On 22 September at around 10:40 a.m. a 77-year-old man was caught driving at high speed in the wrong direction along the Takamatsu Expressway in Japan’s Kagawa Prefecture. According to police, the unidentified man was trying to retrace his steps after traveling one kilometer the wrong way.
The man reportedly said he was trying to return to his home in Kochi Prefecture but missed the off-ramp. After driving about a kilometer too far he stopped at Toyohama Service Area to regain his bearings. Then, realizing his mistake, he followed the same path back to the junction.
Unfortunately, he followed it too closely and was driving in the exact same lane but facing the opposite way. During this trip an accident was caused involving cars driven by a 60-year-old woman and 36-year-old man. The woman driver had to stop suddenly to avoid the backwards driver and was rear-ended by the younger male driver. Thankfully, no one was injured.
According to the police, the man later said he “didn’t notice” he was going in the wrong direction. We can only assume the man thought the passing lane he was driving in was meant for traffic in the direction he was heading.
Source: Yomiuri Online (Japanese)
Image: Wikipedia – ROmas