The decision comes after information revealed a 30% rise in wrong-way driving incidents on motorways, 947 stories of autos travelling towards site visitors within the 12 months to Could 11 in England. This determine marks a rise from 729 4 years earlier, in accordance with statistics from Nationwide Highways. Steve Gooding, director of the RAC …
The decision comes after information revealed a 30% rise in wrong-way driving incidents on motorways, 947 stories of autos travelling towards site visitors within the 12 months to Could 11 in England.
This determine marks a rise from 729 4 years earlier, in accordance with statistics from Nationwide Highways.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Basis, mentioned: “To suppose anybody might drive the improper method onto a motorway heading into fast-moving site visitors is really the stuff of nightmares.
“The truth that practically 1,000 drivers did simply that within the final twelve months each chills the blood and makes the case for demanding our freeway engineers up their sport to forestall drivers mistaking the off-ramp for a slip highway.
“Whether or not the reply lies in re-configuring junctions or in know-how – slip-road sensors that set off roadside warnings or in-vehicle alerts – there’s clearly work to be executed to determine what’s going improper and to repair it.”
Mr Gooding described such incidents as “actually the stuff of nightmares.”
On April 17, two males died in a head-on collision on the M90 close to Kinross, Perth and Kinross, after one automobile was pushed within the improper route.
Final October, a person in his 50s died on the M6 close to Charnock Richard providers in Lancashire after crashing whereas driving the improper method.
The collision left two males of their 40s significantly injured.
Edmund King, president of the AA, mentioned many incidents stem from “driver impairment,” together with drink, medication, and fatigue.
He mentioned such crashes usually occur at evening and in poor climate when drivers are confused or “blindly following their sat nav.”
Mr King mentioned: “Many individuals assume vacationers from different nations who drive on the precise are the principle trigger however extra usually the culprits are impaired native drivers.
“In uncommon, and typically deadly instances, drivers making an attempt to keep away from the police take a deliberate resolution to go the improper method.”
He referred to as for extra funding in know-how to ship warnings each inside autos and on roadsides.
A spokesman for Nationwide Highways mentioned: “Security is our high precedence, which is why each report of an oncoming automobile triggers an instantaneous response to guard highway customers.
“This will embrace utilizing roadside indicators to warn drivers and lowering pace limits the place obligatory.
“These figures needs to be handled with warning as they could embrace unconfirmed stories acquired by our operations centres.
“Confirmed incidents of improper‑method driving on motorways stay uncommon.
“Each report is handled significantly and acted on shortly.”
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Mr King careworn that whereas some blame vacationers, most wrong-way drivers are locals.
He additionally warned that “in uncommon, and typically deadly instances,” some people deliberately drive the improper solution to evade police.
Calls are rising for improved motorway design and the introduction of focused know-how, similar to slip-road sensors and in-vehicle alerts, to forestall wrong-way incidents and save lives.
The RAC Basis is urging authorities to rethink how junctions are designed.
In addition they suggest creating technological options to cut back the probability of those harmful and sometimes lethal errors.
