Cars driving in reverse on Highway 427 captured on dashcam video

By Faiza Amin

A video posted to social media showing several cars traveling in reverse up on Highway 427 is raising concerns about highway safety. The Ministry of Transportation is aware of the footage and has launched an investigation.

The dashcam video shows several cars traveling in reverse on the highway, and at one point in the opposite direction into oncoming traffic.

“People were turning around and moving towards me,” Saad, who uploaded to footage online on Saturday, tells CityNews. “There were tons of cars behind us that were just stopped, they didn’t know what to do either.”

Saad says the incident took place on Tuesday, and explains that it happened right before the 401 westbound exit from the 427 southbound. The 20 year old says as he approached, he saw several vehicles on the side of the road, while over a dozen others suddenly began reversing towards him. He said he was forced to the same, just so he could get out of the way.

“I had no choice,” he explains. “I couldn’t go forward, there were just tons of cars reversing.”

Saad says the confusion delayed his drive home by over an hour, and claims that he later found out online that there was construction on that stretch of the highway.

But, he says, there were no road signs warning that work was being done.

Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Astrid Poei said that on Sept. 13 there was a closure to complete paving.

“We are currently working on a contract that includes rehabilitating five bridges at the Highway 427 and 401 interchange, as well as rehabilitating the pavement on southbound Highway 427 from Airport Road to Highway 401,” Poei said.

Poei said that Ministry of Transportation staff viewed the video, checked their records and said all appropriate signs were in place.

“Any kind of signs would have helped, because this was just before the exit,” Saad explains. “People would’ve had much more time to take the other route, instead of dealing with this.”

There’s still no confirmation on what led to the vehicles reversing, but the OPP tells us they received several MTO notices about construction in the area that would have created congestion and restricted lane access. The Ministry of Transportation is investigating, and says it won’t have a response until Monday.

“We will examine whether additional measures are needed including contacting OPP to determine if more enforcement is required,” Poei said.

The OPP says drivers who reverse on the roads, can face a fine of $110. The Ministry said it would not have a response Sunday evening.

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