Car drives wrong way down busy motorway less than 24 hours after M9 crash

A video shared widely online shows a car being driven against the flow of motorway traffic, which has sparked further calls for road safety enforcement

Daire Fitton and Annette Belcher

08:25, 18 Aug 2026Updated 11:01, 18 Aug 2026

[Car drives wrong way down Cork motorway less than 24 hours after M9 crash]

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Car drives wrong way down Cork motorway less than 24 hours after M9 crash

Calls for increased road safety enforcement have been ramped up following footage showing a car travelling against the flow of motorway traffic.

The widely circulated social media clip captures a vehicle speeding down the wrong side of a busy carriageway. In the short recording, the car narrowly misses two oncoming heavy goods vehicles, with the second lorry forced to swerve quickly to prevent a crash.

The video is among several alleged joyriding clips to emerge online following a recent incident on the M50 and a tragic head-on collision on the M9 on Sunday that resulted in the deaths of five teenagers, reports CorkBeo

Assistant General Secretary, Garda Representative Association (GRA), Tara McManus referenced the clip in an appearance on The Last Word with Matt Cooper.

When asked if social media clips should be used as evidence of criminal behaviour, she said: "This morning I saw a video of a car being driven the wrong way down the motorway in Cork, literally only 24 hours after five young men were killed."

The GRA rep also called for Garda to be given appropriate pursuit training to deal with these incidents going forward.

The issue was raised with Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan on Monday, who said that Garda would have 'whatever resources they require' to respond to this threat to public safety.

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He said: I have also spoken to the commissioner today about the legitimate points that were made by the GRA in respect of pursuit training.

The commissioner again emphasised that he is going to introduce pursuit training into An Garda Sochna and he will be the first commissioner to do that.

The Minister also said that legislation is being prepared to strengthen the protections Garda have when it comes to pursuits, and to create a new offence for people who deliberately drive the wrong way down the motorway.

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