Brave officer collides police car head-on into vehicle driving the wrong way on M1 motorway
- Michael Murphy
- Jan 20, 2021
- 2 min read
A police officer made the brave decision to block the lane of a vehicle which was driving the wrong way along a motorway, putting his life on the line to protect others.
The incident happened on the M1 South, at the South Yorkshire border, and was recorded on the police vehicle's dashcam.
In the footage, which was posted on West Yorkshire Police's Roads Policing Unit Twitter account (@WYP_RPU), the officer can be seen moving the police vehicle into the right hand lane of the motorway - the same lane the oncoming car is driving in.
Another police vehicle moves to the middle lane and attempts to stop the oncoming car by driving into the side of it as it passes, but misses.
Making a split second decision, the brave officer of the first vehicle stays in the right hand lane, committing to a head-on collision as a way of stopping the car, and therefore avoiding any injuries to any of the travelling public driving on the motorway further along.
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Unit, said: "So this happened last night [18/01] M1 South at the South Yorks border. Report of a car coming the wrong way on the motorway.
"Our brave colleague stopped the incoming traffic to face this and made a split decision to prevent injuries to those behind him."
This is not the first time we've seen a car driving the wrong way on the M1. In 2019 TaxiPoint reported on a private hire vehicle which was successfully intercepted by officers when it was caught travelling northbound on the southbound carriageway.
Police officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire (BCH) Roads Policing Unit reported the incident in the early hours on 21 December.
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police, said at the time of the incident: ”A private hire vehicle was pulled over by police after driving in the wrong direction on the M1 motorway. Problem was, he was on the southbound carriageway. The height of professionalism.”
