Wrong way drivers often cause head-on collisions to occur, which can result in serious injury. After a wrong way accident, The Villages accident attorney can provide help to collision victims in fight for compensation for losses.
Drivers need to exercise caution and pay careful attention to their surroundings to avoid one-way accidents. Because many of these crashes involve intoxicated or fatigued drivers, staying sober and alert is also important.
However, while drivers have primary responsibility for ensuring they do not go the wrong way on the road, road design and new technologies can also help to reduce the risk. Just recently, for example, CBS Local reported on wrong-way driver detection systems that are being experimented with.
Can Wrong-Way Driver Detection Systems Work to Prevent Accidents?
Since the 1990's, advancements in road design technology have helped to reduce the number of deaths caused by drivers who are traveling in the wrong direction. Some of the techniques that have been implemented include enlarged road signs alerting drivers to the fact they are entering the road going the wrong way as well as more visible signs raising the alert to drivers that they are about to enter onto the road going in the wrong direction. A pilot program has now also been launched including the use of cameras that are able to detect wrong-way drivers.
Collectively, these techniques appear to have made an impact on prevent both accidents and fatalities involving drivers traveling in the wrong direction. There were a total of 35 instances in which local police were called out to a scene where it was believed that a wrong-way driver was present. In every instance, the driver was pulled over by law enforcement and no accidents took place. This means that 35 potentially serious or even deadly accidents were prevented and many lives were saved.
There is now a discussion over whether to expand wrong-way protections, including to areas where there is a known problem with drivers traveling in the wrong space. An independent study is being conducted in order to make an informed determination regarding where wrong-way driver detection systems should be installed over the course of the next year. Hopefully this will allow for targeted use of these tools in places where they can make the most difference possible.
Preventing wrong-way accidents can be especially beneficial in improving traffic safety because most wrong-way accidents are head-on collisions, which magnifies the force and impact from the collision. Since these accidents often happen when people get on the wrong way on highways, the crashes may be high-speed accidents and chain reaction collisions may occur when other drivers do not have time to get out of the way before they too become involved in a crash. If wrong-way driver detection systems can cause drivers to stop before someone gets hurt, many fatal accidents and serious injuries won't have to happen.
If a wrong-way accident does occur, The Villages accident attorney can provide you with representation in taking legal action to recover compensation from the person who was responsible for the collision.
