A driver was captured on a dashcam colliding with no other vehicles in sight shortly after a national test emergency alert was sent to mobile phones. Sixty-four-year-old freelance photographer Phil Taylor was driving on a 50mph dual carriageway in Bolton when the car in front of him suddenly veered and crashed onto the opposite lane. The emergency alert test sounded on his mobile phone just after 3 pm, moments before the collision occurred.
Footage from the dashcam shows the driver swerving left, then over-correcting dramatically, spinning 180 degrees and ending up on the opposite side of the road. Before the emergency alert test, Edmund King, the president of the AA, had advised drivers to remain calm and focused on the road when the alert was received.
Drivers were cautioned that using a handheld device while driving could result in a £200 fine and six penalty points. Following the accident, Phil stopped to check on the driver and passenger, who had safely exited the damaged vehicle. They inquired if there was video footage of the incident and mentioned doing a full 360-degree spin.
Phil inspected the car, noting damage to the alloys and rear passenger side. He speculated that the emergency alert, received two sets of traffic lights before the crash, could have been a contributing factor. He also mentioned that emergency alerts seem to arrive in waves rather than simultaneously.
The complete emergency alert issued on Sunday was a test of the UK government’s Emergency Alerts service, designed to warn individuals of nearby life-threatening emergencies. The alert instructed recipients not to take any immediate action but to follow instructions in case of a real emergency. The message directed individuals to government resources for emergency preparation advice.
The emergency alert was accompanied by a loud, siren-like sound on mobile phones, even if set to silent mode, and some devices read the message aloud. Since the first test in April 2023, five real alerts have been issued. The most extensive use of the system reached around 4.5 million people in Scotland and Northern Ireland during Storm Éowyn in January 2025 following a red weather warning.