Chennai: Riding against the flow of traffic to save a few minutes has become routine among commuters. Two-wheelers and autorickshaws frequently enter one-way stretches from the wrong end or travel against traffic even on busy arterial roads. With traffic police enforcement lackadaisical, wrong-side driving and riding has become a scourge on several stretches, putting other motorists and pedestrians at risk.The problem is most rampant on Anna Salai, Velachery 100 Feet Road, Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Radial Road, Rajiv Gandhi Salai and Jawaharlal Nehru Salai. Vadapalani junction, Little Mount, Guindy flyover, Venkatanarayana Road, Poonamallee High Road-Nolambur junction, Arumbakkam Metro junction and Basin Bridge are among the problem spots.“If the U-turn is far away, I sometimes take the wrong side for a short distance. Otherwise, I have to travel much farther just to turn around,” said motorist Naresh Kumar.Kamalanathan, a traffic activist, says widely spaced U-turns, long medians and congestion at designated turning points encourage such behaviours. Two-wheelers account for much of the violation. In Nov 2025, Suresh, 50, was killed near Kottivakkam after a motorcycle ridden by a 16-year-old on the wrong side collided head-on with his vehicle. In another case in June this year, college student Kaushika, 21, died after her two-wheeler collided with a moped coming on the wrong side of Vandalur-Walajabad Road near Mannivakkam.Advocate C Suresh Kumar said enforcement needs to be more consistent, as violations often resume when police personnel are absent. In Chennai alone, wrong-side driving has claimed at least 300 lives over the past five years.Additional commissioner of police, GCTP, B Shamoondeswari said smart barricades fitted with cameras have been deployed at several points to identify offenders. “In the last eight months, we have booked 1.89 lakh cases against motorists indulging in wrong-side driving,” she said.
