Help - driver going the wrong way on a motorway! Lessons from the UK, USA, New Zealand

California wrong way signage. Wikipedia.

In the UK and USA drivers have gone the wrong way. Causing fatal accidents. Several changes are needed. 

I was shocked. I thought, another one, that's two, one each side of 'the pond' or ocean. When I read the statistics, I was even more shocked. More than 400 such accidents in the USA each year.  Of course, prevention costs money. But imagine the costs of medicine for injuries, car damage, car replacement, insurance reports, insurance company investigations, police and ambulance attending, traffic delays, missed social events and work appointments, even clothes and stress to others, plus, of course, hospitals, enquiries, inquests into causes of accident events, coroner's report on medical findings, funerals, gravestones, memorial services, sometimes prosecutions or private court cases seeking damages, petitions for changes in the law.

I started writing two changes are needed. Then I thought of more and reached five. 

1 One way barriers to exits so only emergency vehicles can enter them.

2 Immediate warning signs to stop to all traffic if a vehicle enters the wrong way on a slip road. 

3 A wrong way vehicle emergency number to summon police if a vehicle is driving the wrong way. Restore hard shoulders so vehicles can pull over and stop if they or another vehicle are driving the wrong way. 

4 Mandatory stopping of traffic if a vehicle is seen driving the wrong way, not just honking and flashing lights. 

5 Lay-bys, or pull-ins, or pedestrian spaces are needed on the fast lane. My vehicle was hit by another and came to rest in the fast lane, endangering me and others. At my request the driver or a large lorry blocked my lane, also the next lane, by parking diagonally, which was an obvious obstruction and unusual position which could be seen for miles back, slowing traffic and prevented multiple rear-enders.

Some measures have already been taken, clearly not enough.

Causes of Wrong Way Driving

Accidental

Near borders and ferries UK-France, drivers where other countries drive on the opposite side. Drivers quickly realise their mistake and usually reverse slowly and re-route. Nowadays more and larger signs warn the British and others exiting from ports onto main roads. 

If you hire a local car, the driver's seat and driving wheel are usually in the middle of the road so he can see oncoming and distant traffic, whilst the front passenger seat is by the (pedestrian) pavement (sidewalk is what Amreicans call it) so that passengers exit safely, not into the road.

Distracted Driving

Noted Causes of Wrong-Way Driving

Driver reading online road maps - (I query, due to poor signage?) 

New Zealand changed signage to make it clearer, with fewer signs meaning less clutter. 

Driver texting. 

Driver watching movies! 

(Other types of accidents have been caused by a driver distracted by animals, by children (one notable case of a mother turning to stop siblings fighting, resulting in an accident causing the death of one child), back seat passengers, insects flying in.)

Places

In the USA there are apparently more accidents of this type in Florida, Texas and California.  I suspect the causes might relate, not entirely, but inflated by, the numbers of elderly drivers in Florida (poor eyesight, but in my opinion also Alzheimer's or poor decision making due to it; maybe drugs in California, resulting in poor attention, or thrill seeking. 

Lessons Learned To Avoid Being The Wrong-Way Driver

1 Remember which side of the road to drive on when going from the UK to Europe and Europe to the UK.

2 Have regular eye tests. Carry spare glasses in case you lose them. Check your route and intermediate points. Use speaking satnav rather than one requiring you to look down or away from the road.

3 If you miss your turning, never try to U-turn back against traffic on a motorway.

Avoiding One Way Drivers

Accidents are more likely when there is poor visibility at night or in bad weather. Watch the distance, if you can. Try to get behind an obstruction such as a parked car or tree or pole so that the other vehicle does not hit you head on with full force. In the USA you call 911 (not the old UK number of 999). Be familiar with emergency numbers, have them on a post-it and/or have them listed in your phone contacts.

Safe driving!

Useful Websites

Daily Mail 22 Jan 2025

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14311177/Six-million-Brits-retake-driving-test-campaigners-call.html

Global Statistics On Types Of accidents, which cause most fatalities, geographical hotspots, prevention

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrong-way_driving

In-car Warnings

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrong-way_driving_warning

Prevention When Others Approach Wrong Way

https://caraccidentattorney.com/blog/safety-tips-to-defend-against-a-wrong-way-driver

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Litter and Recycling Plastic - How To Learn From Other Countries And The Past

 Recycling bin with clear labels for households in Singapore showing what can be recycled using this bin and what can't. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

One problem easily solved is that you need two adjacent bins with one slot for plastic or glass bottles and another for different rubbish. It could be done like coin machines. Make bottles in four sizes and have round or square holes the size for each bottle. Adjacent and attached (although perhaps detachable?) is another bin with letter box style slits for plastic bags. You could even make the bins look like bottles and bags. I've stood in foreign airports trying to read the list of what goes in which bin and been baffled. You also need a drain in which you can empty the contents, the liquid dregs of the bottle.

COLOURS
As for colour schemes, there's no international standard and it's counter-intuitive. In Harrow in NW London, green which you would think would be the friendly recycling bin is for non-recycling. Blue is for recycling.

If you drop the item in the wrong bin, the only way to retrieve it is to reach inside a dirty bin getting your sleeves dirty. However, you can't reach the bottom because it's longer than your arm. So then you have to empty the entire mess onto the drive. Ten minutes wasted.

You can spend a minute an item looking for the recycling symbol and then you get an ambiguous message, recyclable in some areas. Most people don't know there are several symbols for types of plastic. It would be simpler if plastic packaging had numbers and colours as well.

SHAPES
You could also print wrapping paper with an amusing recycling symbol or background stripes, dots and diagonals. Alternatively, or to save confusion, a coloured frame with wavy edges, to save having to hunt for instructions on the corners or guess.

Bins could cary the message, this bin recycles red circle symbol packages. This packaging is blue triangle two. This box for green tree three. Then even a foreigner or a child or a person with Alzheimers can see to match the blue or blue dot package with the blue bin and the green tree symbol with the green tree bin.

The bin itself can be designed in the shape of a bottle or tree. That's been done with animals shapes and even sounds like barking and thanking you to encourage children to feed litter into bins.

This was done successfully in the UK in the nineteen fifties and / or sixties.

You can also give pocket money to children, make the unemployed work for their money, give money to the homeless, but giving money back on returned bottles.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-

Article on success of Norwegian system of deposits on bottles.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, author and speaker.