Incidents of wrong-way driving on UK motorways skyrocket as main warning issued

New data shows that 31 drivers in the past 30 weeks were charged by police with criminal offences involving driving in the wrong direction on the motorways of England and Wales

A driver in the UK is prosecuted every week for risking a head-on collision by driving the wrong way on the motorway, according to new research. Reckless drivers are caught reversing along the carriageway, executing U-turns next to high-speed traffic and driving backwards in an attempt to reach a missed exit junction, court documents reveal.

The Press Association has discovered that 31 drivers in the past 30 weeks were charged by police with criminal offences involving driving in the wrong direction on the motorways of England and Wales. Those convicted typically have to fork out hundreds of pounds in fines and court fees, while some face driving bans as a result of their actions.

This data comes after five teenagers lost their lives on the M9 in Co Kildare last Sunday when their BMW crashed while driving the wrong way in an attempt to evade police.

Three women and a seven year old boy in the other vehicle involved in the head-on collision were left severely injured in hospital. In June, National Highways data obtained by the Press Association revealed that 947 incidents involving “oncoming vehicles” on England’s motorways had been recorded in the 12 months to May 11.

In a recent court case, Ervis Hatellari, 38, from Woodford Green in north-east London, was convicted after being caught reversing a Nissan Qashqai along the M11 in Essex.

Sergeant Philip Roberts, from Essex Police, recounted the incident which occurred around 10pm on New Year’s Eve 2025 when he spotted the car “in the hard shoulder and half in lane one of the M11, with reverse lights on, backing up to junction five.”

When Hatellari was stopped, it emerged his driving licence had been revoked and the vehicle was being driven without insurance.

At Chelmsford Magistrates Court on July 27, Hatellari was slapped with a £660 fine, a year-long driving ban, and was also ordered to pay £120 costs and a £264 victim surcharge.

In another instance, van driver Daniel Udrescu, 57, expressed regret for a “moment of poor judgment” when he was nabbed reversing up the slip road for the M6 toll motorway in Cannock, Staffordshire.

He explained to police when stopped, at around 10.30pm on April 29, that he was “attempting to get to Glasgow and went the wrong way”, and the officer also noticed that the driver’s seat belt was clipped in place, suggesting that Udrescu was not wearing it while driving.

He pleaded guilty last month to both offences at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court and received three penalty points, a £445 fine, £120 in costs, and a £178 victim surcharge.

In a third case, Innocent Ayodele, 32, an NHS worker from Manchester, apologised to a court in May after he was caught attempting to evade a traffic jam on the M61 by driving the wrong way up an entry slip road.

Pc Peter Weatherstone, from Greater Manchester Police, told the court he spoke to Ayodele to ask “what he was playing at driving the wrong way”. “I could see another driver at the side of another vehicle whom he could have struck”, he wrote in his statement.

“I pointed out the dangers of such behaviour, but the driver seemed totally blatant in his necessary to do this simply because he had finished worked and wanted to get home.”

Ayodele told Preston Magistrates’ Court he was attempting to reach home to his expectant wife, but with nine penalty points already on his licence he could now face a ban when he is sentenced at a later date.

In June, National Highways said its data showing 947 incidents of wrong way driving could include unconfirmed reports and it insisted “confirmed incidents of wrong‐way driving on motorways remain rare. Every report is treated seriously and acted on quickly”.

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: “To think anyone could drive the wrong way onto a motorway heading into fast-moving traffic is truly the stuff of nightmares.”