Hi Thanks again. That first picture is exactly how I remember it looking and I don't recall seeing anything at all that differs from how impenetrable those trees look visually. Most certainly I don't remember anything at all like the scenario in the third picture! As for the second picture with the arrows, - if I drove past them then yes I admit I must have failed to notice them, so as that qualifies as carelessness then so be it, I would acknowledge that. - I was not planning to contest the charge of guilty anyway, just to plead mitigating circumstances because of the masking effect of how the side of the road looked visually. As to how I came to be heading north after turning round (and more about exactly where I'd joined the A31)... I'd originally intersected with the A31 via the B3001 at (I think) Farnham, (looking at a map the B3OO1 seems to be called Station Hill at that point) I then headed a short way south, made the mistaken U turn, then drove north, passing the spot where I'd initially joined the road and going a bit further up northwards till I reached the Hogs Back area (of the A31). - I'd previously set the GPS to get me to the M3 so I was assuming there would be another turning off the A31 westwards or north westwards to lead over to a point where I could join it (the M3). However I didn't get that far of course, because of the Police stopping me at The Hogs Back area (of the A31). Do you think a case like this, is serious enough to warrant engaging a solicitor for or should I just explain it myself, mentioning the trees just in passing? Thanks again for your time.

Man In The Middle. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer this in so much detail. It's very helpful to get your perspective on it. Perhaps it didn't come over clearly enough from what I said, but it wasn't all about just following the GPS and I wasn't relying on it to get me through the roadworks. I'd turned off the A3 well south of the roadworks to try to cut across sideways with a plan to eventually intersect with the M3 and then join the M25 that way. It was there a little way north of the Hindhead tunnel that I turned off the A3 and via a small connecting B road (B30001) on to the A31 Farnham bypass, which is where the incident occurred. I was definitely looking around at all times and was fully aware of my surroundings. As I said, there was a thick line of trees obscuring any sight of the other side of the dual carriageway, no car headlights coming the other way poking through, nothing visually at all to indicate this was anything other than an ordinary road. I was driving southbound and the north side was completely 100 percent blocked out of view all the way along the section in question. Literally no sight of their being another side to the carriageway whatsoever. After I'd turned round and then headed north, - the spot where I actually got stopped by the police was the Hogs Back, Tongham area of the A31. I've been thinking of driving back along the same stretch of road in daylight, with a passenger videoing the stretch of road, to prove how completely obscured the other side was visually by the trees on the central reservation, with a view to maybe having this shown as evidence of extenuating circumstances when the time comes. Do you think that might be an idea worth trying? Thank you, if you have time to answer.

Thanks for replying. It happened on 6th of January in the early hours of the morning. it was very recent. Yes I realise GPS systems don't quote the law, that's why I said "While I don't believe in just following Sat Navs blindly"... I was just describing the set of circumstances which led to how I came to be driving the wrong way on the dual carriageway. I mentioned it more as possible (slightly) extenuating circumstances than meaning it as a legal defence. are you saying I shouldn't even mention it all? That I should just plead guilty and say yes I was driving the wrong way by mistake. Ie, I should keep everything simple, just admit I was in the wrong, and leave it at that? Might have been about a mile I guess (hard to tell), though the policeman said it would have been a dangerous driving charge rather than careless driving had I come all the way along the road rather than from the (nearer) entrance I'd actually joined at, i guess that means he didn't think I'd come from that far along it really. maybe that sounds encouraging then if you say for moderate distances 99% don't get a ban. - Thanks. honeybee13 Yes it would be good to get his input, thanks for that.

Can anyone give me an idea of the likelihood of getting a driving ban due to inadvertently making a U Turn and driving down the wrong side of a dual carriageway? It happened at 1am in the morning, the Police stopped me and told me I was driving in the wrong direction, gave me a caution and told me I would be prosecuted for not driving with due care and attention/(careless) driving, saying it would involve a magistrates court case. I was somewhat geographically lost at the time as I was trying to avoid a very confusing situation with the A3s temporarily closed and blocked off junction with the M25. My vehicles GPS was repeatedly telling me to make a U Turn on an unfamiliar road and there was a thick line of trees completely obscuring any view of the other carriageway, there was nothing visually to tell me it even was a dual carriageway. No car headlights were showing through the central reservation and any view of the other sides oncoming lanes were completely blocked off by this line of trees. Both sides of the road looked much the same as each other, the right hand side visually resembled the left side and nothing like a central reservation. When driving back down the same road a few days later in daylight, I could see that this central reservation was also extra wide in comparison to most dual carriageways. So wide in fact, that the two sides looked like two separate roads. Which I believe is how the GPS must have interpreted the situation. While I don't believe in just following Sat Navs blindly, nevertheless one expects them to turn people round on dual carriageways and motorways only by instructing them to take the next exit and then go around the (usually overhead) roundabouts and then final exit back onto the other side, (because in the vast majority of cases this is exactly what they do do), - I had no reason to expect it to be wrong in this instance, - therefore I don't think following it's instruction was literally an act of carelessness or recklessness on my part. Though obviously I acknowledged the gravity of the situation to the police. Roadside tests for drink and drugs came out negative and I have a currently clean license with no points on it. Does anybody have any idea if I'm likely to receive a ban for this? Also if anybody's got any idea of whether my observations about the sat navs inconsistent behaviour regarding turning people round on dual carriageways ( ie using roundabouts on most of them but not this specific one), would be accepted as extenuating circumstances, - any opinions or comments from people, would be much appreciated. Thanks.