meaning - "Against traffic" or "Against the traffic"


The following first sentence comes from Wikipedia, which 'the' is not used before 'traffic', while the second one comes from BBC, which has 'the' before 'traffic'. I wonder if both usages are correct or not? If yes, is there a difference between these two sentences with and without 'the'? If no, which one is correct ?





  1. For cycling in particular, collisions at intersections (defined broadly as "not only the junction of two roadways, but also points where driveways, sidewalks, or paths meet a roadway, or where sidewalks or paths meet a driveway") while traveling in the wrong direction against traffic has been determined to be over three times more likely for wrong-way cyclists.




  2. The van was then spotted joining the M4 at junction 15 (Swindon east), driving against the traffic towards London on the westbound carriageway.







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