Children were seenrunning around on the M6 (Pictures: MEN Media)
Motorists have been slated for abandoning their cars during a traffic jam to play football on the M6.
Drivers were caught in traffic carnage on the M6 on Saturday when police dealt with a ‘distressed’ man on a bridge near junction 33 in Lancashire.
Footage shows people pouring out of the stationary vehicles to frolic on the empty carriageway – including children – with some playing frisbee and football.
As traffic was held in both directions briefly, some decided to abandon their cars and head for the nearby service station, leaving the police flabbergasted.
Families got out of their cars on the M6 after traffic was held due to a police incident (Picture: MEN Media)
Now Lancashire Police has criticised the drivers’ behaviour on social media, calling it ‘dangerous’ and accusing them of causing additional delays as motorists ‘thought it was acceptable to get out of their vehicles’ as they were held at the roadblocks.
It said: ‘Some people allowed their children to run freely on the carriageway and others began to play frisbee and football.
‘Unbelievably a number of motorists abandoned their cars and went into the services, with many crossing to the opposite side of the motorway.
When the motorway was ready to reopen after the police had arrested the man on the bridge, not all drivers were willing to move along.
The force continued: ‘When the motorway reopened a short time later, there were a number of abandoned vehicles which blocked the motorway causing additional delays, and other drivers who found themselves unwilling to continue their journey due to their passengers finding themselves unable to return to their vehicles.’
The M6 turned into a picnic during the incident (Picture: MEN Media)
It slammed drivers for endangering others and blocking traffic after the delay.
‘Whilst we understand that some motorists will have found themselves in a frustrating situation, these people put themselves and others in a very dangerous position. They also impeded officers getting to the scene of the emergency, and significantly delayed the motorway traffic from flowing freely again,’ the force said.
The motorway was not closed ‘for significant time’ and the man on the bridge was arrested for Aggravated Vehicle Taking, driving while unfit through drink or drugs and disqualified driving.
Drivers abandoning their vehicles is happening ‘more and more, with people thinking this behaviour is acceptable when it is clearly not,’ Lancashire Police added.
The force pleaded with drivers to always stay in their cars during disruption as ‘the motorway can be a dangerous place, and that danger may not be immediately obvious.’
‘We urge people who find themselves in a tailback on the motorway to remain in their vehicles and to await instruction or direction from the Police or National Highways. Let us be able to concentrate on dealing with the initial emergency to get you moving as soon as possible.’
It comes months after frustrated motorists were seen roaming the M5 in Somerset following an incident which shut the entire motorway at the peak of the Glastonbury Festival return traffic.
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