Gendarme warning after car drives in wrong direction

Said to have taken place at 6h13 on Sunday July 23, the incident was captured on gendarmerie video, but the driver was not able to be identified, having apparently left the motorway at Exit 5 or 6.

The video, taken from the dashboard of the gendarmerie car, shows that the car had to move significantly to avoid a head-on collision with the vehicle going in the wrong direction.

No-one was injured, but an enquiry is taking place to identify the errant driver.

"In this case, it all ended well,” explained a gendarme, speaking to French newspaper website France 3. “But if we have a vehicle travelling at 100km/h and another travelling at 100km/h in the wrong direction, that could cause an extremely serious, or even fatal, accident.”

The dashcam video was later published on the gendarmerie Facebook page to help advise drivers of what to do if they come across someone driving in the wrong direction down a road.

Drivers are advised to:

• Alert the motorway companies using the ‘SOS Autoroute’ smartphone app or the closest motorway emergency phone terminal
• Slow down your own vehicle to improve visibility
• Do not change lanes unless completely necessary
• Stop at the next services or rest area until the affected car has been intercepted