Drivers have been reminded of the ‘utterly devastating consequences’ after seven people died in a crash on the A66 in Middlesbrough
Police have condemned “unacceptable” driving behaviour after several vehicles were caught driving in the wrong direction on the motorway following a crash.
Multiple drivers were seen trying to avoid traffic delays by going the wrong way back up the M6 slip road near junction 34 in Lancaster on Sunday.
It comes after seven people, including two officers, were killed in a crash on Saturday after a vehicle drove the wrong way down the A66 in South Bank struck a police car.
In a statement, Lancashire Police said: “Thankfully nobody was seriously hurt, either in the collision or due to this incident, but as we have seen in other parts of the country this weekend, these actions can have utterly devastating consequences.
“We have identified a number of those vehicles and drivers involved in the incident and will take the appropriate action against them.
“We know that there will have been a lot of people on the motorway or making their way the correct direction down the slip road at that time, who will have been lawfully going about their journeys.”
Following the fatal collision in Middlesbrough on Saturday, Matt Storey, the Cleveland police and crime commissioner, hit out at an “absolutely idiotic” social media trend showing people driving the wrong way down roads.
Research shows that a driver appears in court every week for risking a head-on collision by driving the wrong way on the motorway.
The government has told TikTok and other social media platforms to remove content featuring the trend, describing the glorification of dangerous driving as “utterly disgraceful”.
Mr Storey told Radio 4’s Today programme: “Without being able to say whether that was anything like involved in this case, it’s absolutely idiotic for anybody to be doing anything other than being completely 100 per cent focused on the road when they’re behind the wheel of a vehicle.”
Jakub Matusiak, one of the young men who died, had previously shared footage on his social media showing him driving recklessly and barreling through a neighbourhood. It is not yet clear whether the men killed were following the trend.
Speaking of the latest wrong-way driving incident, Lancashire Police added: “Being stuck in standstill or slow-moving traffic can be frustrating, we get it, but it is never an excuse to put the lives of those around you, and your own life at risk.
“Nobody got hurt yesterday, but that outcome could have so easily been different. We will not tolerate driving that endangers lives.”
The force is urging anyone with dashcam or mobile phone footage that could show any drivers involved in the incident to come forward.
“If you have information or footage that can help us, please call 101 quoting log 0689 of 23rd August,” it said in a statement.
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