Early this morning, a driver driving the wrong way on IH 35 near Kyle (where I grew up) caused a wreck that killed four people and injured two others.
In this instance, the wrong way driver was driving southbound in the northbound lanes of IH 35 at the Kyle Parkway exit. Unfortunately, the car hit a minivan, killing four occupants of the minivan and injuring two other children in the minivan. A third vehicle was also involved in the wreck. KXAN has a story on the wreck that I’m embedding below.
Wrong Way Driver Wrecks Happen More Often Than You Think
I feel like a broken record saying that it seems like these types of wrecks should never occur, but unfortunately, they’re all too frequent. I’ve been writing about these types of wrecks in the Austin area for years. I’m linking prior posts below that talk about ten or so of these wrecks in the last few years.
What Causes Wrong Way Driver Wrecks?
These types of wrecks often share a few common characteristics: they almost always occur at night and they almost always involve the use of alcohol and/or drugs.
Another factor in daytime wrong way driver wrecks is the age of the driver. Daytime wrecks are much more likely to be caused young drivers (those without much driving experience) and elderly drivers (who might be confused by complicated on-ramp designs).
What Can Be Done To Prevent Wrong Way Driver Wrecks?
One of the reasons that these wrecks are so tragic is that there is often very little that the victim driver can do. Obviously, if you see someone driving the wrong way, the safest thing to do is pull all the way over. But frequently, there isn’t enough warning to do that.
From a road design standpoint, road designers can help by better on-ramp design. A common factor in these wrecks is that impaired drivers get on the highway at confusing on-ramps.
A second thing that road designers can do is to lower the “wrong way” signs on the ramps. Studies have shown that lowering the signs to eye level for most drivers is an effective way to help reduce these wrecks.
Additional Information On Wrong Way Driver Wrecks
For more information, refer to some of my many other posts on wrong way driver wrecks.
- Another Fatal Wrong Way Driving Wreck (2015)
- Another Wrong Way Driver Crash In Austin (2015)
- Another Austin Wrong Way Driver (2013)
- IH 35 Wrong Way Driver Kills A San Antonio Police Officer (2011)
- Another Wrong Way Driver Wreck In Dallas (2011)
- Another Austin Wrong Way Driver Wreck (2010)
- More On Wrong Way Drivers (2010)
- Another Wrong-Way Driving Death In Austin (2010)
- Wrong Way Drivers Causing Too Many Fatalities (2009)
- Wrong Way Driver In Austin (2009)
