Rise in drivers travelling the wrong way along motorways

Motoring groups described the increase as “frightening” and called for technological interventions to be considered.

One of Bradford’s most serious incidents in recent years left three men dead after a stolen van was driven in the wrong direction along the M606.

15-year-old Jack Simpson, who was driving the Ford Transit van, ploughed into a taxi travelling the correct way down the motorway.

Taxi driver Sohail Ali, 28, and his 49-year-old passenger Simon McHugh, who was head chef at Bradford’s Jurys Inn hotel, died at the scene.

Kyden Leadbeater, who was 18 and a passenger in the Ford Transit, later died in hospital.

National Highways figures obtained by the PA news agency show 872 incidents involving “oncoming vehicles” were reported on England’s motorways in the year to June 19.

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

The data, released in response to a Freedom of Information request, relates to unconfirmed reports of wrong-way driving received by National Highways’ regional operations centres.

Drivers who see a vehicle travelling in the wrong direction are urged to contact 999 if it is safe to do so or use a motorway SOS phone to alert the authorities.

Speed limits are usually cut to 20mph on motorway stretches where a vehicle being driven towards other traffic is reported.

Sheena Hague, National Highways’ director of road safety, said: “Safety is our top priority and our traffic officers are called out to hundreds of thousands of incidents each year, including collisions, breakdowns and debris.

“Thankfully the number of reports of oncoming vehicles is low, however we treat them seriously by setting signals to warn and inform drivers for every report of a vehicle driving the wrong way on our motorways.

“We design our motorways to be as intuitive as possible to reduce the likelihood of anyone driving the wrong way.”

Edmund King, president of the AA, urged motorists to “use common sense” and not “over-rely” on the sat nav.

Mr King said: “The increase in the number of vehicles being driven in the wrong direction on motorways is frightening and can be fatal.

“Various incidents seem to be clearly down to drunk drivers for which there is absolutely no excuse. These drunk drivers should not be on the roads.

“Generally the slip road layout and signage is designed to ensure joining the motorway in the right direction is intuitive.

“However, sometimes drivers follow sat nav directions without thinking, for example, to ‘take the third exit’, without actually checking the signage, and therefore they can make mistakes.”

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “To most drivers it’s the stuff of nightmares to think that anyone could drive the wrong way down a motorway.

“Yet despite highway engineers’ best efforts to make it hard to mistake the off-ramp for a slip road, these numbers show there’s a lot more work to be done.

“Could more be done with technology – perhaps slip-road sensors that trigger roadside warnings?

“The ability of information to be fed to and from our increasingly connected and intelligent cars must create the opportunity for alerts to be generated and displayed within the vehicle.”

The horror crash on the M606 sent shockwaves across the city, prompting a huge outpouring of grief and shock.

Taxi driver Sohail Ali, left, and chef and passenger Simon McHugh, right

Simpson, who was 16 at the time of his appearances in court, pleaded guilty to three charges of causing death by dangerous driving and one charge of dangerous driving on the same date.

Simpson was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court to six years in detention after pleading guilty to three counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of dangerous driving.

But Simpson’s sentence prompted anger from the victim’s families.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) considered the case of Jack Simpson, 16, after a challenge made through a scheme for sentences that could be too lenient.

But after considering the matter, the AGO determined that his sentence is not “unduly lenient” and would not be sent to the Court of Appeal.