Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how many annual instances there are of wrong-way driving on motorways in England and Wales; and what proportion of those instances result in police intervention.

Based on National Highways operational data, the number of incident reports from motorways in England recording reports of oncoming vehicles up to May 2026 were as below:

This data is captured for operational purposes and is from reports of wrong way driving received by National Highways’ regional operational centres. This data should be treated with caution. It may include incidents where there was no evidence of an oncoming vehicle other than the initial report. The oncoming vehicle code may also be used where a driver has reversed along a hard shoulder (for instance a driver passed the exit and reversed in the hard shoulder to reach their intended exit), or where a driver has entered an exit slip road but not necessarily proceeded to enter the motorway.

Safety is National Highways’ top priority, which is why every report of an oncoming vehicle triggers an immediate response to protect road users. National Highways works closely with Police partners. The Police are operationally independent and decisions on the response to reported incidents are operational matters for individual forces. National Highways is responsible for the management of motorways in England and does not hold data for motorways in Wales.