M4 traffic: ‘Drug driver’ smashes into traffic lights at junction 16
The westbound exit slip road at Junction 16 was partly closed at around 8.30am on Thursday after a motorist broke a set of traffic lights.
This caused congestion on the rest of the roundabout and created long tailbacks on the approach from the Swindon[1] side of the A3102 which stretched to Blagrove roundabout and part of Great Western Way.
Roads Policing Unit officers monitored traffic in the area and, while doing so, issued a traffic offence report to a driver who they saw texting while passing the scene.
Meanwhile, the motorist who hit the traffic lights tested positive for a drugs wipe and was then handcuffed.
A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “At around 8.20am this morning, we responded following a collision on the westbound M4 exit sliproad at junction 16, when a vehicle struck a lamp post.
“The driver, a man in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of drug driving.
“He has been released under investigation while enquiries continue.”
By 11.30am, the emergency traffic light repairs had been completed and the gridlocked traffic had been gradually eased.