M1 southbound around Woodall services about 1am 
Did you find it yet ?
I saw the exact same thing about 2 month ago in the same place about 4:15am when I was going northbound. Parked up at junc 29 and only been on the road 5 mins then saw 4 traffic cop cars going s/b 2 going like ■■■■ of a shovel and 2 holding the traffic back.
It does put you on your toes when you see that.
There’s not one. There’s loads. lol.
Maybe the matrix boards should be two sided and flash…
Stop
Turn
Around
On the reverse.
“This side up” probably wouldn’t go amiss here either. 
I thought at first that it was one of those portable things, knocked arse over head.
It was probably my grandad.
Rob Mac:
0M1 southbound around Woodall services about 1am
did you hit the vehicle and end up on your side? 
No, he was lying on the bunk and steering with his big toe when he took the picture. 
Never did see the oncoming vehicle, or any evidence there was on. By the time I’d got to the managed section at the a38 junction they’d turned the matrix signs off
They also put that up when there’s a service vehicle reversing on the hard shoulder! Nothing like over-dramatising everything when they’re stuck in a control centre wondering what keys to press next. 
exit:
They also put that up when there’s a service vehicle reversing on the hard shoulder! Nothing like over-dramatising everything when they’re stuck in a control centre wondering what keys to press next.
NO WE DON’T!
These signs have to be set if an oncoming vehicle is reported, the guess is, how far do you set them?
The call is at least 3-5 minutes old (time to get phone out, get past “which service do you require?” through to police control room, log typed up and sent through. so could be 4/5 miles past the original location.
The vehicle could be travelling at more than 70mph, head on towards others travelling at similar speeds. YOU tell me, how far do I set these signs??
I usually set them to the next junction, hopeful that if it’s just a “no-brainer” they’ll realise what they’ve done and get off at the next junction (Should they make it!)
We are always up against it when this type of call comes in, unless someone manages to find it on CCTV, then signals can be ammended.
The first problem is, has the caller got the location right? has the call taker typed it on the log right? (Not all are motorway savy) What class of “on-coming veh” is it?
I’ll expand on that…
A) Foreign driver?
B) Elderly or young driver with little motorway experience?
C) Criminal element intent on evading police?
More often than not, Class B will realise what they’ve done, pull up on the H/S, crap their pants and await the police to arrive to deal with the situation.
Class A are usually your European colleagues, often these will continue driving the wrong way until brought to a halt by the police, or they’ll exit at the next junction.
Class C are deadly, it’s their utmost intention to cause as much chaos as possible to give the police plenty to deal with so they can get away.
The largest amount of “on-comers” are group B, swiftly dealt with, so the majority of other drivers see the signs, but no aftermath.
For group A, if you slow down & keep your wits about you, you’ll find they are usually in either the outside lane, or the inside lane.
For group C, again, slow down, keep your wits about you and be ready to take evasive action.
Hopefully you never see any of them, stay safe.
Another question people often ask about these ‘Oncoming Vehicle’ signs is - “why are they on both sides of the road?”
Policy, when I worked for the H.A. a few years back, was to set these signs on both carriageways - to warn motorists on the side that the oncoming vehicle has been reported as traveling on - but also on the opposite carriageway in order to try and make the driver of the oncoming vehicle realise that he/she is on the wrong side and pull over.
I’ve worked in motorway-related jobs for the past 6 years nearly, and have personally witnessed 3 vehicles traveling at speed on the wrong carriageway.
It’s rare, but when it happens, you want to be warned about it!
Never eben gave it a thought that you would be warned about something like this. Good to know though.
Saw an oncoming car on the M4 last year, scare the ■■■ out of me. People were changing lanes in all directions.
Cheers
Paul