Catastrophic Wrong Way Wrecks involve Multiple Vehicles and Fatalities | DENENA | POINTS
CALL
TEXT

Catastrophic Wrong Way Wrecks involve Multiple Vehicles and Fatalities

Continued from Part 2. Our Houston wrong-way driving accident attorneys have already mentioned that wrong-way crashes attract the attention of traffic authorities and safety officials because they typically are more severe and deadly than other types of accidents. Because they generally involve head-on collisions with oncoming traffic, the catastrophic wrong-way wrecks usually cause more than one death and involve more than two vehicles. Even in two-vehicle collisions, multiple fatalities typically result.

1997_Pontiac_Trans_Sport_SE_IIHS

The U.S. NTSB conducted nine in-depth investigations of typical wrong-way crashes to determine the causes and ways to prevent them. These 9 representative collisions caused 57 fatalities and 67 minor to severe injuries. They also involved 16 passenger vehicles, four heavy trucks, one church activity bus, and two coach buses.

A Real-World Example of a Deadly Wrong-Way Driving Collision: Fountain, CO

Let’s look at what happens in a typical wrong-way accident. A catastrophic wrong-way crash occurred on I-25 in Fountain, Colorado in September 2011 when a Toyota SUV, going the wrong way at about 70 mph, hit an Acura SUV traveling about 70 mph in a head-on impact.

The power of the impact fused the two SUVs together at the front. The two SUVs continued traveling for about 20 feet before spinning around as one and then coming to rest in the road. Our Houston wrong-way driving accident attorneys sadly note that all occupants of both vehicles died in the crash. Post-mortem toxicology tests of the wrong-way driver indicated a BAC of 0.25, more than 3 times the legal limit.

The Lower Visual Awareness of Impaired Drivers may Require More High Visibility Wrong-Way Warnings

Because the vast majority of deadly wrong-way wrecks occur when drivers enter the exit ramps on controlled-access highways, several U.S. agency recommendations for curbing wrong-way driving incidents focus on how to improve warning signs (NTSB Highway Special Investigation Report on Wrong-Way Driving, December 11, 2012). Our Houston wrong-way driving accident attorneys emphasize that these recommendations exceed current signage requirements. California is already testing some of these improvements, which include:

  • Lowering the height of “Wrong Way” and “Do Not Enter” signs.
  • Doubling the amount of signs on each post, with “Wrong Way” and “Do Not Enter” signs on posts on both sides of exit ramps.
  • Making a doubled number of signs and larger-dimension signs the standard safety requirement.
  • Installing illuminated “Wrong Way” signs that flash when a wrong-way vehicle is detected.
  • Installing a second set of “Wrong Way” signs further up the exit ramp from the intersection crossroad.
  • Posting controlled-access highway entrance signs on each side of entrance ramps.
  • Applying red retroreflective tape to the vertical posts of exit ramp signs.
  • Placing red delineators or both sides of the exit ramps.
  • Installing LED-illuminated in-pavement markers or delineators parallel to the stop bar at the crossroad end of exit ramps where wrong-way drivers usually try to enter.
  • Installing trailblazing lines or reflective markers that channel travel in an arc to guide motorists making left turns from the crossroad into an entrance ramp in order to prevent them from entering the exit ramp in error.

Californiaofframpwrongwaysignage

The Houston wrong-way driving accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC note that another promising idea for preventing many fatal wrong-way accidents involves preventing drunken driving by means of an in-vehicle alcohol detection system. This system, in the design and development stage, would be present in all new vehicles. Designed to be both reliable and unobtrusive, it would simply refuse to start the car if it detected that the driver was under the influence of alcohol. Currently the system goes by the name of the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS).

The DADSS device faces many hurdles before it can be deployed in all vehicles. Our Houston wrong-way driving accident attorneys will write about the challenges and potential of this device at another time. Its acceptance and implementation is probably still quite a few years in the future.

Continue to Part 4 to learn about NTSB recommendations to other agencies on the ongoing, deadly wrong-way driving problem and some other proposed technological, and design fixes proposed to try and correct it.