What Causes Deadly Wrong Way Driving Wrecks on U.S. Roads and Highways?

Continued from Part 1. Over several decades of studying the ongoing problem of fatal wrong-way crashes, the U.S. NTSB and NHTSA have identified several factors that recur over and over again in these particularly severe accidents. The Houston accident injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC present here the most common causes behind wrong-way driving wrecks:

• Alcohol: Up to 75% of all drivers that cause wrong-way driving collisions are impaired by alcohol. A U.S. NTSB analysis of FARS (fatal accident) data found that 60% of the wrong-way drivers causing the deadly crashes were under the influence of alcohol. That analysis emphasizes that because not all drivers were tested for alcohol after the crashes, the percentage is actually underreported and may be much higher. Of those tested, 59%, well over half, had a BAC of 15% or more (almost twice the legal limit or higher). 936 of 1,566 (60%) of the wrong-way drivers tested for alcohol were impaired. Our Houston accident injury attorneys point out that only 126 of 1,934 “right-way” drivers tested positive for alcohol.
• Darkness: 78% of fatal wrong-way collisions happen between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., or during the hours of darkness. At night, especially if a driver is confused or impaired by alcohol or drugs, it’s more difficult to see warning signs and other “wrong way” indicators. Additionally, lesser amounts of traffic at night may mean that a wrong-way driver might have traveled for some distance down a road the wrong-way before an oncoming vehicle reveals the error.
• Age: Drivers over the age of 70 represent almost 15% of drivers causing fatal wrong-way collisions. That same age group represents less than 3% of the “right-way” drivers victimized by such accidents. There were 114 “wrong-way” drivers between ages 70 and 79 in the data studied by the government and only 47 “right-way” drivers in that same age group. Our Houston accident injury attorneys emphasize that for the group aged 80 years and above, there were 119 “wrong-way” drivers and only 4 “right-way” drivers in the fatal accident data. In every age group BELOW age 70, there were fewer wrong-way drivers than right-way drivers.
• Entering EXIT ramps: This is the main source of wrong-way driving accidents. Other frequent wrong-way movements involve making U-turns in the wrong place, or doing an emergency turnaround through a median after missing a turn or exit.
• Weekends: A higher proportion (57%) of wrong-way crashes happen on the weekend. Drivers are more likely to have been drinking on weekends. Our Houston accident injury attorneys also note that on weekends drivers are more likely to be traveling in unfamiliar territory for recreational purposes and might easily miss a turn or an exit.
• Lane closest to the median: the majority (about 7 of 9) wrong-way collisions occur in the lane closest to the median, also called the “number one” lane by traffic authorities. This lane might seem the most natural choice to wrong-way drivers who are operating under the erroneous assumption that they are driving the “right” way.

The basic indicator is that impairment, whether by age, alcohol, unfamiliarity with the route, and/or poor visibility leads to confusion in drivers. When confused or disoriented, those drivers tend to enter one-way roads the wrong way with high frequency. Unaware or heedless of their error, the wrong-way drivers are often driving at speeds of 60 mph or more when they encounter another vehicle in a head-on crash. Our Houston accident injury attorneys mention that a high-speed, head-on impact leads to severe injuries and death more frequently than other, less catastrophic types of accidents.

Continue to Part 3 to read about an ugly, real-life, multiple-fatality, wrong-way crash and some of the problems with signs meant to deter wrong-way drivers.