“Wrong Side” Trend Claims 12 Lives in England and Ireland Over the Weekend

Twelve people have died in less than two weeks in traffic accidents in England and Ireland, after drivers drove against the flow of traffic on major roads, amid the spread of this practice as a popular challenge on social media platforms.

Seven people, including two on-duty police officers, were killed early Saturday in a crash on the A66 major road near Middlesbrough in north-east England, according to police.

Authorities are investigating the circumstances of the accident, but clarified that it occurred after a suspicious vehicle driving against the flow of traffic was pursued and collided head-on with a police car traveling in the correct direction.

Their vehicle was traveling against the flow of traffic on the M9 motorway west of Dublin when it collided head-on with another car, leaving four of its occupants, including a child, seriously injured.

Following the Sunday crash, Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said it was the latest in a series of accidents involving vehicles driving against the flow of traffic on motorways.

He added, “We cannot tolerate this reckless behavior we have recently seen on our roads. It must stop.”

Police Chief Justice Justin Kelly said the incident was preceded by a similar collision on the M50 motorway in Dublin, warning that “what makes this reckless behavior even more shocking is that in some cases it is committed for social media platforms.”

The M50 incident, which occurred a week earlier, involved a stolen car carrying teenagers driving against the flow of traffic, causing several serious injuries.

In another incident in early August, a video recorded from inside a stolen car during a police chase went viral on social media.