Wrong-Side Driving Surges on Velachery 100 Feet Road and Major Arterial Stretches

Rampant wrong-side driving by two-wheelers and autorickshaws has become a routine occurrence across major arterial roads and one-way corridors in Chennai, including Velachery 100 Feet Road. Commuters frequently travel against the flow of traffic to avoid lengthy detours, creating hazardous conditions for other motorists and pedestrians while traffic police enforcement remains lackadaisical.

Along with Velachery 100 Feet Road, several critical arterial stretches across the city see commuters regularly riding on the wrong side. The violation is notably widespread along Anna Salai, the Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Radial Road, Rajiv Gandhi Salai, and Jawaharlal Nehru Salai. Motorists and three-wheelers routinely navigate against oncoming traffic on these busy multilane roads.

Specific intersections and bridges across the city have also emerged as regular trouble spots for the violation. These locations include Vadapalani junction, Little Mount, Guindy flyover, Venkatanarayana Road, Poonamallee High Road-Nolambur junction, Arumbakkam Metro junction, and Basin Bridge. Commuters frequently enter one-way sections from the wrong end at these points to save a few minutes.

Motorists cite the absence of nearby turning points as a primary reason for breaking traffic rules. Explaining the daily commute challenges, motorist Naresh Kumar said, "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."

Traffic activist Kamalanathan stated that road infrastructure and median layouts heavily contribute to the widespread problem. According to Kamalanathan, widely spaced U-turns, long continuous medians, and severe congestion at designated turning points encourage motorists to take illegal shortcuts. Two-wheeler riders account for the vast majority of these violations.

The persistent habit of wrong-side driving has led to severe consequences and fatal head-on collisions on city stretches. In November 2025, 50-year-old Suresh was killed near Kottivakkam after a motorcycle operated by a 16-year-old on the wrong side collided head-on with his vehicle.