Nearly half of drivers have seen another motorist crossing the chevrons to get back on a motorway after taking the wrong exit, according to a survey.
AA Driving School asked 13,000 drivers about the bizarre driving they had seen on the UK’s motorways.
Some 49% also said they had seen other drivers zooming down the hard shoulder when it was not permitted, and one quarter had witnessed someone stop for a wee on the hard shoulder.
The survey also showed 57% of drivers are still unaware learner drivers are allowed on motorways with a qualified instructor in a dual-control vehicle, despite the law being changed five years ago to allow it.
Some 83% said they had never seen a learner on the motorway.
Mark Born, head of instructor training at AA Driving School, said the figures suggested “some learners may not be making full use of the law change”.
He said: “We hope that more learners will take up motorway driving lessons to give them a head-start in building confidence and experience around motorway etiquette.
“It may well quash the next generation of middle-lane-hoggers, tailgaters – and those inclined to take a cheeky toilet break on a hard shoulder.”
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Finbar King, 22, was the first learner to have a lesson on a motorway five years ago when he drove on the M25 with an AA instructor just after midnight.
He said: “The motorway lessons helped to give me the confidence to drive on motorways after I passed my test.
“I now use motorways a lot either going to play or watch football and the tuition certainly helped me to drive safely, although I’m no big fan of ‘smart’ motorways.”
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About 10% of England’s motorway network is made up of smart motorways, which involve various methods to manage the flow of traffic, including converting the hard shoulder into a live lane.
But the building of new smart motorways is being cancelled following concerns over safety and costs, while existing stretches will be subjected to a safety refit, so there are more emergency stopping places.
