Wrong-Way Driving on Freeways: Problems, Issues, and Countermeasures
Drivers who make wrong-way entries onto freeways pose a serious risk to the safety of other motorists and themselves. Wrong-way driving often leads to head-on collisions. Wrong-way crashes are relatively infrequent but are more likely to produce serious injuries and fatalities compared to other types of crashes and often result in significant media attention. Driving the wrong way on freeways has been a nagging traffic safety problem since the interstate highway system was started in the 1950s. On average, approximately 350 people are killed each year nationwide in wrong-way freeway crashes according to data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Despite over forty years of highway design, marking, and signing improvements at freeway interchanges, the problem still persists and annual fatalities are rising. In response to this issue, the Texas Department of Transportation sponsored a research project to evaluate the most effective traditional and innovative countermeasures throughout the United States to reduce wrong-way movements. Data from previous studies and a detailed study of 4 years of wrong-way crashes on freeways Texas was used to develop a typical wrong-way crash profile. The paper documents best practices nationwide and provides recommended guidelines for use of the most effective wrong-way countermeasures. A checklist for engineers and field crews to use for reviewing wrong-way entry issues or suspected problem locations is also provided.
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Corporate Authors:
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Authors:
- Cooner, Scott A
- Ranft, Stephen E
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Conference:
- Transportation Research Board 87th Annual Meeting
- Location: Washington DC, United States
- Date: 2008-1-13 to 2008-1-17
- Date: 2008
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: DVD
- Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 23p
- Monograph Title: TRB 87th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Direction signs; Fatalities; Highway design; Highway safety; Interchange ramps; Interchanges and intersections; Interstate highways; On ramps; Wrong way driving
- Identifier Terms: Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Texas Department of Transportation
- Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure; I84: Personal Injuries;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01100681
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: 08-2263
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Jun 3 2008 7:32AM