Reversing the course of ‘wrong-way’ crashes in area, around country
Holly Ann Davis of Canonsburg was a 56-year-old certified nursing assistant, a member of Daughters of the Elks, followed her sons’ activities in sports and loved to dance.
About 1:45 a.m. last Sunday, Davis tragically became one of roughly 500 Americans who will die this year as a result of a wrong-way crash on a road or highway. Davis was traveling northbound on Interstate 79 near the Houston exit in Washington County when a driver heading south in that lane slammed into her car. The other driver survived, and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating. The accident was near the site of wrong-way crash that killed a Washington man in November 2019, and another wrong-way crash in April of the same year that resulted in the death of a woman from Morgantown, W.Va.
We can take some comfort in the fact that dying in a wrong-way crash is an extremely rare occurrence – they account for just 1% of all traffic deaths, and your odds of being killed in a traffic accident are less than 1% over the course of a lifetime – but the number of wrong-way crashes has been going up. According to data released earlier this year by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the number of fatalities caused by wrong-way crashes increased 34% from 2010 to 2018. The foundation did not pinpoint a precise reason why, but it did say that the risks of wrong-way crashes go up when a driver is older, traveling without a passenger or impaired due to alcohol.
In this region, some wrong-way crashes can likely be credited to confusion. Given the tangled web of roads and highways that we all traverse, particularly within Pittsburgh, even natives or longtime residents can become discombobulated and wonder if they’re getting on the right ramp or heading the wrong way. In 2008, an out-of-town artist displaying his work at the Three Rivers Arts Festival was involved in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 279 that killed a Green Tree resident. But no matter the cause, steps should be taken to reduce wrong-way crashes. AAA and the National Transportation Safety Board support putting more visible signs and signals at critical locations to let drivers know they are going the wrong way. They are also calling for alcohol ignition interlocks, additional sobriety checkpoints, and refresher courses for older adults.
In California, sensors have been installed at some ramps that automatically alert the highway patrol if someone is heading the wrong way, and extra warning signs are at select ramps. California has also placed red warning reflector dots on state roads, with studies showing that markers and flashing LED lights have played a role in reducing deaths. Rhode Island has installed flashing warning signs in areas where there had been a number of wrong-way crashes, and Arizona has put measures in place in some areas that include sending warnings to other drivers on their phones.
The prospect of seeing another car unexpectedly hurtling toward you on the highway is a nightmare no one wants to contemplate. We should be proactive in trying to prevent these sorts of horrific accidents from happening.