Driver's heart-stopping moment tyre blowout causes van to spin towards oncoming M62 traffic

Police revealed details of the incident this afternoon, where the silver van lost control and ended up facing the wrong way in lane 3 of the M62 motorway.

Officer PC Willis said: "The occupants of this vehicle had a lucky escape after tyre failure caused this vehicle to lose control and end up facing the wrong way in lane 3.

"Fortunately we were only minutes away and @HighwaysYORKS were able to set signs very quickly. A scary place to end up!! #M62"

What should you do if you run into trouble on a smart motorway?

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According to GOV.UK,

On a smart motorway:

never drive in a lane closed by a red “X”

keep to the speed limit shown on the gantries

a solid white line indicates the hard shoulder - don’t drive in it unless directed.

a broken white line indicates a normal running lane

if your vehicle experiences difficulties, eg warning light, exit the smart motorway immediately if possible

use the refuge areas for emergencies if there’s no hard shoulder

put your hazard lights on if you break down

If it is not possible to get out of your vehicle safely, or there is no other place of relative safety to wait then you should stay in your vehicle with your seat belt on and dial ‘999’ if you have access to a working mobile phone.

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