Breathtaking moment motorist slams on his brakes as a Ford Ka with NO driver casually rolls backwards across high-speed M1 traffic

  • Car rolled off hard shoulder and appeared to have just been involved in a crash
  • Incident occurred between junctions 27 and 28, south of Mansfield, Notts 
  • Dash cam footage captured by Daniel Richardson, who was driving to work

By Nick Enoch for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

This is the incredible moment a car rolled off the hard shoulder onto a busy motorway - with no driver inside the vehicle.  

Dashcam footage shows the dented Ford Ka car slowly reversing onto the M1, right in front of Daniel Richardson, who was driving to work at the time.

He witnessed the astonishing - and potentially lethal - sight on a northbound stretch, between junctions 27 and 28, south of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

This is the incredible moment a car rolled off the hard shoulder onto a busy motorway - with no driver inside the vehicle

This is the incredible moment a car rolled off the hard shoulder onto a busy motorway - with no driver inside the vehicle

Dashcam footage shows the dented Ford Ka car slowly reversing onto the M1, right in front of Daniel Richardson, who was driving to work at the time

Dashcam footage shows the dented Ford Ka car slowly reversing onto the M1, right in front of Daniel Richardson, who was driving to work at the time

Approaching at a safe speed, he realised that the car was reversing on its own, with no driver in sight - and it clearly seemed to have been involved in a collision.

'I was on my way to work one morning when I noticed a car ahead of me reversing back into the motorway,' said Mr Richardson, who captured the footage on a Nextbase 402G Dash Cam. 

He added: 'There was a lorry parked up on the hard shoulder and, from the state of the car, it was obvious there had been some kind of collision. 

Mr Richardson witnessed the astonishing - and potentially lethal - sight on a northbound stretch, between junctions 27 and 28, south of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire

Mr Richardson witnessed the astonishing - and potentially lethal - sight on a northbound stretch, between junctions 27 and 28, south of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire

'I can only imagine the driver must have forgotten to put on the handbrake after leaving his vehicle.'

Richard Browning, director at Nextbase, said: 'While this is an amusing incident to watch retrospectively, it is an incredibly dangerous situation, especially with vehicles travelling at high speed on the motorway. 

'It is always stressful to be in any accident and even the most experienced motorist can become flustered and forget simple things like engaging the vehicle's handbrake.'

'There was a lorry parked up on the hard shoulder and, from the state of the car, it was obvious there had been some kind of collision,' commuter Mr Richardson said

'There was a lorry parked up on the hard shoulder and, from the state of the car, it was obvious there had been some kind of collision,' commuter Mr Richardson said

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