Police have arrested the driver of a Mercedes-Benz seen in an online video travelling against traffic on a busy Hong Kong highway.

The 54-year-old man was detained on suspicion of dangerous driving after officers found him in Ngau Tau Kok on Friday morning.

Officers from the Kowloon East traffic unit launched an investigation after the video circulated online.

Police said the investigation showed the incident happened on Hiram’s Highway in Sai Kung at about 2pm on September 20.

“In the video, the car was being driven across the double white lines running against traffic multiple times on Hiram’s Highway heading towards the direction of Clear Water Bay, ” police said.

The 11-second video posted on the force’s Facebook page, showed the Mercedes-Benz was travelling against traffic and nearly hit two oncoming vehicles – a minibus and a truck.

According to the force, the man was released on bail, pending further investigation. He is required to report back to police next month.

The Mercedes-Benz nearly hit two oncoming vehicles – a minibus and a truck.

Condemning the dangerous driving act, police said “irresponsible driving behaviour” not only endangered the safety of other road users, but was often the main cause of serious traffic accidents and would not be tolerated.

According to the force, officers must take strict enforcement actions against such illegal acts.

In Hong Kong, dangerous driving is punishable by up to three years in jail and a HK$25,000 fine (US$3,200).

In the first eight months of this year, 53 people were killed and 625 others suffered serious injuries in 646 traffic accidents across the city.