Is there a word for one who drives in the direction opposite the one prescribed for the given lane? [duplicate]

After having found the image below, I’m wondering whether there is a word that English speakers use to describe someone driving on the opposite side of a road.

A bit of searching pulled up geisterfahrer, which is a German word whose translation into English is at best unclear. In fact, according to Google Translate, geisterfahrer is rendered in English as ghost rider. However, I’m unable to find this two-word phrase in any dictionary I have consulted — and besides, I’m interested to find a single word.

Thus my question is, is there a word for someone who drives in the direction opposite the one prescribed for the lane they are driving in?

Note that I dislike, and will not accept, wrong-way rider, both because it is too far from the single-word concept and because it seems like a made-up phrase to me.


You could call such a person a wrong-way-driver.


The common way to say this is the motorist is driving against traffic. I doubt there is a single english word for the driver in this scenario.

One way streets sometimes have a contraflow lane for bicycle or bus traffic.