended, but one turn too soon.  I realised I was entering the off ramp and corrected my error.

It is quite easily done.  

Having done it, and gone passed the point of no return, you are on the horns of a delima.   You are possibly in the left hand (lane 3) which might have less.  With luck the high speed traffic will pull left into lane 2.  

It may well be impossible to pull right across lanes 2 and 1 and onto the hard shoulder if there is one.

What would you do?  Try for a U turn?  Sit and pray?  Leap out and get onto the central reservation?

[Haliotis]

The main thing to remember on a French traffic island (apart from sticking to an anti-clockwise procedure), is to give way to drivers entering the traffic island from your left. I have always found driving in France more enjoyable than here in the UK. 

When returning to the UK and leaving the Portsmouth ferry port (towing our caravan), driving on the M27 and M3 was like being at Brands Hatch - everyone in a mad rush and driving almost nose-to-tail.