OAP’s 20-mile trip on wrong side of M8

AN ELDERLY man has been reported to prosecutors after driving around 20 miles on the wrong side of the M8 at nearly 2am.

It is understood the 79-year-old man travelled east on the westbound carriageway between junction five in Glasgow city centre to junction 16, at Shotts, Lanarkshire, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Police said they received a number of calls over the incident, around 1.45am, and steps were taken ‘to reduce the risk to other road users and allow the vehicle to be stopped safely’.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘Police received reports of a car travelling in the wrong direction on the M8 in Glasgow city centre. Officers from the road policing department responded immediately. A 79-year-old man will be reported to the procurator fiscal in connection with alleged road traffic offences.’

There have been calls for OAPs to have to resit their tests after a string of similar incidents, including an 86-year- old man who drove for three miles on the wrong side of the M9 in 2011.

After joining the motorway north of Stirling, Matthew Mackinnon found himself travelling south towards Stirling services when he had wanted to go north. Instead of driving on to the next exit, he caused havoc by making a threepoint turn and heading north against the flow of oncoming traffic.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard how motorists had to swerve to avoid Mackinnon’s Honda Accord. Police tried to stop him but he seemed ‘oblivious to the predicament’ until eventually persuaded on to the hard shoulder.

When Mackinnon did stop, he told police: ‘I was trying to find a way to get back because I had taken a wrong turn somewhere.’

The Association of British Drivers has said there is a case for making motorists aged over 70 re-sit their driving test every five years.