Panic as driver heads in wrong way on the M1

April 2009

An elderly motorist causes havoc for Easter Sunday drivers when she travels the wrong way on the M1 outside Dundalk.

Other road users swerve to avoid the woman, in her 80s, as she drives on the incorrect side.

Traffic comes upon her on the motorway between the Castlebellingham and Castleblayney turn offs. She is seemingly oblivious to the flashing lights and horns of others as she travels towards Dublin.

Other motorists use mobile phones and the roadside SOS emergency phones to make panicked 999 calls to Gardaí, alerting them to the red Toyota Starlet.

‘I could see her gripping on the steering wheel with sheer determination,’ says one man who encountered her on his journey from the North.

‘She seemed oblivious to everyone who tried to alert her. Before she came along, other motorists were flashing me, and I thought it was a speed check.

‘But then I saw her coming and I flashed the lights at her with no response. Then I pulled in and contacted the Gardaí in Dundalk,’ reveals another witness.

Officers informed the startled driver that they had already been made aware of the situation and were on their way.

A spokesman for Dundalk Gardaí confirms they had received a number of calls about the incident.

‘The woman may have been confused. We understand that she came on to the motorway in error at an intersection.’

However, it has not been established exactly where she entered the motorway or her destination.

The elderly woman was not arrested but she was driven to her home by officers.

The spokesman adds that this was one of several similar incidents reported since the motorway opened in 2005.