Nightmare - driving wrong way on a dual carrigeway

Goran · #1 14th August 2018, 09:10 AM

I heard about it before but never thought I would encounter it myself.
I was driving on a dual carrigeway near Luton after dropping off my mum off at the airport, in the rain. A van in front of me and a car overtaking the van. The car quickly pulls in after overtaking the van on a rise. What came next is unbelievable, a car comes past the other way in the inside lane doing about 70mph! I barely register this and go to overtake the van too as its sinking in.
The van starts breaking on top of the rise, I am in the inside lane trying to overtake him. Another complete idiot is coming towards us on the inside lane.
I am braking and pulling back in behind the van who has stopped (also an idiot! should have kept moving forward slowly), the abs has already kicked in. I realise I am going to hit the van.
Seeing that the idiot driving the wrong way in the fast lane has slowed down I think I have enough time to go round the van and get back in the outside lane.
I barely miss the van, still breaking with abs working, sail round him and back into the outside lane.
The wrong-way idiot drives past us at around 40mph.

I simply cant believe that two complete morons were driving together the wrong way on a dual carrigeway in the rain in the evening. I hope there were
no accidents further down as there were some cars behind us.
There were cut-throughs to the correct side so perhaps they realised their mistake and went back.

That was very close, if we encountered them a few seconds earlier or later and things could have ended very differently.

HPsauce · #2 14th August 2018, 09:36 AM

I had something similar on the M11, though it was many years ago as the details below will confirm:

Morning rush hour and I was driving out of London up the (relatively new) M11 towards Harlow. Almost no traffic my way (the M11 was that new and I was going out of town) so my Dolomite was moving "briskly"!

Got to the section which is now occupied by the M25 intersection near Hobbs Cross and noticed traffic coming the other way (into town) was all hooting and flashing like mad, so I started to slow down and moved to the inside lane, wondering what was ahead.

Then over the hill ahead of me appeared a car driving quite fast towards me in the outside lane, what to him was the left side of a 3-lane carriageway!
This was maybe 4 or 5 miles from the Harlow intersection, so it must have driven all that way.

The message must have sunk from the noisy flashing cars on the southbound lane because it actually did a U-turn a little way in front of me and stopped on the hard should, pointing the right way.

moltuae · #3 14th August 2018, 11:05 AM

Wow

Glad you're ok Goran,

We should have those reversed 'Wrong Way' signs like they have in the US.

Goran · #4 14th August 2018, 11:12 AM

Definitely.
Tracing back my journey I think it was on the A505. I now see there is a petition to improve this stretch of road due to too many wrong-way incidents.
All I can say to anyone on here please avoid A505 if you can.

Still can't believe two cars were going the wrong way together. I hope it wasn't foolish kids playing some kind of dare game.

https://stevejarvis.mycouncillor.org...s-on-the-a505/

27litres · #5 14th August 2018, 11:30 AM

When I saw those "Wrong Way Go Back" signs in Mark's post, I thought that must have been here, as our exit ramp signs are exactly the same!

moltuae · #6 14th August 2018, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 27litres

When I saw those "Wrong Way Go Back" signs in Mark's post, I thought that must have been here, as our exit ramp signs are exactly the same!

That second photo might be Australia in that case, considering the (correct) direction of travel and which side the slip-road appears to join the carriageway (assuming you all drive on the same side we do). I just know it's not the UK because we don't have those signs, and the sky here is not usually so blue!