When a wreck like this happens, you may ask how it’s possible to be driving the wrong way on a highway. But the unfortunate reality is that these wrong-way wrecks happen far too frequently.
For example, earlier this month, teens headed to Austin were killed in a wrong way crash on I30 in Greenville, near Dallas.
In June, an Austin woman was killed in a wrong way wreck on Ben White Boulevard.
In May, two people were killed in a wrong way wreck on Parmer Lane.
In fact, this is a subject that I’ve studied and written about frequently. Some of my posts on wrong way crashes include:
Most of these wrong way crashes share two characteristics. First, most occur at night. Second, most involve alcohol or drug use.
There are several things that can be done to try and minimize the risks of these wrecks, especially on highways.
Better entrance ramp designs. A core issue in these wrecks are confusing on-ramps and off-ramps. For example, here in Austin, Ben White Boulevard is a common site of wrong-way wrecks. That is probably not surprising given that the on-ramps near Ben White and Lamar Boulevard are some of the most confusing in the city. Making on-ramps and off-ramps simple help reduce these wrecks.
Lowering traffic signs. The data shows that “wrong way” signs are more effective when they are at the driver’s line of sight. These signs should be lowered more than typical street signs.
If you want to learn more about wrong-way wrecks, the Texas Transportation Institute has an interesting report on wrong way driving.
The post Another Wrong Way Crash In Austin first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Just before 1:00 a.m., APD received calls of a driver driving southbound in the northbound lanes of Mopac. The APD dispatched several police cars and even a police helicopter to try and intervene, but they couldn’t get there fast enough. The driver of the wrong-way car, reportedly a woman in her 40s, collided head on with another vehicle near Duval Road. The driver of the wrong-way car was pronounced dead at the scene. The other driver, a man, was taken to St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center, where he later passed away.
It seems like these types of wrecks — where someone is driving down a highway the wrong way — should never happen.
But they’re a lot more frequent than we’d like to think. I’ve been writing about wrong way wrecks in Austin for at least the last four years. And in 2010, Austin had two wrong way car wreck fatalities within a couple of weeks of one another.
Sergeant Darrell Burnham, one of the officers working the scene of this morning’s crash, said he can think of three incidents on Mopac that occurred fairly recently.
Most of these wrecks have several characteristics in common:
These wrong way wrecks are particularly problematic for several reasons. They often involve fatal or serious injuries. Due to the nature of the wreck, most of these are head-on collisions, which bring a tremendous amount of force.
They are also hard to avoid. When an innocent victim is traveling in the proper direction, they are usually at the mercy of the wrong way driver. And since statistics show that wrong way drivers are often impaired, making it hard for a person traveling the proper direction to really anticipate the wrong way driver’s next move.
Finally, these wrecks are going to become an increasing problem. They often occur on highways that have confusing entrance and exit ramps. As Austin grows, we have more and more large highway intersections that are potentially confusing and offer opportunities for wrong way drivers to enter roads the wrong way.
For more information on wrong way drivers, you can read some of my prior posts on the problem:
You can also read the Texas Transportation Institute’s worksheet: Wrong Way Driving on Freeways in Texas: Problems, Issues & Countermeasures.
The post Another Austin Wrong-Way Driver Wreck first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>