What to Do If You Accidentally Enter a One-Way Street?
4 Answers
When you mistakenly enter a one-way street, you should make a U-turn under safe conditions. Here are the relevant details: 1. Remedial Measures: Generally, there are surveillance cameras on both sides of a one-way street, and these cameras are usually not at the entrance but in the middle section. If you accidentally enter a one-way street and haven't traveled too far, you can take remedial action. The driver should carefully observe the surrounding vehicles and make a U-turn to leave when there are fewer cars ahead. 2. High Risk of Traffic Accidents: Driving into a one-way street constitutes going against the traffic, which can easily lead to traffic accidents. Therefore, even if you are caught on camera, you should make a U-turn under safe conditions and never continue driving against the traffic.
Once while driving in the city, I accidentally entered a one-way street. I immediately turned on the hazard warning lights and checked the rearview mirror and surroundings. Seeing no cars at the entrance, I slowly reversed out, maintaining low speed for safety. If there had been cars behind me, I would have pulled over, turned on the hazards, and called 122 for traffic police assistance—never stubbornly driving forward, which is both dangerous and risks a 3-point penalty and 200-yuan fine. Afterward, I reflected: always watch road signs more carefully, especially on unfamiliar roads, and slow down in advance. I also now keep navigation warnings enabled—it alerts me to one-way streets ahead, so I rarely repeat this mistake.
Once I made a wrong turn into a one-way street in an alley and immediately hit the brakes to stop. First, I checked if there were any cameras around. Although driving the wrong way would result in 3 penalty points and a 200-yuan fine, timely handling might avoid the penalty. I noticed the entrance was only about ten meters away, and there were no cars behind me, so I shifted into reverse and slowly backed out, keeping the hazard lights on the whole time to alert others. When I reached the intersection, I made sure to look left and right twice before moving forward again. I want to remind everyone to pay attention to warning signs at intersections, especially during dusk when signs can be hard to see. In case you can't reverse out, it's recommended to pull over, turn on the hazard lights, and call the police. The traffic police will then guide you on how to handle the situation safely.
When I first started driving, I once mistakenly entered a one-way street and was so nervous that my palms were sweating. I immediately stopped the car, turned on the hazard lights, and rolled down the window to signal the cars behind me to pay attention. After confirming there were no cars within fifty meters behind me, I reversed at a snail's pace, constantly checking the rearview mirrors. I let out a long sigh of relief after backing out. Now I've learned some lessons: stop immediately while maintaining a safe distance; assess whether reversing is possible by clearly seeing at least a hundred meters behind; finding a gap to turn the steering wheel for a U-turn is prone to scratches and absolutely not advisable; if reversing is truly impossible, call 122 to report the location and wait for assistance. Every time I pass an unfamiliar intersection, I pay extra attention to the blue signs with white arrows.