An NHS worker who was caught driving the wrong way down a motorway slip road could be banned from driving. Innocent Ayodele, 32, an NHS worker from Manchester, was caught trying to escape a traffic jam on the M61 by driving the wrong way up an entry slip road.
Court hears apology
Appearing in court in May he apologised for his actions. Pc Peter Weatherstone, from Greater Manchester Police (GMP), told Preston Magistrates’ 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.”
Penalty points and sentencing
Ayodele told the court he was trying to get home to his pregnant wife, but with nine penalty points already on his licence he could now face a ban when he is sentenced at a later date.
Weekly prosecutions revealed
It comes as research has revealed that a motorist gets prosecuted every week for risking a head-on collision by driving the wrong way on the motorway. Reckless drivers are caught reversing along the carriageway, pulling U-turns next to high-speed traffic and driving backwards in a bid to reach a missed exit junction, court papers show.
The Press Association has found 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 are typically ordered to pay out hundreds of pounds in fines and court fees while some face driving bans as a result of their actions.
In June, National Highways data obtained by the Press Association revealed that 947 incidents involving “oncoming vehicles” on England’s motorways had been logged in the 12 months to May 11.
