Shocking moment motorists perform u-turns on busy motorway

Shocking moment motorists perform u-turns on busy motorway and drive the WRONG way up slip road to avoid traffic jam

• They cut across the hatched markings at J4a near Fleet, Hampshire, on the M3
• The chaotic scenes on Saturday morning were due to emergency roadworks
• Hampshire Constabulary described the motorists’ actions as ‘unacceptable’

This is the shocking moment motorists performed u-turns on a busy motorway and then drove the wrong way up a slip road to avoid traffic jams.

Footage showed several cars, vans and even a motorhome cutting across the hatched markings to skip queues at J4a near Fleet, Hampshire, on the M3 this weekend.

The driver of a dark blue SUV was even seen reversing back down the motorway before turning around to drive into oncoming traffic up the slip road.

The chaotic scenes on Saturday morning were the result of a full closure between J4/A331 (Farnborough) and J3/A322 (Bagshot) due to emergency roadworks.

This caused delays in temperatures of 25C as motorists were squeezed into one lane to exit towards the signed diversion. 

This is the shocking moment motorists performed u-turns on a busy motorway and drove the wrong way up a slip road to avoid traffic jams

Josh Larkins-Hayers, who captured the traffic carnage on his phone, was stuck in the traffic for around 90 minutes.

The 23-year-old maintenance manager from Basingstoke, Hampshire, said he was shocked by the ‘dangerous’ decisions of other drivers and wanted to highlight the risks they were taking.

Mr Larkins-Hayers said: ‘The traffic hold ups were due to construction roadworks. It is pretty silly to close a whole section of the motorway during August and the school holidays.

‘However, some people should have more common sense and stick to the Highway Code.’

The closure started at 9pm on Friday, August 5, and will continue until 6am on Monday, August 8.

A signed diversion is in place via the A30 London Road. National Highways has said drivers should either avoid this area or look to use alternative routes if possible. 

A signed diversion is in place via the A30 London Road. National Highways has said drivers should either avoid this area or look to use alternative routes if possible

Hampshire Constabulary today described the motorists’ actions as ‘unacceptable’ and appealed for dash-cam footage so they can be investigated

Hampshire Constabulary today described the motorists’ actions as ‘unacceptable’ and appealed for dash-cam footage so they can be investigated.

A spokesman said: ‘We received a report from a member of the public in relation to highway disruption on the slip road of the M3 Junction 4A.

‘It is reported that a number of vehicles were driving the wrong way up a slip road to avoid road closures that were in place at the time.

‘This is unacceptable behaviour and could have had serious implications for road users attempting to join the motorway via the slip road.

‘As a police force, Hampshire Constabulary has a dedicated team within the Summary Justice Unit that review reports of poor driving made by the public which include collisions and near misses.

‘Members of the public can upload dash-cam footage of alleged offences to police. These are processed using our HantsSNAP scheme directly into the fixed penalty system.

‘We would encourage anyone who has mobile phone footage or dash-cam footage to report this to police via the HantsSNAP platform.’

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