Briton crashes after driving 10km wrong way on French motorway

An elderly British man has been injured after driving 10 kilometres the wrong-way along a motorway and colliding with a safety workers’ vehicle in western France.

The 88-year old hit the vehicle on the A20 on Tuesday (April 8). 

Initial reports from the gendarmerie suggest the driver became confused due to the UK and France driving on opposite sides of the road.

He entered the motorway at an exit in Creuse, driving on the wrong side for 10 kilometres before hitting a vehicle belonging to the Direction interdépartementale des routes du Centre-Ouest (Dirco) near Arnac-la-Poste (Haute-Vienne). 

The Direction interdépartementale des routes operate and manage the state road network.

Nearby construction workers escaped unscathed with the driver being the only person to suffer injuries, although these were said to be light. He was taken to nearby Limoges hospital. 

It is the third instance in recent years where a Dirco vehicle has been hit in a collision. The authority has said it will file a complaint against the driver.

Crackdown on ‘contresens’ drivers 

Several instances of drivers going the wrong way (contresens) down French roads are recorded every day, with multiple deaths each year being attributed to the issue. 

Local government services are attempting to reduce the problem, bringing in increasing police patrols to check drivers are following motorway rules.

In many instances the drivers are young, and often under the influence of drink or drugs. 

There have been calls to introduce a system similar to the one used in Belgium, where special lights along motorways only become illuminated if a driver is going the wrong way. 

Read more: Too many wrong-way drivers on French motorways

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